§ 42-3-269 — Special plates - stegosaurus state fossil

(1) On January 1, 2024,
or when the department is able to issue the plates, 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 established the stegosaurus state fossil license plate.

(b) The department shall use a design from an organization designated under
subsection (3)(a) 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 stegosaurus state fossil license
plate. The organization must:

(I) Be headquartered in Colorado;

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

(III) Be a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation;

(IV) Provide educational services about the science and history of dinosaurs,
dinosaur fossils, and related paleontology sites in Colorado;

(V) Support the stewardship and preservation of dinosaur fossils, tracks, and
other natural resources;

(VI) Manage land and paleontology sites that are registered as part of a
national natural landmark; and

(VII) Have been conducting preservation, stewardship, and management of
dinosaur fossils, dinosaur tracks, paleontology sites, and other natural resources
for at least five years.

(b) A person may apply for a stegosaurus state fossil 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 under subsection (3)(a) of this section confirming that the applicant has
made a donation to the organization. The organization may establish a minimum
donation amount to qualify for the license plate. The organization shall use each
donation to provide educational programs about dinosaurs to children, families, and
others and preserve dinosaur fossils, dinosaur tracks, and other significant
prehistoric sites in the state.

(c) To be eligible to qualify applicants for the stegosaurus state fossil
license plate, the organization designated under subsection (3)(a) of this section
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) An applicant may apply for personalized stegosaurus state fossil license
plates. Upon payment of the additional fee required by section 42-3-211 (6)(a) for
personalized license plates, the department may 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 stegosaurus state fossil 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) to renew the personalized plates. The fees under this subsection (5) are in
addition to all other applicable taxes and fees.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2023: Entire section added, (SB 23-145), ch. 238, p. 1283, � 1, effective August 7.