HOUSE BILL NO. 19 "An Act relating to special request registration plates; and providing for an effective date." [3:05:36] REPRESENTATIVE BOB LYNN, SPONSOR, reported that during a visit to Indiana he had seen "In God We Trust" license plates and thought they would be good to have in Alaska. He added that 250,000 of the plates had been issued in Indiana. He detailed that the special license plate would be available only upon request and would reflect the patriotism and cultural heritage of other citizens around the country. He described the procedure for issuing the license plates. A driver would be required to request a national motto plate and pay a $30 fee. He listed other states that had the special license plate, including Kentucky, Virginia, and South Carolina. Co-Chair Stoltze asked whether there had been opposition to the item. Representative Lynn responded that there had not been. Representative Costello queried the design of the license plate. THOMAS REIKER, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE BOB LYNN, replied that the issue had come up in the House State Affairs Committee. The Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would work with the sponsor regarding the design; he believed they would generate a design based on the existing plates in other states. Representative Doogan did not want to have future requests for license plates by groups with a "different central figure in the pantheon." He asked for assurance that the state would not be asked for another license plate saying we trust in anybody else, such as Thor. Representative Lynn responded that anyone in the legislature could sponsor any bill they wanted, but he trusted the State Affairs Committee to not allow such a proposal to get far. Representative Doogan was not concerned about other members of the legislature; people could file law suits on practically anything. 3:10:32 PM Representative Doogan queried the experience of other states with the "In God We Trust" motto on license plates in terms of legal problems. Representative Lynn responded that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Indiana had raised questions, but the questions were not about the motto. The questions were related to the fact that Indiana was going to issue the plate without an additional fee. He believed that went no place; Indiana did not charge an additional fee for the license plate. However, HB 19 required a fee of $30 like other specialty license plates and was revenue neutral. Mr. Reiker added that the controlling case from the U.S. Supreme Court was Lynch v. Donnelly; the ruling listed several different practices that the federal government undertook that could be construed as religious. One of the practices was printing "In God We Trust" on coins. He quoted the majority opinion: "Those practices, including printing 'In God We Trust' on coins, are not understood as conveying government approval of particular religious beliefs." He summed that "In God We Trust" had always been interpreted by the court to be more an expression of the national motto than an expression of religious belief. He did not think the measure would open the state up to other religions claiming equal protection. Representative Gara stated that he did not oppose the bill, and that he was a "big fan of God." However, he was concerned that there would be more license-plate bills. He pointed to another that had already been filed. He thought a person who wanted to convey something political or religious on their car could get a bumper sticker. He believed people should be able to say whatever they wanted on their car, house, or T-shirt. He did not see a compelling need for the legislation, although he was not opposed to it. Representative Wilson pointed out that one benefit to the state would be the revenue generated for the general fund. Co-Chair Stoltze noted that the revenue generated would not go to a charity or specific program. He asked whether the revenue would cover the costs of producing the plates. Representative Lynn responded in the affirmative and reiterated that specialty license plates were designed to be revenue neutral. SHELLY MELLOT, MANAGER, ANCHORAGE DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION (via teleconference) testified that the bill would authorize the creation of a new plate for anyone wanting to purchase an "In God We Trust" license plate. She stressed that the plate was not for raising funds and would not require the creation of a special fund for appropriation by the legislature. The cost for establishing the plate would be minimal; therefore, the DMV had attached a zero fiscal note. The cost of the plate to the applicant would be $30 under the bill, in addition to the registration fee and any tax established by local governments. The cost of each plate to the state would be about $10; the remaining fees collected would go into the general fund. 3:15:49 PM Ms. Mellot continued that typically the DMV worked with the impacted entities on the design of the plate; in this case the DMV would work with the sponsors of the legislation on the initial design. The DMV would then work with law enforcement personnel to ensure that officers could easily identify the plate numbers for their purposes. Finally, she reported that the design would go before the commissioner of the Department of Administration for final approval before moving into production. Co-Chair Stoltze queried the position of the administration. Ms. Mellot responded that the division was neutral. Co-Chair Stoltze requested details about the possible revenue that could result to the state from the measure. Ms. Mellot offered to get the information. Representative Doogan stated that he supported the bill. However, he pointed out that it was easy to support a bill that says "In God We Trust," since the phrase was the national motto. He stated for the record that it would be much more difficult for him to support other bills that had more "political baggage" than HB 19. He emphasized that he did not want to take committee time to debate about the issue. Co-Chair Stoltze stated that HB 19 was before the committee because it was ecumenical and fairly uncontroversial. Vice-chair Fairclough MOVED to report HB 19 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. HB 19 was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation and with attached previously published zero impact fiscal note: FN1, ADM. 3:20:05 PM Co-Chair Thomas reviewed the schedule for the following week.