La. R.S. 47:463.31 — Special college and university license plates

A. Upon the request of any public college or university in Louisiana or any other
institution pursuant to Subsection H of this Section, the secretary of the Department of Public
Safety and Corrections shall establish special prestige motor vehicle license plates for such
institution. The license plates shall be restricted to passenger cars, pick-up trucks, vans, and
recreational vehicles. The license plate shall be of a color and design selected by the
institution requesting issuance of the prestige plate and shall bear the name of the institution.
No institution shall request any change to the design or color of the license plates within a
five-year period from the date of acceptance of a specific color and design.
B.(1) The prestige license plates shall be issued, upon application, to any citizen of
Louisiana in the same manner as any other motor vehicle license plate. The applicant shall
designate his institutional preference.
(2) Application for college or university special prestige license plate constitutes
prior written consent and instruction by the applicant to the department to provide his name,
address, and birth date to the university designated by the applicant. The secretary shall
ensure that the application for the plate includes a statement granting such consent.
C. An annual fee of fifty-one dollars shall be paid to the institution for each license
plate issued as provided in this Section.
D. The tax for the plate shall be the standard motor vehicle license tax imposed by
Louisiana Constitution Article VII, Section 5.
E. The department shall collect the annual fee required by Subsection C of this
Section for each license plate. The department shall retain one dollar from each annual fee
to offset administrative costs. The remainder of the fee shall be forwarded to the specific
institution for which such license plate is designated. The amount forwarded to the
designated institution shall be deemed to be a charitable donation to that institution by the
applicant.
F. The secretary shall establish such rules and regulations as are necessary to
implement the provisions of this Section, including but not limited to rules and regulations
governing the collection and disbursement of fees, the transfer and disposition of such
license plates, the colors available, and the design criteria.
G.(1) The monies received from the fees by each respective institution shall be used
solely for academic or financial need-based scholarships for that participating institution.
(2)(a) The management board of each participating institution shall be responsible
for disbursing the funds and for establishing the scholarship program.
(b) The president or chancellor of each university, or his designee, shall be
responsible for establishing the procedures and criteria for awarding scholarships under this
program.
H. Upon the signing of a contract authorizing the use of the logo of any regionally
accredited independent college or university, the secretary of the Department of Public Safety
and Corrections shall establish prestige motor vehicle license plates for that college or
university in accordance with the provisions of this Section. This contract shall include an
agreement on the part of each institution to use the fees as provided in Subsection G of this
Section.
I. The special license plates authorized by this Section shall not be subject to the
design requirements provided for by R.S. 47:463(A)(3).
J. In the event the motor vehicle registration system of the office of motor vehicles
is re-engineered, or other technology is otherwise made available to the office of motor
vehicles, that would allow for the issuance of personalized special college and university
license plates by the office of motor vehicles, then upon the promulgation of rules by the
department providing for issuance of a personalized prestige plate under the provisions of
this Section, an applicant may request such plate at no additional cost to the applicant above
the annual fee as provided in this Section and the annual vehicle registration license tax as
provided in R.S. 47:451 et seq.
Acts 1991, No. 1015, §1; Acts 1992, No. 339, §1, eff. June 17, 1992; Acts 1992, No.
1107, §1, eff. July 14, 1992; Acts 2008, No. 378, §1; Acts 2016, No. 660, §1.