§463.51. Special prestige license plates; Lions International

A. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall establish a special prestige license plate which may be issued, upon application, to any citizen of Louisiana who is an active member of Lions International. The license plates shall be restricted to passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, and recreational vehicles. The prestige license plate shall be of a color and design which is in general compliance with R.S. 47:463(A)(3). However, the plate shall bear the words "Louisiana Lions" across the bottom of the plate, immediately preceded by the Lion's slogan "We Serve".

B. The prestige plates shall be issued in the same manner as other motor vehicle license plates.

C. The donation required by this Section shall be in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration license fee.

D.(1) No such plate shall be issued unless the application is accompanied by a donation of twenty-five dollars to be distributed as provided in this Subsection and a one-dollar handling fee to be retained by the department to offset a portion of the administrative costs. The department shall collect the donation for each license plate which shall be annually appropriated by the legislature to the office for citizens with developmental disabilities, Louisiana Department of Health.

(2) An amount of monies equal to the total amount of donations shall be equally divided and disbursed annually by the office for citizens with developmental disabilities to the Louisiana Lions Eye Foundation in New Orleans and the Louisiana Lions Camp in Leesville. The monies shall be used solely for the expenses incurred in providing services to children of this state with developmental disabilities and in providing treatment to persons who are sight-impaired whose eligibility for such treatment shall be determined by the Louisiana Lions Eye Foundation. The services of the Louisiana Lions Eye Foundation and the Louisiana Lions Camp are hereby deemed a public purpose and shall qualify as cooperative endeavors under the provisions of Article VII, Section 14(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

E. 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 the donation and the transfer and disposition of such license plates.

F. Each Louisiana Lions chapter shall be responsible for certifying applications on a form approved by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to be submitted with other required registration papers. If a member of any Louisiana Lions chapter holding this special prestige license plate terminates membership, the affected chapter shall notify the department so that the plate may be recovered and the registration cancelled.

Acts 1997, No. 768, §1; Acts 2014, No. 811, §25, eff. June 23, 2014.