the whole license plate thing
For those who aren't aware, there's a pro-life license plate available in Massachusetts now. It's been the talk of a lot of debate, and I just looked up the laws surrounding special license plate requests, and wanted to make sure the information was spread.
The law is here: http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section2F -- I shall summarize:
(a) If you can gather $100,000 and 1,500 people to both sign (with full name, address, and phone number) and to pay $40 each to pre-order a special license plate, you can get a special plate made in Massachusetts. You submit a design to the registrar, and they have 90 days to approve it and make you a design. There is no option written in the law for the registrar to refuse any submission; the wording is, "The registrar shall approve..." (emphasis mine.)
(b) 3,000 plates will be made in the first two years. If you manage to get 3,000 people to buy the plates, you get your $100,000 back. If not, it will be used to pay for the plates already ordered.
(c) There's a bunch of charities the government likes for these plates. (Honestly, I can't figure out what this section is for. Maybe one of you lawyer-y types can clarify.)
(d) I'll reprint this one in total, adding emphasis: "(d) The registrar shall design, produce, issue and regulate the use of distinctive registration plates proposed by any agency, charity or nonprofit organization that has satisfactorily complied with the conditions and requirements set forth in subsection (a)." If you do the things in step a, you get a plate. End of discussion. No matter the subject.
So. Yeah. There are plates out there now that express an idea that misquemes me. That sucks. But this law also means that 1,499 friends and I can get together money and order a plate that says something I like but someone else dislikes, maybe even something someone else finds offensive. I like keeping that option available. That's what living in a free society is all about.
What REALLY sucks is that this law isn't obvious, and there will be people who think the RMV and therefore the state government itself is promoting the Pro-Life movement. I don't know what to do about that part.
Apologies if I've made any really glaring errors here. It's 2am, and I should really be going to bed.
The law is here: http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90/Section2F -- I shall summarize:
(a) If you can gather $100,000 and 1,500 people to both sign (with full name, address, and phone number) and to pay $40 each to pre-order a special license plate, you can get a special plate made in Massachusetts. You submit a design to the registrar, and they have 90 days to approve it and make you a design. There is no option written in the law for the registrar to refuse any submission; the wording is, "The registrar shall approve..." (emphasis mine.)
(b) 3,000 plates will be made in the first two years. If you manage to get 3,000 people to buy the plates, you get your $100,000 back. If not, it will be used to pay for the plates already ordered.
(c) There's a bunch of charities the government likes for these plates. (Honestly, I can't figure out what this section is for. Maybe one of you lawyer-y types can clarify.)
(d) I'll reprint this one in total, adding emphasis: "(d) The registrar shall design, produce, issue and regulate the use of distinctive registration plates proposed by any agency, charity or nonprofit organization that has satisfactorily complied with the conditions and requirements set forth in subsection (a)." If you do the things in step a, you get a plate. End of discussion. No matter the subject.
So. Yeah. There are plates out there now that express an idea that misquemes me. That sucks. But this law also means that 1,499 friends and I can get together money and order a plate that says something I like but someone else dislikes, maybe even something someone else finds offensive. I like keeping that option available. That's what living in a free society is all about.
What REALLY sucks is that this law isn't obvious, and there will be people who think the RMV and therefore the state government itself is promoting the Pro-Life movement. I don't know what to do about that part.
Apologies if I've made any really glaring errors here. It's 2am, and I should really be going to bed.