A. On receipt of an application, the Commissioner may develop and issue for any accredited institution of higher education in the Commonwealth, in accordance with policies and procedures established by the Commissioner and in accordance with an agreement between the institution and the Department, special license plates bearing the seal, symbol, emblem, or logotype of that institution of higher education.

On receipt of a minimum of 350 prepaid applications and a design therefor, the Commissioner may develop and issue special license plates bearing the seal, symbol, emblem or logotype of such institutions that are located outside Virginia, in accordance with policies and procedures established by the Commissioner and in accordance with an agreement between the institution and the Department.

For each set of license plates issued hereunder, the Commissioner shall charge, in addition to the prescribed cost of state license plates, an annual fee of $25.

B. Any institution of higher education that enters into an agreement with the Department pursuant to this section thereby waives any royalty fees to which it might otherwise be entitled for use of its seal, symbol, emblem, or logotype as provided in this section. However, any such institution located in Virginia shall annually receive an allocation of $15 for each set of license plates in excess of 1,000 registrations pursuant to the institution's agreement with the Department during the term of the agreement. The allocated funds shall be deposited by the Department into the state treasury and credited to the relevant institution to be used to support scholarships for eligible undergraduate students enrolled in the institution. Only students who (i) are bona fide domiciliaries of Virginia as defined in § 23.1-502 and (ii) are enrolled in educational programs whose primary purpose is not to provide religious training or theological education shall be eligible to receive such scholarships.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shall review and approve plans for each participating institution for the implementation of these scholarship programs. These plans shall include, but need not be limited to, criteria for the awarding of the scholarships and procedures for determining the recipients.

The provisions of subdivisions B 1 and 2 of § 46.2-725 shall not apply to license plates issued under this section for any institution of higher education in the Commonwealth. The provisions of subdivision B 1 of § 46.2-725 shall not apply to license plates issued under this section for any institution of higher education located outside Virginia.

1988, c. 656, § 46.1-105.18; 1989, c. 727; 1990, c. 319; 1995, c. 747; 1996, c. 1026; 2004, c. 747.