To amend section 4501.21 and to enact section 4503.599 of the Revised Code to establish the "Toledo Mud Hens" license plate.
Summary
HB403 creates a new specialty motor vehicle license plate for the Toledo Mud Hens and adds the plate to Ohio’s existing specialty plate framework. The bill authorizes eligible vehicle owners to apply for “Toledo Mud Hens” plates, requires the plate to display an approved logo and wording, and sets the fees and contribution amounts associated with issuance and renewal. Of the additional money collected, a $10 contribution is directed to the state’s license plate contribution fund and a $10 administrative fee goes to the public safety-highway purposes fund.
The bill also amends the statute governing the license plate contribution fund to incorporate the Toledo Mud Hens plate into a long list of specialty plates whose proceeds are distributed to designated charities, schools, civic groups, museums, and other organizations. The bill does not create a new program outside the motor vehicle code; instead, it adds another plate option and ties its proceeds to the Toledo Mud Hens’ “helping hens” program. It also continues the existing structure under which investment earnings in the contribution fund are distributed proportionally to recipient organizations each year.
The bill’s legal impact is limited but concrete: it amends Revised Code section 4501.21 and enacts new section 4503.599. In practice, this means the Bureau of Motor Vehicles would need to administer the new plate, collect the required fees, and route the contribution revenue through the existing specialty plate contribution fund. The Toledo Mud Hens organization would become the designated recipient of the contribution revenue associated with the plate, subject to the statutory use restriction for its helping hens program.
The general sentiment around the bill appears favorable and noncontroversial. The bill passed the House Transportation Committee unanimously, 13-0, and there is no recorded committee testimony or floor debate in the provided materials suggesting opposition. The lack of dissent and the routine nature of the measure indicate it was treated as a standard specialty plate bill rather than a contested policy proposal.
No notable points of contention are reflected in the available record. Because the bill is narrowly focused on a commemorative plate and fee distribution, any disagreement would likely have centered only on whether the state should continue adding specialty plates or on the use of public administrative resources for such programs, but no such objections appear in the transcript or vote history provided.
Impact
HB403 would add a new specialty license plate to Ohio law and amend the state’s license plate contribution fund statute to include the Toledo Mud Hens plate among the many plates whose proceeds are directed to specified recipients. It would require the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to issue the plate, collect a $10 contribution and a $10 administrative fee, and distribute the contribution to the Toledo Mud Hens for its helping hens program while crediting the administrative fee to the public safety-highway purposes fund.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong support and no recorded opposition: the House Transportation Committee reported the bill favorably by a 13-0 vote. With no committee transcript or dissenting vote information provided, the overall sentiment appears routine and positive, consistent with a noncontroversial local specialty plate measure.
Contention
No specific contention is documented in the provided materials. The bill’s only likely points of discussion would be the continued expansion of specialty license plates and the use of state administrative systems to collect and distribute small contributions to private organizations, but the committee vote suggests those issues did not generate meaningful opposition in this case.
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