§ 31-3-114. Special plate for the Rhode Island Agricultural Council. (a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available special motor vehicle registration plates for the Rhode Island Agricultural Council. The plates shall be designed to reference Rhode Island agriculture and shall feature a barn and silo.

(b) The special plate shall be displayed upon the same registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it was issued and shall be used in place of, and in the same manner as, the registration plates issued to the vehicle. The original registration plates for the vehicle shall be removed from the vehicle and returned to the division of motor vehicles. The registration certificate for the plates shall be carried in the vehicle in accordance with § 31-3-9. The registration certificate shall be in effect for the special plate.

(c) The Rhode Island Agricultural Council motor vehicle plates shall be the same size as regular motor vehicle plates and shall be designed by the Rhode Island Agricultural Council, in conjunction with the division of motor vehicles, with design approval by the Rhode Island state police.

(d) The Rhode Island Agricultural Council plates shall be subject to a minimum prepaid order of at least nine hundred (900) sets of plates per plate type (i.e. passenger, commercial, etc.). The Rhode Island Agricultural Council plates shall not be issued unless the minimum order(s) requirements are met. The initial order will be handled by the Rhode Island Agricultural Council and shall not be submitted to the division of motor vehicles for production until the minimum order(s) have been met and the proper paperwork submitted to the division.

(e) The administrator of motor vehicles shall develop prepayment procedures and any other procedures deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

(f) In addition to the regular prescribed motor vehicle registration fee, the Rhode Island Agricultural Council plates shall be subject to a forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge.

(g) The forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge shall be allocated as follows: Twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be allocated to the general fund and the remaining twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be distributed annually to the Rhode Island Agricultural Council in furtherance of its mission to stimulate development of an interest in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and allied interests; create an interest in rural life and the improvement of the rural community in Rhode Island; effect a close relationship between representatives of agriculture with its allied interests and with commerce and industry; develop and carry out a complete program for efficient production and economical distribution of farm products in Rhode Island; and coordinate all agencies interested in the welfare of agriculture in Rhode Island into one association from which unified efforts toward education, legislation, and representation of agricultural interests of the state may emanate.

(h) A ten-dollar ($10.00) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals shall be allocated to the Rhode Island Agricultural Council.

(i) In consideration of the receipt of funds from the registration of the Rhode Island Agricultural Council license plate, the council must use any Rhode Island sourced funds in, and for the benefit of, Rhode Island-based charitable organizations.

(j) The Rhode Island Agricultural Council shall be required to submit an annual accounting report before such monies are distributed.

(k) There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of the Rhode Island Agricultural Council plates.

History of Section. (P.L. 2017, ch. 393, § 1.)