HF 2441 (LSB 5075YH (5) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2441

BY  P. THOMPSON and NORDMAN

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to national wild turkey federation special registration plates, and making appropriations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.34, Code 2024, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  11E.  National wild turkey federation plates.
   a.  Upon application and payment of the proper fees, the director may issue national wild turkey federation plates to the owner of a motor vehicle subject to registration under section 321.109, subsection 1, autocycle, motor truck, motor home, multipurpose vehicle, motorcycle, trailer, or travel trailer.
   b.  National wild turkey federation plates shall be designed by the department in cooperation with the Iowa chapter of the national wild turkey federation.
   c.  The special national wild turkey federation fee for letter-number designated national wild turkey federation plates is twenty-five dollars. An applicant may obtain personalized national wild turkey federation plates upon payment of the fee for personalized plates as provided in subsection 5, which is in addition to the special national wild turkey federation fee.
   d.  The fees collected by the director under this subsection shall be paid monthly to the treasurer of state and deposited in the road use tax fund. The treasurer of state shall transfer monthly from the statutory allocations fund created under section 321.145, subsection 2, to the general fund of the state the amount of the special fees collected in the previous month for national wild turkey federation plates. Such moneys are appropriated to the department of natural resources to distribute in the form of grants to support wild turkey habitat conservation and hunting in Iowa. In the awarding of grants, the department of natural resources shall give first consideration to any state chapter of a nonprofit organization supporting wild turkey habitat conservation and improvement, and efforts to increase the number of hunters in this state, and similar nonprofit organizations. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated under this subsection shall not revert to the general fund of the state.
   e.  Upon receipt of the special registration plates, the applicant shall surrender the current registration plates to the county treasurer. The county treasurer shall validate the special registration plates in the same manner as regular registration plates are validated under this section. The annual special national wild turkey federation fee for letter-number designated plates is ten dollars which shall be paid in addition to the regular annual registration fee. The annual fee for personalized national wild turkey federation plates is ten dollars which shall be paid in addition to the annual special national wild turkey federation fee and the regular annual registration fee. The annual special national wild turkey federation fee shall be credited as provided under paragraph “d”.
   f.  The department shall not condition the issuance of national wild turkey federation plates on the receipt of any number of orders for national wild turkey federation plates.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill authorizes the department of transportation (DOT) to design and issue national wild turkey federation (NWTF) special registration plates. The NWTF is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of wild turkey hunters’ hunting heritage.
   The bill provides that the special NWTF fee for letter-number designated NWTF plates is $25. An applicant may obtain personalized NWTF plates by paying an additional $25 fee for personalized registration plates as provided in Code section 321.34(5), which is in addition to the special NWTF fee. The annual special NWTF fee for letter-number designated plates is $10, which is in addition to the regular annual registration fee. Similarly, the annual fee for personalized NWTF plates is $10, which is in addition to both the annual special NWTF fee and the regular annual registration fee.
   The fees collected by the DOT must be paid monthly to the treasurer of state and deposited in the road use tax fund. The treasurer of state must transfer monthly from the statutory allocations fund to the general fund of the state the amount of the special fees collected in the previous month for the NWTF plates. Such moneys are appropriated to the department of natural resources (DNR) to distribute in the form of grants to support wild turkey habitat conservation and hunting in Iowa. In awarding the grants, DNR must give first consideration to any state chapter of a nonprofit organization supporting wild turkey habitat conservation and improvement, and efforts to increase the number of hunters in Iowa, and similar nonprofit organizations.
   The bill prohibits the DOT from conditioning the issuance of NWTF plates on the receipt of any number of orders for NWTF plates.
   Under current law, nonprofit organizations are authorized to apply to the DOT for approval to issue a decal of the organization’s own design to be displayed on special registration plates with space reserved for an organizational decal. The nonprofit organization may charge a fee and retain any payment received for the organizational decal. Code section 321.34(13) sets forth the application process and certain limitations for nonprofit organizations and decal designs.