§ 42-3-257 — Special plates - support pollinators

(1) The department shall
issue special license plates to qualified applicants in accordance with this section
for motorcycles, passenger cars, trucks, or noncommercial or recreational motor
vehicles that do not exceed sixteen thousand pounds empty weight.

(2) (a) There is hereby established the support pollinators license plate.

(b) The department shall use a design from an organization that meets the
standards of subsection (3) of this section, but the design must conform to
department standards and be approved by the department.

(3) (a) At least once every five years, the department shall designate an
organization to qualify applicants to be issued the support pollinators license plate.
To qualify, the organization must:

(I) Be a statewide organization headquartered in Colorado;

(II) Have been in existence for at least five years;

(III) Be a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation;

(IV) Help promote the health of native pollinators, which also supports the
people of the state;

(V) Help increase native pollinator habitat, including supporting protections
for pollinator habitat and health;

(VI) Help educate the public about the value of native plants for pollinators;
and

(VII) Help fund educational programs that promote Colorado's pollinator
biodiversity.

(b) A person may apply for a support pollinators license plate if the person
pays the taxes and fees required under this section and provides to the department
or an authorized agent a certificate issued by the organization designated in
accordance with this subsection (3) confirming that the applicant has made a
donation to the organization. The organization shall use the donation to:

(I) Help promote the health of native pollinators;

(II) Help increase native pollinator habitat; and

(III) Help fund educational programs that promote Colorado's native
pollinator biodiversity.

(c) To qualify applicants to have a support pollinators license plate, the
organization designated in accordance with this subsection (3) must file with the
department an annual statement verifying that it is a nonprofit organization.

(4) The amount of the taxes and fees for special license plates under this
section is the same as the amount of the taxes and fees for regular motor vehicle
license plates; except that the department shall collect an additional one-time fee
of twenty-five dollars for issuance or replacement of the license plate. The
department shall transmit the additional one-time fee to the state treasurer, who
shall credit the fee to the highway users tax fund created in section 43-4-201.

(5) A person may apply for personalized support pollinators license plates.
Upon payment of the additional fee required by section 42-3-211 (6)(a) for
personalized license plates, the department shall issue the plates if the applicant
complies with section 42-3-211. If an applicant has existing personalized license
plates for a motor vehicle, the applicant may transfer the combination of letters or
numbers to a new set of support pollinators license plates for the vehicle upon
paying the fee required by section 42-3-211 (6)(a) and upon turning in the existing
plates to the department. A person who has obtained personalized license plates
under this subsection (5) must pay the annual fee imposed by section 42-3-211
(6)(b) for renewal of the personalized plates. The fees under this subsection (5) are
in addition to all other applicable taxes and fees.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2021: Entire section added, (HB 21-1145), ch. 286, p. 1693, � 1, effective September 7.