§ 31-3-116. Special plate for the Ocean State Animal Coalition. (a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available a special motor vehicle registration plate for the Ocean State Animal Coalition.

(b) The special plate shall be displayed upon the same registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it was issued, and shall be used in place of, and in the same manner, as the registration plates issued to the vehicle. The original registration plates for the vehicle shall be removed from the vehicle and returned to the division of motor vehicles. The registration certificate for the plates shall be carried in the vehicle, in accordance with § 31-3-9. The registration certificate shall be in effect for the special plate.

(c) The Ocean State Animal Coalition motor vehicle plates shall be the same size as regular motor vehicle plates and shall be designed in conjunction with the division of motor vehicles with the design approved by the Rhode Island state police.

(d) The Ocean State Animal Coalition motor vehicle plates shall be subject to a minimum pre-paid order of at least nine hundred (900) sets of plates per plate type. The Ocean State Animal Coalition plates shall not be issued unless the minimum order requirements are met. The initial order shall be handled by the Ocean State Animal Coalition and shall not be submitted to the division of motor vehicles for production until the minimum order(s) have been met and the proper paperwork submitted to the division.

(e) The administrator shall develop prepayment procedures and any other procedures deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

(f) In addition to the regular prescribed motor vehicle registration fee, the Ocean State Animal Coalition motor vehicle plates shall be subject to a forty-dollar ($40) issuance surcharge.

(g) The forty-dollar issuance ($40) surcharge shall be allocated as follows: twenty dollars ($20) shall be allocated to the general fund, and the remaining twenty dollars ($20) shall be distributed annually to the Ocean State Animal Coalition in furtherance of its mission to improve the status and well-being of animals in Rhode Island, including subsidizing spay and neuter services for cats and dogs.

(h) The Ocean State Animal Coalition shall distribute the funds it receives as referenced in subsection (g) of this section to Rhode Island-based municipal animal shelters and other humane organizations pursuant to procedures developed in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.

(i) The Ocean State Animal Coalition shall be required to submit an annual accounting report before such monies are distributed.

(j) A ten-dollar ($10) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals shall be allocated to the Ocean State Animal Coalition.

(k) There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of Ocean State Animal Coalition motor vehicle plates.

History of Section. (P.L. 2017, ch. 408, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 417, § 1.)