HCS SB 204(STA) am H: "An Act relating to a veteran's designation on an identification card or a driver's license for Hmong veterans and Lao veterans; relating to registration plates celebrating the arts; relating to special motor vehicle registration plates for recipients of the Bronze Star awarded for valor, Silver Star, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, Coast Guard Cross, and other awards reflecting valor; relating to special registration plates for vehicles owned by veterans with disabilities; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 204(STA) am H 01 "An Act relating to a veteran's designation on an identification card or a driver's license 02 for Hmong veterans and Lao veterans; relating to registration plates celebrating the 03 arts; relating to special motor vehicle registration plates for recipients of the Bronze 04 Star awarded for valor, Silver Star, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force 05 Cross, Coast Guard Cross, and other awards reflecting valor; relating to special 06 registration plates for vehicles owned by veterans with disabilities; and providing for an 07 effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 * Section 1. AS 18.65.310(l) is amended to read: 10 (l) At the request of the person, the department shall provide a veteran 11 designation and United States flag replica on an identification card identifying the 12 person as a retired veteran, [OR] a veteran of the armed forces of the United States 13 discharged under honorable conditions, or a Hmong veteran or Lao veteran who
01 served in military operations in support of the United States in the Kingdom of 02 Laos between February 28, 1961, and May 15, 1975. The department may not 03 charge a fee solely for the designation. To receive a veteran designation, the person 04 shall provide proof of veteran status that shows the person is retired, was [OR] 05 discharged under honorable conditions, or is a Hmong veteran or Lao veteran. The 06 department shall consult with the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs 07 to determine the proof necessary to show that a person is a Hmong veteran or 08 Lao veteran. With the approval of the person, the department shall make available to 09 the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs the name and address of a person 10 receiving a veteran designation under this subsection. Notwithstanding (a) of this 11 section, the department may charge a fee of $5 for replacement of a valid 12 identification card with a new identification card with a veteran designation. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 28.10.161(b) is amended to read: 14 (b) Every passenger vehicle registration plate, except as specifically provided 15 in AS 28.10.181, shall have displayed on [UPON] it 16 (1) one of the following designs: [EITHER] 17 (A) the Alaska flag design, consisting of the Alaska flag, the 18 traditional colors of yellow-gold and blue, and the slogan "The Last Frontier"; 19 [OR] 20 (B) the bear design, consisting of a standing grizzly bear in the 21 center of the plate; the bear design shall be modeled after the 1976 bicentennial 22 plate without the bicentennial symbol; or 23 (C) the design celebrating the arts chosen by the 24 commissioner through consultation with the Alaska State Council on the 25 Arts; the commissioner shall choose a new design for the plates 26 celebrating the arts every four years and discontinue issuance of the 27 previous design; 28 (2) the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is 29 issued; 30 (3) the name of this state, which may be abbreviated; and 31 (4) the registration year number or expiration date for which time it is
01 validated; the registration year number or expiration date may be part of the license 02 plate or contained on a suitable sticker or tab device issued by the department; 03 however, only one sticker or tab device may be issued for each pair of plates, and the 04 sticker or tab device must be affixed to the rear plate. 05 * Sec. 3. AS 28.10.181(d) is amended to read: 06 (d) Vehicles owned by veterans with disabilities, including persons disabled in 07 the line of duty while serving in the Alaska Territorial Guard, or other persons with 08 disabilities. Upon the request of a person with a disability that limits or impairs the 09 ability to walk, as defined in 23 C.F.R. 1235.2, the department shall (1) register one 10 motor vehicle in the name of the person without charge; and (2) issue a specially 11 designed registration plate that displays (A) recognition of the disabled veteran if the 12 applicant's disability originated from the applicant's service with the Alaska Territorial 13 Guard or the armed forces of the United States; (B) the international symbol of 14 accessibility (the wheelchair logo); and (C) if the applicant is a veteran, the Alaska and 15 United States flags and red, white, and blue colors. A person who is not otherwise 16 qualified under this subsection, but who meets the qualifications of a disabled veteran 17 under AS 29.45.030(i), may register one motor vehicle without charge, and the 18 department shall issue a specially designed registration plate that displays recognition 19 of the disabled veteran that does not display the international symbol of accessibility 20 and does not carry with it special parking privileges. A disabled veteran who 21 otherwise qualifies for a registration plate under this subsection may elect to receive a 22 plate under (p) or (q) of this section for which the person is otherwise qualified that 23 does not display the international symbol of accessibility and does not carry with it 24 special parking privileges. A disabled person who otherwise qualifies for a registration 25 plate under (2)(B) of this subsection may elect to receive a plate under another 26 provision of this section for which the person is otherwise qualified that does not 27 display the international symbol of accessibility and does not carry with it special 28 parking privileges. For purposes of this subsection, proof of disability may be 29 provided by a person licensed as a chiropractor under AS 08.20, as a physician or 30 physician assistant under AS 08.64, or as an advanced practice registered nurse under 31 AS 08.68.
