Chapter 314
2022 -- S 2671
Enacted 07/06/2022

A N   A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

Introduced By: Senators Coyne, and Lawson

Date Introduced: March 10, 2022

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Chapter 31-3 of the General Laws entitled "Registration of Vehicles" is
hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
     31-3-122. Special plate for Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
     (a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available
special motor vehicle registration plates for the not-for-profit Friends of Pomham Rocks
Lighthouse. The plates shall be designed to reference Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
     (b) The special plate shall be displayed upon the same registration number assigned to the
vehicle for which it was issued, and shall be used in place of and in the same manner as the
registration plates issued to the vehicle. The original registration plates for the vehicle shall be
removed from the vehicle and returned to the division of motor vehicles. The registration certificate
for the plates shall be carried in the vehicle, in accordance with ยง 31-3-9. The registration certificate
shall be in effect for the special plate.
     (c) Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse motor vehicle plates shall be the same size as
regular motor vehicle plates, and shall be designed by Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in
conjunction with the division of motor vehicles, with the design approved by the Rhode Island state
police.
     (d) Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse plates shall be subject to a minimum prepaid
order of at least six hundred (600) sets of plates per plate type (i.e., passenger, commercial, etc.).
Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse plates shall not be issued unless the minimum order(s)
requirements are met. The initial order will be handled by Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse
and shall not be submitted to the division of motor vehicles for production until the minimum
order(s) have been met and the proper paperwork submitted to the division.
     (e) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall develop, pre-payment
procedures, and any other procedures deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
     (f) In addition to the regular prescribed motor vehicle registration fee, Friends of Pomham
Rocks Lighthouse plates shall be subject to a forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge.
     (g) The forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge shall be allocated as follows: twenty
dollars ($20.00) shall be allocated to the general fund and the remaining twenty dollars ($20.00)
shall be distributed annually to Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in furtherance of its mission
to assist charitable organizations in Rhode Island with fiscal needs to assist with historic renovation,
preservation, and to improve public awareness and access to the Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
     (h) A ten-dollar ($10) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals shall be allocated to
Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
     (i) In consideration of the receipt of funds from the registration of Pomham Rocks
Lighthouse plates, the organization must use any Rhode Island sourced funds in and for the benefit
of Rhode Island-based charitable organizations.
     (j) Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse will be required to submit an annual accounting
report before such monies are distributed.
     (k) There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of Friends of Pomham Rocks
Lighthouse motor vehicle license plates.
     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC005285
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