Providing special-rate license plates to armed service members who served during the Cold War may put too much strain on state coffers, the Senate Transportation Committee decided today. The bill that would have made the change, sponsored by Sen. Johnny Key, got a motion but lacked a second.
Though committee members made a point to articulate their support for veterans, the possible $4.9 million cost of implementing the measure was deemed too much to pay.
The measure would apply to anyone who served in the U.S. armed forces from 1945 to 1991. According to Mike Munns, Assistant Commissioner of Revenue at DFA, 223,000 Arkansans could be eligible for the special plate and reduced rate that comes with it. Full participation would cost the state $4.9 million in highway department revenues.
The bill requires that veterans acquire a special certificate from the Department of Defense in order to be eligible. Sen. Key argued that, since not everyone will go to the trouble of getting the certificate, the actual cost of the special plates would be less than $4.9 million. But he acknowledged that the potential price tag is high before the voice vote.
The Legislative Beat 