§490.17. Military honor license plates for survivors of Pearl Harbor

A. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall establish military honor license plates for motor vehicles restricted to passenger cars, pickup trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, and vans, which may be issued upon application to any person who is a survivor of Pearl Harbor. The license plates shall be designed to indicate that the recipient of the plate is a survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor if he or she:

(1) Was a member of the United States armed forces on December 7, 1941.

(2) Was on station on December 7, 1941, during the hours of 7:55 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Hawaii time at Pearl Harbor, the island of Oahu, or offshore at a distance not to exceed three miles.

(3) Received an honorable discharge from the United States armed forces.

(4) Holds a current membership in a Louisiana chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors' Association.

B. The charge for this license plate shall be the regular motor vehicle registration license fee. Only one motor vehicle owned by the applicant shall be so licensed at any one time.

C. The secretary shall promulgate rules necessary to implement the provisions of this Section, including rules governing the transfer and disposition of the license plates upon the death of the recipient. Oversight review of the secretary's proposed rules shall be conducted by the House and Senate Committees on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.

D. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon the death of a person to whom a military honor license plate was issued under the provisions of this Section, the surviving spouse or any direct descendants of that person may apply for the military honor license plate. The surviving spouse shall have first opportunity to apply for the military honor license plate. If the military honor license plate is issued to the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse may retain the license plate until the surviving spouse dies or remarries. If the military honor license plate is not issued to the surviving spouse, any direct descendant may apply for the license plate. The rules adopted by the secretary under the provisions of this Section shall include rules to implement this Subsection, including rules governing the priority of direct descendants with regard to applications for the military honor license plate. Until such time as the rules have been promulgated and adopted by the secretary, the surviving spouse shall, upon application, retain the military honor license plate. No more than one military honor license plate shall be issued regardless of the number of direct descendants.

Acts 2005, No. 365, §1, eff. June 30, 2005; Acts 2010, No. 208, §1.