§ 31-3-62. National guard plates. (a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered and authorized to make available to all active and retired members of the Rhode Island army and air national guard a special motor vehicle registration plate for any motor vehicle eligible for registration as an automobile or a commercial vehicle having a gross weight of eight thousand-five hundred pounds (8,500 lbs.) or less.

(b) The special motor vehicle registration plate shall carry on it the designation "National Guard" and shall also carry on it an emblem on the left-hand side of the plate to be designed and provided by the office of the adjutant general, with the numerals to the right of it.

(c) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall issue the plate upon the payment of a service charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) and a transfer charge of five dollars ($5.00) for the plate. All revenues shall be deposited as general revenues.

(d) For the purposes of this section an active or retired member of the Rhode Island army and air national guard shall be defined as any person certified by the adjutant general as currently serving or having retired under honorable conditions in either the Rhode Island army or air national guard.

(e) In a state of emergency, any active member of the army or air national guard driving a vehicle bearing the special motor vehicle registration plate shall be authorized and empowered to travel upon the highways of the state notwithstanding any driving ban imposed by any state or municipal authority.

History of Section. (P.L. 1992, ch. 143, § 1; P.L. 1993, ch. 97, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 370, art. 40, § 101; P.L. 2003, ch. 130, § 1; P.L. 2003, ch. 144, § 1.)