MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES, the official text

S3362 2026 -- S 3362 ======== LC006557 ======== STATE OF RHODE ISLAND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 ____________ A N A C T RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES Introduced By: Senators Quezada, Vargas, and Acosta Date Introduced: June 05, 2026 Referred To: Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 31-3 of the General Laws entitled Registration of Vehicles is 2 hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 3 31-3-132. Special plate for the Dominican Independence and Heritage Award 4 Committee of RI. 5 (a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available 6 special motor vehicle registration plates for the not-for-profit entity, the Dominican Independence 7 and Heritage Award Committee of RI. The plates shall be designed to reference the Dominican 8 Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI. 9 (b) The special plate shall be displayed upon the same registration number assigned to the 10 vehicle for which it was issued and shall be used in place of and in the same manner as the 11 registration plates issued to the vehicle. The original registration plates for the vehicle shall be 12 removed from the vehicle and returned to the division of motor vehicles. The registration certificate 13 for the plates shall be carried in the vehicle in accordance with § 31-3-9. The registration certificate 14 shall be in effect for the special plate. 15 (c) The Dominican Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI motor vehicle 16 plates shall be the same size as regular motor vehicle plates and shall be designed by the Dominican 17 Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI in conjunction with the division of motor 18 vehicles, with the design approved by the Rhode Island state police. 19 (d) The Dominican Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI plates shall be 1 subject to compliance with § 31-3-117 relating to the number of minimum prepaid orders of plates 2 per plate type (i.e., passenger, commercial, etc.) and any required payment. The Dominican 3 Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI plates shall not be issued unless the minimum 4 order requirements are met. The initial order will be handled by the Dominican Independence and 5 Heritage Award Committee of RI and shall not be submitted to the division of motor vehicles for 6 production until the minimum order(s) have been met and the proper paperwork submitted to the 7 division. 8 (e) The administrator of motor vehicles shall develop prepayment procedures and any other 9 procedures deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. 10 (f) In addition to the regular prescribed motor vehicle registration fee, the Dominican 11 Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI plates shall be subject to a forty-dollar 12 ($40.00) issuance surcharge. 13 (g) The forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge shall be allocated as follows: twenty 14 dollars ($20.00) shall be allocated to the general fund and the remaining twenty dollars ($20.00) 15 shall be distributed annually to the Dominican Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI 16 to provide funding for the Dominican Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI. 17 (h) A ten-dollar ($10.00) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals shall be allocated 18 to the Dominican Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI. 19 (i) In consideration of the receipt of funds from the registration of the Dominican 20 Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI plates, the Dominican Independence and 21 Heritage Award Committee of RI must use any Rhode Island-sourced funds in and for the benefit 22 of Rhode Island-based charitable organizations. 23 (j) The Dominican Independence and Heritage Award Committee of RI will be required to 24 submit an annual accounting report before such monies are distributed. 25 (k) There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of the Dominican Independence and 26 Heritage Award Committee of RI plates. 27 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect six (6) months after passage. ======== LC006557 ======== LC006557 - Page 2 of 3 EXPLANATION BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF A N A C T RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES *** 1 This act would empower the division of motor vehicles to make available special motor 2 vehicle registration plates for the not-for-profit entity, the Dominican Independence and Heritage 3 Award Committee of RI. 4 This act would take effect six (6) months after passage. ======== LC006557 ======== LC006557 - Page 3 of 3