House Bill 1157 authorizes the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles to create and issue a new Red Wolf special registration plate. The plate would feature the words “Red Wolf” and an image of a red wolf, and it would be available to registered motor vehicle owners as a special plate option. The bill also sets the additional plate fee at $30 and directs how those proceeds are to be split, with a portion retained in the Special Registration Plate Account and the remainder credited to the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account.
The bill further directs that money derived from Red Wolf plate sales in the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account be transferred quarterly to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for red wolf conservation, management, research, monitoring, and habitat preservation and restoration. In addition, the bill appropriates $15,000 from the Highway Fund to the Division of Motor Vehicles for development and initial issuance costs, and $50,000 from the General Fund to North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine for promotion and public awareness of the plate. It also requires NC State to actively promote the plate on campus and report on its outreach efforts and plate issuance numbers by September 1, 2027.
HB1157 would amend North Carolina’s motor vehicle and special plate statutes, including G.S. 20-63, G.S. 20-79.4, G.S. 20-79.7, and G.S. 20-81.12, to add Red Wolf as an authorized special registration plate and establish its fee and revenue distribution structure. It creates a dedicated funding stream for red wolf conservation through plate sales and imposes administrative and promotional duties on the DMV and NC State University. The bill also provides one-time appropriations for implementation and outreach, affecting the Highway Fund, the General Fund, the DMV, NC State, and the Wildlife Resources Commission.
The bill’s stated purpose and structure suggest generally favorable support for wildlife conservation and public promotion of a North Carolina-native species. The absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials limits the ability to identify detailed legislative sentiment, but the bill’s findings frame it as a conservation and educational initiative with statewide heritage value. Its inclusion of appropriations and a university promotion mandate indicates an effort to ensure the plate is both available and actively marketed.
Potential points of contention are likely to center on the use of state funds for plate development and university promotion, as well as the requirement that NC State actively market the plate. Some lawmakers may question whether the $15,000 Highway Fund appropriation and $50,000 General Fund appropriation are justified for a specialty plate program, or whether the university should be tasked with promotional responsibilities. Another possible issue is the use of a collegiate/cultural attraction plate revenue mechanism to support wildlife conservation, though the bill clearly ties those proceeds to red wolf conservation purposes.