(1) Beginning with any registration year commencing on or after July 1, 2011, any legal resident of the State of Mississippi who is a recipient of the Silver Star is privileged to obtain one (1) motor vehicle license plate or tag on an annual basis in his county of legal residence. The registration year of such motor vehicle shall commence the first day of the month in which application for registration is made, as provided in Section 27-19-31.

(2) This section pertains only to tags or plates for private passenger motor vehicles or pickup trucks.

(3) Proof of ownership of the particular motor vehicle for which a license plate or tag is requested and proof that the owner thereof is a recipient of the Silver Star must be shown at the time of application for such plate or tag. A certificate from the State Veterans Affairs Board stating that the individual is a recipient of the Silver Star shall be sufficient proof.

(4) Vehicles owned by a recipient of the Silver Star, or the unremarried surviving spouse of any such person, for which a distinctive license tag or plate is issued under this section are exempt from all motor vehicle registration fees and privilege taxes.

(5) The Department of Revenue is directed to furnish to the tax collector of each county a sufficient number of distinctive motor vehicle license plates or tags which shall be of such color and design as the Department of Revenue shall prescribe subject to the approval of the Mississippi License Tag Commission and in accordance with the provisions of Section 27-19-41. However, such distinctive plates or tags shall bear and include the words “Silver Star.”

(6) A license plate or tag issued under this section shall not be transferable to any other person; however, the surviving spouse of a deceased person who was issued a license plate or tag under this section shall be entitled to apply for or retain a license plate or tag issued under this section and may continue annually to renew registration for one (1) motor vehicle license plate or tag under this section for as long as the spouse remains unremarried. At the time of application or renewal registration, a surviving spouse who desires to retain the distinctive plate or tag issued under this section shall file with the county tax collector a sworn statement that the spouse is unremarried.

(7) Any person evading or violating any of the provisions of this section, or attempting to secure benefits under this section to which he is not entitled, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than six (6) months, or both.