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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
sorority and fraternity special plates
(NOW: license plates; special plates)
Purpose
Establishes a divine nine special plate and the Divine Nine Special Plate Fund (Fund). Establishes the Sun City Solar-Powered Personal Rapid Transit System Study (Transit Study) and transfers the $850,000 FY 2024 appropriation to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to contract with a third party to conduct the Transit Study, as prescribed.
Background
ADOT Motor Vehicle Division provides one license plate to every motor vehicle owner for each vehicle registered (A.R.S. § 28-2351). ADOT is required to issue or renew special plates in lieu of regular license plates under specified conditions and procedures (A.R.S. § 28-2403). The fee for obtaining or renewing a special plate is $25 (A.R.S. § 28-2402). Of the $25 fee, $8 is an administration fee that ADOT deposits in the State Highway Fund (SHF) and $17 is a donation.
S.B. 1594 transfers the $850,000 FY 2024 appropriation for a Sun City Transportation Project Study to ADOT to contract with a third party to conduct a Transit Study.
Provisions
Divine Nine Special Plate
1. Requires ADOT to issue a divine nine special plate if, by December 31, 2023, a person pays the $32,000 implementation fee.
2. Requires the person that pays the implementation fee to design the divine nine special plate.
3. Subjects the design and color of the divine nine special plate to the approval of ADOT.
4. Allows the name of a specific sorority or fraternity that is authorized for the divine nine special plate to be displayed along the bottom of the special plate, as approved by ADOT.
5. Allows the Director of ADOT (Director) to combine a request for a divine nine special plate with a request for a personalized special plate.
6. Specifies that a combined request must be submitted in a form prescribed by the Director and is subject to the fees for both the divine nine special plate and personalized special plate.
7. Specifies that, of the $25 fee required to obtain or renew a divine nine special plate, $8 is an administration fee and $17 is an annual donation.
8. Establishes the Fund which is to be administered by the Director.
9. Requires ADOT to deposit all special plate administration fees in the SHF and transmit divine nine special plate donations to the Fund.
10. Requires the Director to annually allocate Fund monies to the entity that paid the implementation fee.
11. Requires the entity to have been founded in 2018 and have a mission to:
a) foster cooperative actions of its members in dealing with matters of mutual concern;
b) promote the wellbeing of affiliate sororities and fraternities;
c) facilitate the establishment and development of local councils;
d) provide leadership training for constituents; and
e) educate citizens and communities in Arizona in the interest of the general public through community education, literature and broadcast information with respect to:
i. government issues about methodologies and strategies to improve, maintain and promote the needs and knowledge of Arizona residents; and
ii. economic development, public safety and access to educational opportunities so that Arizona residents can serve for the protection, conservation and preservation of their human and natural environment in and around the state.
12. Requires, on notice from the Director, the State Treasurer to invest and divest Fund monies and credit monies earned to the Fund.
13. Specifies that Fund monies are continuously appropriated.
Transit Study
14. Appropriates $850,000 from the state General Fund (state GF) in FY 2024 to ADOT to contract with a third party to conduct the Transit Study.
15. Amends Laws 2023, Chapter 133 to remove the $850,000 appropriation from the state GF in FY 2024 to the State Treasurer for distribution to the Maricopa Association of Governments for a Sun City Transportation Project Study.
16. Requires the third party to consist of persons who have successfully:
a) designed and implemented a personalized public transit system and whose skills, either directly or through limited subcontracting, cover the technical areas of solar power, electrical, mechanical, software, systems, test and safety engineering for the specified scope of the Transit Study; and
b) managed companies, who have direct experience designing and planning large-scale projects greater than $250,000,000 and who have direct experience building projects of the anticipated scale and cost of a solar-powered personal rapid transit system in Sun City.
17. Requires the Transit Study to:
a) include a survey the Sun City community and relevant people within the community and local government agencies and develop a clear set of needs of the community and agencies;
b) include a design for a solar-powered personal rapid transit system in Sun City that consists of small driverless vehicles traveling on an elevated guideway providing on-demand, origin-to-destination travel between accessible offline stations; and
c) state how the study's findings for the Sun City community apply to other cities, towns and counties in Arizona.
18. Stipulates that:
a) all transit power from the system must be derived from solar power; and
b) the design must be eligible for funding by private persons or public-private partnerships.
19. Repeals the Transit Study on October 1, 2024.
20. Exempts the appropriation from lapsing.
Miscellaneous
21. Makes conforming and technical changes.
22. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
· Requires the person that pays the implementation fee to design the special plate, subject to the approval of ADOT.
Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives
1. Renames, as the divine nine special plate and Fund, the sorority and fraternity special plate and Sorority and Fraternity Special Plate Fund.
2. Allows the name of an authorized sorority or fraternity to be displayed along the bottom of a divine nine special plate, rather than requiring ADOT to design a different logo for each individual sorority and fraternity in existence.
3. Transfers the $850,000 FY 2024 appropriation to ADOT to contract with a third party to conduct a Transit Study.
4. Outlines requirements for the contracted third party and the Transit Study.
5. Repeals the Transit Study on October 1, 2024.
6. Exempts the appropriation from lapsing.
7. Makes conforming and technical changes.
Senate Action House Action
TAT 2/13/23 DPA 5-2-0 TI 3/29/23 DPA 10-1-0-0
3rd Read 3/1/23 26-2-2 3rd Read 6/12/23 10-50-0
3rd Read* 6/13/23 44-14-2
*On reconsideration
Prepared by Senate Research
June 13, 2023
KJA/sr