(a) Except for a vehicle registered under AS 28.10.152, the department, upon registering a vehicle, shall issue the owner one fully reflectorized registration plate for a trailer or a motorcycle and two fully reflectorized registration plates for every other vehicle. Except as specifically provided in AS 28.10.181, the plate or plates must remain with the vehicle as long as the vehicle is subject to registration under this chapter.

(b) Every passenger vehicle registration plate, except as specifically provided in AS 28.10.181, shall have displayed on it

(1) one of the following designs:

(A) the Alaska flag design, consisting of the Alaska flag, the traditional colors of yellow-gold and blue, and the slogan “The Last Frontier”;

(B) the bear design, consisting of a standing grizzly bear in the center of the plate; the bear design shall be modeled after the 1976 bicentennial plate without the bicentennial symbol; or

(C) the design celebrating the arts chosen by the commissioner through consultation with the Alaska State Council on the Arts; the commissioner shall choose a new design for the plates celebrating the arts every four years and discontinue issuance of the previous design;

(2) the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is issued;

(3) the name of this state, which may be abbreviated; and

(4) the registration year number or expiration date for which time it is validated; the registration year number or expiration date may be part of the license plate or contained on a suitable sticker or tab device issued by the department; however, only one sticker or tab device may be issued for each pair of plates, and the sticker or tab device must be affixed to the rear plate.

(c) The department may not adopt a new or altered passenger vehicle registration plate, except as specifically provided in AS 28.10.181, unless it substantially embodies the specifications of this section.

(d) The department shall produce registration plates in both of the designs described in (b)(1) of this section. Upon registering a passenger vehicle, the owner shall select the plate design described in (b)(1) of this section that is to be issued by the department for the vehicle.