§463.103. Special prestige license plates; Louisiana Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

A. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall establish a special prestige license plate, to be known as the Louisiana Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., plate, subject to the provisions of this Section. The license plate shall be restricted to passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, and recreational vehicles. The color and design of the license plate shall be selected by the license plate proposal committee provided it is in compliance with R.S. 47:463(A)(3), and shall include the logo of the sorority. All lettering and numbering on such prestige plates shall be in the color red. The organization shall be prohibited from requesting any change to the design and color of the license plates within a five-year period after the date of acceptance of a specific color and design.

B. The license plate shall be issued, upon initial application and renewal to any applicant who submits a letter from their local chapter signed by both the chapter president and the chapter's financial secretary, certifying that the applicant is a current member in good standing. This document must also contain a raised seal from the local chapter. In addition, the applicant must present her current membership card upon initial issuance and at renewal.

C. An annual royalty fee of twenty-five dollars for use of the sorority's logo shall be collected from the applicant and forwarded to the following organizations in the following manner: five dollars to the Delta Research and Educational Fund (DREF); ten dollars to the Louisiana Center for the Book; and ten dollars to the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, for each license plate issued as provided in this Section. The department shall also collect the standard registration license fee provided for in R.S. 47:463 and a handling fee of three dollars and fifty cents. The handling fee shall be retained by the department to offset a portion of administrative costs.

D. The monies received from the royalty fees for each initial issuance of a license plate and for each license plate renewal by the Louisiana Center for the Book and the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence shall be used to support statewide activities.

E. The donations from the royalties to the above-named funds may be revised or discontinued as warranted every five years after review by the Louisiana state coordinator of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., with approval from the majority of the presidents of the state's alumnae and collegiate chapters.

F. The secretary shall establish a prestige license plate in accordance with the provisions of this Section when all of the following conditions are met:

(1) All necessary contracts regarding use of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority's logo have been executed.

(2) The secretary has received a minimum of one thousand applications for the license plate.

G. The secretary shall establish rules and regulations as are necessary to implement the provisions of this Section, including but not limited to rules and regulations governing the collection and disbursement of royalty fees, verification that an applicant is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the transfer and disposition of such license plates, the colors available, and the design criteria.

Acts 2001, No. 1001, §1; Acts 2009, No. 140, §1.