01 * Sec. 4. AS 28.10.181 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 02 (jj) Vehicles owned by recipients of a Bronze Star awarded for valor, Silver 03 Star, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, or Coast Guard 04 Cross. The department, upon receipt of written proof that the person is the sole or joint 05 owner of a motor vehicle, shall issue special registration plates for the motor vehicle to 06 a requesting person who has received the Bronze Star Medal awarded for valor, Silver 07 Star Medal, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, or Coast 08 Guard Cross. The commissioner, after consulting with the person in the Department of 09 Military and Veterans' Affairs in charge of veterans' affairs, shall determine the design 10 and color of the Bronze Star awarded for valor recipient plates, Silver Star recipient 11 plates, Navy Cross recipient plates, Distinguished Service Cross recipient plates, Air 12 Force Cross recipient plates, and Coast Guard Cross recipient plates. 13 (kk) Vehicles owned by recipients of awards reflecting valor issued by the 14 armed forces of the United States. The department, upon written proof that the person 15 is the sole or joint owner of a motor vehicle, may issue special registration plates for 16 the motor vehicle to a requesting person who has received an award reflecting valor 17 issued by the armed forces of the United States other than a Purple Heart, Bronze Star 18 awarded for valor, Silver Star, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force 19 Cross, or Coast Guard Cross. The commissioner, after consulting with the person in 20 the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs in charge of veterans' affairs, shall 21 determine the design and color of the award recipient plates. 22 * Sec. 5. AS 28.10.421(d)(2) is amended to read: 23 (2) special request plates for 24 (A) Alaska National Guard personnel .......... $30; 25 (B) veterans, retired veterans, or Lao veterans .... $30; 26 (C) recipients of the Purple Heart ........... none; 27 (D) recipients of the Bronze Star awarded for valor, Silver 28 Star, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, Coast 29 Guard Cross, or other award reflecting valor ............. $30; 30 (E) owners of custom collector vehicles ........ $50; 31 (F) [(E)] Iditarod race finishers .............. $50;
01 (G) [(F)] other special request plates .......... $30; 02 plus the fee required for that vehicle under (b) of this section; the fee required by this 03 paragraph shall be collected only on the first issuance and on the replacement of 04 special request plates; 05 * Sec. 6. AS 28.15.111(c) is amended to read: 06 (c) At the request of an applicant, the department shall provide a veteran 07 designation and United States flag replica on a license identifying the driver as a 08 retired veteran, [OR] a veteran of the armed forces of the United States discharged 09 under honorable conditions, or a Hmong veteran or Lao veteran who served in 10 military operations in support of the United States in the Kingdom of Laos 11 between February 28, 1961, and May 15, 1975. The department may not charge a 12 fee solely for the designation. To receive a veteran designation, the driver shall make 13 available proof of veteran status that shows that the person is retired, was [OR] 14 discharged under honorable conditions, or is a Hmong veteran or Lao veteran. The 15 department shall consult with the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs 16 to determine the proof necessary to show that a person is a Hmong veteran or 17 Lao veteran. With the approval of the applicant, the department shall make available 18 to the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs the name and address of a driver 19 receiving a veteran designation under this subsection. The department may charge a 20 fee of $5 for replacement of a valid driver's license with a new license with a veteran 21 designation. A replacement license with a veteran designation issued for $5 under this 22 subsection shall retain the expiration date of the license it replaces. 23 * Sec. 7. AS 44.27.080(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) The council shall hold a competition every four years to select a design for 25 the vehicle registration [SPECIAL REQUEST] plate celebrating the arts under 26 AS 28.10.161(b)(1)(C) [AS 28.10.181(u)]. The council shall select a panel of judges 27 to judge the submissions for the contest and shall include the previous design winner 28 on the panel. The panel shall select the top submissions, and the council shall conduct 29 a public vote to determine the winner of the competition. The council shall use the 30 winning design when consulting with the commissioner of administration under 31 AS 28.10.161(b)(1)(C) [AS 28.10.181(u)].
01 * Sec. 8. AS 28.10.181(u), 28.10.421(d)(15), and AS 44.27.080(b) are repealed. 02 * Sec. 9. Sections 4 and 5 of this Act take effect January 1, 2019.