Jacob Ogles
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels may soon brighten both the nation’s skies and the back of Florida cars.
State Sen. Doug Broxson filed legislation (SB 1686) to make a specialty license plate for the beloved flyers.
The U.S. Navy flight demonstration team operates in Pensacola but performs air shows across the country. Pilots plan shows in Key West and Lakeland within the next six weeks.
Staff at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will actually design the license plate. The only requirements are for the words “Florida” at the top and “Home of the Blue Angels” on the bottom.
As with all specialty plates in Florida, the state will charge a special annual user fee to use the plate, with funding directed to supporting the featured cause.
In this case, that means sending money to the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.
Funding can be used for maintenance, programming and marketing for the foundation. The group serves both the National Naval Aviation Museum and the National Flight Academy in Pensacola.
The foundation can use up to 15 percent of funding to market the new license plate itself and for administrative costs associated with the program.
If lawmakers pass the Pensacola Republican’s bill and the governor signs it into law, a new plate will debut in October.
The DHSMV reports that in February, there were 1,577,103 specialty plates active in the state of Florida.
The state already boasts more than 120 different specialty plates supporting a range of causes. Those include universities, professional sports teams and every branch of the U.S. military. They also include such causes as ending cancer, researching autism treatment and getting more people to play tennis.
The Blue Angels shows serve a mission of promoting the pride and professionalism of the Navy and Marine Corps. The organization says its shows inspire a culture of excellence and service to country.
