1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to veterans; creating two new special license 
  1.3             plates; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 
  1.4             168.123, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law 
  1.5             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 168. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 168.123, 
  1.8   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 2.  [DESIGN.] The commissioner of veterans affairs 
  1.10  shall design the special plates, subject to the approval of the 
  1.11  registrar, that satisfy the following requirements:  
  1.12     (a) For a Vietnam veteran who served after July 1, 1961, 
  1.13  and before July 1, 1978, the special plates must bear the 
  1.14  inscription "VIETNAM VET" and the letters "V" and "V" with the 
  1.15  first letter directly above the second letter and both letters 
  1.16  just preceding the first numeral of the special license plate 
  1.17  number. 
  1.18     (b) For a veteran stationed on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, 
  1.19  or offshore, during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 
  1.20  1941, the special plates must bear the inscription "PEARL HARBOR 
  1.21  SURVIVOR" and the letters "P" and "H" with the first letter 
  1.22  directly above the second letter and both letters just preceding 
  1.23  the first numeral of the special license plate number. 
  1.24     (c) For a veteran who served during World War I or World 
  1.25  War II, the special plates must bear the inscription "WORLD WAR 
  2.1   VET" and: 
  2.2      (1) for a World War I veteran, the characters "W" and "I" 
  2.3   with the first character directly above the second character and 
  2.4   both characters just preceding the first numeral of the special 
  2.5   license plate number; or 
  2.6      (2) for a World War II veteran, the characters "W" and "II" 
  2.7   with the first character directly above the second character and 
  2.8   both characters just preceding the first numeral of the special 
  2.9   license plate number. 
  2.10     (d) For a veteran who served during the Korean Conflict, 
  2.11  the special plates must bear the inscription "KOREAN VET" and 
  2.12  the letters "K" and "V" with the first letter directly above the 
  2.13  second letter and both letters just preceding the first numeral 
  2.14  of the special license plate number.  
  2.15     (e) For a combat wounded veteran who is a recipient of the 
  2.16  purple heart medal, the special plates must bear the inscription 
  2.17  "COMBAT WOUNDED VET" and inscribed with a facsimile of the 
  2.18  official purple heart medal and the letters "c" over "w" with 
  2.19  the first letter directly over the second letter just preceding 
  2.20  the first numeral of the special license plate number. 
  2.21     (f) For a Persian Gulf war veteran, the special plates must 
  2.22  bear the inscription "GULF WAR VET" and the letters "G" and "W" 
  2.23  with the first letter directly above the second letter and both 
  2.24  letters just preceding the first numeral of the special license 
  2.25  plate number.  For the purposes of this section, "Persian Gulf 
  2.26  war veteran" means a person who served on active duty after 
  2.27  August 1, 1990, in a branch of the armed forces of the United 
  2.28  States or United Nations during Operation Desert Shield, 
  2.29  Operation Desert Storm, or other military operation in the 
  2.30  Persian Gulf area combat zone as designated in United States 
  2.31  Presidential Executive Order No. 12744, dated January 21, 1991. 
  2.32     (g) For a veteran who served in the Laos War after July 1, 
  2.33  1961, and before July 1, 1978, the special plates must bear the 
  2.34  inscription "LAOS WAR VET" and the letters "L" and "V" with the 
  2.35  first letter directly above the second letter and both letters 
  2.36  just preceding the first numeral of the special license plate 
  3.1   number. 
  3.2      (h) For any other veteran, as defined in section 197.447, 
  3.3   the special plates must bear the inscription "PROUD TO BE A 
  3.4   VETERAN" on the bottom of the plate, and the flag of the United 
  3.5   States of America on the left side of the plate just preceding 
  3.6   the first letter or numeral of the special license plate 
  3.7   number.  The registrar must determine both the actual costs and 
  3.8   fees paid for the plates, and must pay the fees into the state 
  3.9   treasury to be credited as follows: 
  3.10     (1) a sum equal to the cost of the plates must be credited 
  3.11  to the highway user tax distribution fund; and 
  3.12     (2) any remainder must be credited to the World War II 
  3.13  memorial donation match account. 
  3.14     Sec. 2.  [168.1255] [SPECIAL PATRIOT LICENSE PLATES.] 
  3.15     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES.] The 
  3.16  registrar shall issue special patriot license plates to an 
  3.17  applicant who: 
  3.18     (1) is an owner or joint owner of a passenger automobile, 
  3.19  pickup truck, or van; 
  3.20     (2) pays a fee of $10 to cover the costs of handling and 
  3.21  manufacturing the plates; 
  3.22     (3) pays the registration tax required under section 
  3.23  168.013; 
  3.24     (4) pays the fees required under this chapter; and 
  3.25     (5) complies with laws and rules governing registration and 
  3.26  licensing of vehicles and drivers. 
  3.27     Subd. 2.  [DESIGN.] The special patriot plates must bear 
  3.28  the inscription "PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN" on the bottom of the 
  3.29  plate, and the flag of the United States of America on the left 
  3.30  side of the plate just preceding the first letter or numeral of 
  3.31  the special license plate number.  The special license plates 
  3.32  must be of a design and size to be determined by the registrar. 
  3.33     Subd. 3.  [PLATE TRANSFERS.] Notwithstanding section 
  3.34  168.12, subdivision 1, on payment of a transfer fee of $5, 
  3.35  plates issued under this section may be transferred to another 
  3.36  passenger automobile, pickup truck, or van owned or jointly 
  4.1   owned by the person to whom the special plates were issued. 
  4.2      Subd. 4.  [FEES CREDITED.] The registrar must determine 
  4.3   both the actual costs and fees paid for the special plates, and 
  4.4   must pay the fees into the state treasury to be credited as 
  4.5   follows: 
  4.6      (1) a sum equal to the cost of the plates must be credited 
  4.7   to the highway user tax distribution fund; and 
  4.8      (2) any remainder must be credited to the state World War 
  4.9   II memorial fund. 
  4.10     Subd. 5.  [RECORD.] The registrar shall maintain a record 
  4.11  of the number of special plates issued under this section.