SB261 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Harri Anne Smith

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Motor vehicles, state, county, municipal, and volunteer fire departments, license tags, fees to be set by Revenue Department, issuance fee, replacement tags, transfers, Revenue Department to retain fees, Sec. 40-12-250 am'd.

Summary

The bill would have Department of Revenue set and cap government and volunteer fire department license plate fees to standard passenger plate fees, with issuance, transfer, replacement rules, and revenue retained by Revenue.

What This Bill Does

It changes who sets the fees for governmental and volunteer fire department plates to the Department of Revenue and caps those fees to the standard passenger plate fees. It adds an issuance fee charged at issuance or transfer, allows plates to be transferred under certain conditions, and provides for plate replacements with a replacement fee. It requires that all fees collected for these plates are kept by the Department of Revenue to cover administrative costs, and it includes provisions for permanent plates on federally loaned vehicles and for volunteer departments with fees based on production costs. The changes would take effect January 1, 2011.

Who It Affects

• Governmental entities (state, counties, municipalities) and volunteer fire departments that own or operate vehicles and would use government/volunteer license plates, with new fee structures and administration rules.
• The Alabama Department of Revenue (and, to some extent, the Legislative Council for fee approval), which would determine, collect, and retain the fees and administer the program.

Key Provisions

• Registration fees for governmental and volunteer fire department license plates would be determined by the Department of Revenue and may not exceed the standard passenger plate fees (as defined in 40-12-242 and 40-12-273).
• An issuance fee, equal to the amount in 40-12-271, would be collected at the time of issuance or transfer of these plates.
• Governmental and volunteer fire department plates may be transferred to another vehicle under certain conditions and there are provisions for plate replacement with an associated replacement fee.
• All fees related to these plates would be retained by the Department of Revenue to cover administrative costs of administering the law.
• The act provides for permanent license plates for vehicles owned by the United States or loaned to the state/ counties/ municipalities or public agencies (including volunteer fire departments) with fees equal to the actual cost of producing and issuing each plate, and rules for transferring such plates to other federally loaned vehicles.
• Permanent plates for volunteer fire departments may be issued, indicating ownership by the volunteer department and applicable registration numbers, with administration rules to implement this.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Motor Vehicles