A.G. Gancarski
New license plates may be coming to Florida’s selection of specialty tags, along with new rules to govern their administration.
The Florida Senate approved on Tuesday SB 364, this year’s vehicle for changes in Florida’s ever-evolving specialty license plate program.
This bill, sponsored by Sen. Aaron Bean, would begin the development process for Inter Miami CF, Safe Haven for Newborns, Pap Corps Champions for Cancer Research, Learn to Fly, Florida Swims, Ethical Ecotourism, Down Syndrome Awareness and Gopher Tortoise license plates.
Bean, presiding over the Senate, thought it “awkward” to present the “Bean bill,” so Sen. Keith Perry did the honors … with a Bean impression he auditioned during a recent committee meeting where the Gainesville Republican pinch hit for Bean.
The Bean bill also proposes a relaxation of rules around these license plates, which saw their promotion crimped during the extraordinary time that was the pandemic, as Perry asserted.
“COVID,” said Perry in Bean’s accent and stead, “the gift that keeps on giving.”
At the end of Perry’s presentation, Bean got in the last joke, asking if he “really sounds like that.”
“I think we’ve had enough,” Bean said, waiving close for Perry ahead of a 39-0 vote.
SB 364 would cut the number of necessary pledges from 3,000 to 2,500 for all plates. The bill also resets the 24-month clock on how long organizations have to reach that number.
Of the 60 plates authorized recently, 33 haven’t met the sales threshold, which they must meet in order to be printed.
