49-418A. IDAHO COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PLATES. (1) Any person who is the owner of a vehicle registered under the provisions of section 49-402 or 49-434(1), Idaho Code, may apply for special plates featuring one (1) of Idaho’s colleges or universities. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any vehicle with a registered maximum gross weight over twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds. Availability of Idaho college and university special license plates for other vehicles may be authorized by rule of the board.

(2) In addition to the regular operating fee, the applicant shall be charged a fee of thirty-five dollars ($35.00) for the initial issuance of the plates, and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) upon each succeeding annual registration. Ten dollars ($10.00) of the initial fee and ten dollars ($10.00) of the renewal fee shall be deposited in the state highway account to be used by the department to fund highway, road and bridge construction projects and to fund the cost of administration of this special license plate program. The department shall transfer twenty-five dollars ($25.00) of the initial fee and fifteen dollars ($15.00) of the renewal fee for deposit to the institution designated on the license plate.

(3) Whenever title or interest in a vehicle registered under the provisions of this section is transferred or assigned, the owner may transfer the special plates to another vehicle upon payment of the required transfer fees. The owner may only display the plates after receipt of new registration from the department.

(4) All special college and university plates shall be of a color and design comparable to the standard issue of license plates with blue numerals on a red, white and blue background and shall indicate the participating institution.

(a) The standard red, white and blue graphic shall be used, except that the word "Idaho" and "Famous Potatoes" shall appear on every plate, the identification of county shall be omitted, and the inscription "Scenic Idaho" may be omitted.

(b) Each college or university that chooses to participate in this program shall provide that portion of the design which features the particular institution and such design shall be acceptable to the president of the institution. For public colleges and universities, approval of the state board of education and board of regents of the university of Idaho shall also be required.

Each version of the special college and university plate featuring the participating college or university shall be approved by the department, utilizing a numbering system as determined by the department. Initial costs of the plate program, including the cost of plate design, shall be paid by the participating college or university.

(5) The state board of education and board of regents of the university of Idaho shall adopt rules to account for receipt and distribution of revenues accruing to participating public colleges and universities from the special license plate program. Revenues from the special plate program shall be used to:

(a) Fund scholarships for Idaho residents attending that college or university.

(b) Match funds contributed in equal amounts from nonstate sources for academic programs, provided that such expenditures for public colleges and universities shall be subject to prior approval by the state board of education and board of regents of the university of Idaho.

(6) For the purposes of this section, nonpublic colleges and universities shall mean and are limited to: The College of Idaho located in Caldwell, Idaho; Northwest Nazarene University located in Nampa, Idaho; and Brigham Young University-Idaho located in Rexburg, Idaho.

(7) Sample college and university license plates may be purchased from the department for a fee of thirty dollars ($30.00), ten dollars ($10.00) of which shall be retained by the department for deposit to the state highway account and twenty dollars ($20.00) of which shall be transferred by the department to the college or university designated on the license plate. No additional fee shall be charged for personalizing sample plates.

History:

[49-418A, added 1997, ch. 277, sec. 1, p. 823; am. 1998, ch. 113, sec. 16, p. 429; am. 1999, ch. 315, sec. 4, p. 786; am. 2000, ch. 87, sec. 21, p. 205; am. 2005, ch. 61, sec. 1, p. 218; am. 2008, ch. 13, sec. 1, p. 17.]