Dennis Baxley files Senate bill for Ronald Reagan specialty license plate

A Republican State Senator is proposing that former President Ronald Reagan be honored with his own Florida specialty license plate.

On Friday, Sen. Dennis Baxley of Ocala filed bill SB 284 for the upcoming Legislative Session, which begins March 7. If approved, the bill will take effect Oct. 1, and a portion of the proceeds will be used to fund educational programs about the late leader.

“The word ‘Florida’ must appear at the top of the plate, and the words ‘President Ronald Reagan’ must appear at the bottom of the plate,” the bill says.

Florida drivers wanting the license plate would pay $25 in fees, with as much as 25 percent to be used for administrative, promotion and marketing costs.

Language of the bill requires as much as 10 percent of the revenue go to the Florida National Guard Foundation, and the remainder to be used for “activities, programs, and projects that educate Florida’s students and residents about the contributions of the nation’s 40th president to the state and the United States and to support ongoing research of Alzheimer’s disease for the benefit of Florida residents and their families who suffer from the disease.”

After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a decade earlier, Reagan died in 2004.