(a)

(1)

(A) Upon the sworn statement from the head of any department of state government or the county mayor of any county, or the mayor or other executive head of any town or city, or upon certification of authorized officials of the United States government, or upon the sworn statement from the chief of any private or volunteer fire department, that the motor vehicle for which application is being made for registration is owned or leased by the state, the county, municipality, United States government, or the private or volunteer fire department, and operated exclusively for essential governmental purposes or exclusively for fire protection purposes, the department, through the county clerk or as otherwise provided hereinafter, shall register the vehicles and issue registration plates upon the payment of one dollar and twenty-five cents ($1.25).

(B) In addition to the governmental entities listed in subdivision (a)(1)(A), senior citizens service centers which meet the standards set by the commission on aging and disability for eligibility to receive state funds may also apply for government service plates under this section for vans owned by the centers and used exclusively for the centers' activities.

(C) In addition to the governmental entities listed in subdivisions (a)(1)(A) and (B), human resource agencies created pursuant to § 13-26-102 and development districts as created pursuant to § 13-14-102 may also apply for government service plates under this section for vans owned by such human resource agencies and development districts and used exclusively for agencies' and districts' activities.

(D) In addition to the governmental entities listed in subdivisions (a)(1)(A) and (B), community action agencies may also apply for government service plates under this section for vans owned by such community action agencies and used exclusively for agencies' activities.

(2) The county clerk shall have a right to collect the fee for registration as hereinafter provided.

(3) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate this section.

(4) Registration certificates and plates shall be valid for the motor vehicles until the transfer of ownership or the destruction of the motor vehicles at which time the registration shall expire. Upon the expiration of any such registration, the registration certificates and plates shall be returned to the department.

(5) Upon proper application through the county clerk, the registration plates may be transferred to another motor vehicle acquired by the owner to whom the registration certificates and plates were previously issued upon the payment of one dollar ($1.00) plus the county clerk's fee, except that application from the head of any department of state government may be made directly to the department of revenue.

(6) All registration plates issued to state departmental agencies shall be of a distinctive design as approved by the commissioner and shall not display the year of issuance. All registration plates issued to governmental agencies, other than the state, shall be of a distinctive design and shall have conspicuously inscribed, stamped or printed thereon so as to be easily seen and read the words “Govt. Service” or “Govt. Ser.” All registration plates issued to private or volunteer fire departments shall be of a distinctive design.

(b) The exemption conferred by this section shall apply only to motor vehicles owned or leased and operated by governmental units or private or volunteer fire department units exclusively for governmental and fire protection purposes and shall not apply to motor vehicles operated by governmental units as bailee.

(c)

(1) “Essential government purposes” includes the operation of local transit service by independent contractors operating a local transit company.

(2) As used in this subsection (c):

(A) “Local transit company” means a person, firm, partnership or corporation, engaged in furnishing, and at least sixty percent (60%) of the total passenger fare revenue of which shall be derived from, scheduled common carrier public passenger land transportation service along the regular routes within a municipality and the territory adjacent thereto, or within a metropolitan government created under title 7, chapters 1-3, the operation of which is supervised, regulated and controlled as a street railway company, under § 65-16-101 [repealed] and all other legislative and statutory provisions applicable thereto; and

(B) “Local transit service” means scheduled common carrier public passenger land transportation service furnished by a local transit company within the territorial limits of the regulatory jurisdiction of the municipality or metropolitan government that is authorized to supervise, regulate and control the operations of such company, under § 65-16-101 [repealed], and all other legislative and statutory provisions applicable thereto.

(d) Upon the further certification of the person authorized by this section to apply for registration that issuance of plates has been requested for vehicles assigned for use in the investigation of actual or suspected violations of the law, the department may issue plates or authorize issuance thereof from the regular series used for non-tax-exempt vehicles. The registrar of motor vehicles, with the approval of the attorney general and reporter, may enter into agreements with the proper officials of other states for the exchange of plates for the purposes provided in this section.