To amend section 4501.21 and to enact section 4503.538 of the Revised Code to create the "Blue Star Mothers of America" license plate.
HB 962 creates a new Ohio specialty license plate for members of Blue Star Mothers of America, Incorporated. Eligible applicants may obtain the plate for passenger cars, noncommercial vehicles, recreational vehicles, and other approved vehicle classes if they provide proof of membership and pay the standard registration costs, a $10 administrative fee, and a $20 contribution tied to the plate program. The plate would display a logo and wording approved by the organization and the registrar, along with county identification stickers.
The bill also amends Ohio’s license plate contribution fund statute to add the Blue Star Mothers plate to the long list of specialty plates whose contributions are deposited into the state treasury and then distributed to designated nonprofit, educational, charitable, civic, and public-purpose recipients. The registrar would credit the $20 contribution to the license plate contribution fund, while the $10 administrative fee would go to the public safety-highway purposes fund. Investment earnings on the contribution fund would continue to be distributed annually to the listed recipient entities in proportion to the prior year’s receipts.
The bill would add new section 4503.538 to the Revised Code and amend section 4501.21 to include the Blue Star Mothers of America plate in Ohio’s specialty plate contribution framework. In practical terms, it expands the state’s specialty license plate offerings and creates a new revenue stream for Blue Star Mothers of America, Incorporated, while also affecting the distribution of specialty plate contributions through the existing license plate contribution fund. The measure primarily affects the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the registrar of motor vehicles, and applicants who qualify for the new plate.
No committee testimony, floor debate, or recorded votes were provided with the bill materials, and the bill was still in introduced status. Based on the text alone, the measure appears noncontroversial and supportive of a veterans/military-family-related organization, with the usual specialty-plate structure that is common in Ohio. The overall tone is administrative and commemorative rather than policy-driven.
No specific points of contention are documented in the available context. If any concerns were to arise, they would likely relate to the proliferation of specialty plates, the administrative burden on the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, or the use of license plate contributions for a growing number of designated recipients. However, no opposition, amendments, or debate were recorded in the materials provided.