HB 0721

This bill establishes a marine preservation number plate to benefit fisheries habitat programs.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Fisheries Habitat Account; Deposit of Marine Preservation Number Plate Funds. Amend RSA 214:1-g, II to read as follows:

II. The state treasurer shall establish a separate nonlapsing account within the fish and game fund, to be known as the fisheries habitat account, to which shall be credited all fees collected under RSA 214:1-g, I and revenue generated from marine preservation number plates issued under RSA 261:97-g. The state treasurer may accept public and private grants and donations for deposit into the account.

2 New Subdivision; Marine Preservation Number Plates. Amend RSA 261 by inserting after section 97-f the following new subdivision:

I. The director is hereby authorized to issue special marine preservation number plates, in lieu of other number plates. The design of these special plates shall be determined as provided in RSA 261:97-h. The plates shall retain the "live free or die" logo. Such plates shall be issued only upon application and upon payment of a $30 fee that shall be in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fee and any other number plate fees otherwise required.

II. The commissioner is also authorized to issue vanity marine preservation number plates. The fee for any such vanity marine preservation number plate shall be the fee as provided in RSA 261:97-g, in addition to the fees for vanity plates which are otherwise established by law. The vanity plate portion of the fee shall be distributed as provided in RSA 261:89 and RSA 263:52.

III. Plates shall be renewed on an annual basis for $30 per set. Of this sum, the department shall retain an amount as is necessary to recover production and administrative costs as approved by the fiscal committee of the general court. The remaining funds shall be paid to the state treasurer and deposited in the fisheries habitat account established in RSA 214:1-g, II. The cost of replacement number plates shall be identical to the cost of initial number plates and the revenue from replacement number plates shall be distributed in the same manner as revenue derived from initial number plates.

261:97-h New Hampshire Marine Preservation Number Plate Advisory Committee; Duties; Meetings.

I. A New Hampshire marine preservation number plate advisory committee is hereby established. The marine preservation number plate advisory committee shall be composed of the following:

(f) Three house members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(a) Jointly determine the plate design with final approval by the commissioner of safety. The commissioner of safety shall establish a numbering system and method of distribution.

(b) Register the design with the secretary of state. The commissioner of safety, with the approval of the governor and council, shall have the authority to enter into contractual arrangements for the commercial use of the marine preservation number plate design. Any royalties derived from such contracts shall be deposited into the fisheries habitat account established in RSA 214:1-g, II.

(c) Monitor the implementation of the program through an annual evaluation of projects accomplished during the preceding year and an assessment, prior to implementation, of projects proposed for the coming year to ensure that they are in accordance with legislative intent.

(d) Oversee the appropriate signage of funded projects. The fish and game department under this section shall mount signs at funded project sites indicating that the project was funded by the New Hampshire marine preservation number plate program. The sign requirement may be waived in the case of environmentally sensitive projects where signage could be detrimental to the success of the project.

IV. The committee shall meet at least annually, but more often if necessary. The members shall serve without compensation, except that legislative members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate. The committee chairperson shall appoint a secretary from within the committee to keep a detailed record of all proceedings.

VI. All proceeds from the sale of products using the marine preservation number plate design by the fish and game department may be retained by the fish and game department.

VII. It shall be the duty of legislative members of the committee to initiate appropriate legislation to ensure that the purposes and goals of the marine preservation number plate program are being achieved.

261:97-i Plate Use. Plates may be used on passenger motor vehicles and recreation vehicles.

I. The commissioner of safety and the executive director of fish and game shall jointly submit a report to the New Hampshire marine preservation number plate advisory committee chairperson no later than October 1 of each year. The committee chairperson shall submit the report to the governor, senate president, and the speaker of the house of representatives no later than December 31 of each year.

(1) The total number of marine preservation number plates sold during the preceding year, including the number of initial plates and the number of renewals.

(2) The gross revenue derived from the sale of marine preservation number plates.

(3) The amount retained by the department of safety to cover administrative costs of the program.

(4) The amount paid to the state treasurer for deposit into the fisheries habitat account during the preceding fiscal year.

(2) Accomplishments achieved with the funds expended during the preceding fiscal year.

(3) An outline of the projects and programs to be conducted in the ensuing fiscal year with proceeds from the program.

The Department of Safety has determined state restricted revenue will increase by $150,000 in FY 2004 and each year thereafter. State restricted expenditures will increase by $97,500 in FY 2004. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local revenue or expenditures.

The Department of Safety stated this bill will establish special marine preservation number plates. The annual fee will be $30, in addition to the normal registration and plate fees already established. Although the number of individuals who will choose to purchase these plates is unknown, the Department will use for this purpose the minimum number of plates for any new issue of 5,000 pairs. The Department estimates that the minimum startup cost for any new plate issue is $30,000 for various items, such as computer time, planning time, artist fees, special printing, handling, and accounting. In addition, the cost to manufacture the minimum issue of 5,000 pairs of plates is approximately $67,500, for a total minimum cost of $97,500. If only these plates will be issued and renewed, then additional manufacturing costs will only occur in the first year. Future years will show only additional revenue from renewals. The Department calculated annual restricted revenue of $150,000 ($30 x 5,000 plates) beginning in FY 2004.