§249-9.3  Special number plates; design andissuance by counties.  (a)  In lieu of the number plates contracted onbehalf of the counties by the director of finance of the city and county ofHonolulu, the county directors of finance shall issue special number plates toany organization in the State that meets the minimum standards andqualifications established under this section.  Organizations are authorized toretain the fees collected, less expenses, for the special number plates.

The director of finance of the city and countyof Honolulu, in consultation with the directors of finance of the counties ofKauai, Maui, and Hawaii, shall establish special design parameters andrestrictions for decals or graphic representations affixable to special numberplates; provided that the decal shall not be larger than three inches wide bythree inches high.

(b)  For the purposes of this section, thefollowing terms shall have the following meanings:

"Director" unless indicated otherwiseby its context, means the county directors of finance.

"Organization" means:

(1)  A not-for-profit organization recognized as suchby the Internal Revenue Service and whose primary purpose is to provide thecommunity with specific programs to improve the public's health, education, orgeneral welfare;

(2)  A military service veterans group;

(3)  A state or county agency approved by thedirector; or

(4)  Any school or accredited institution of higherlearning or a college or recognized program thereof.

"Special number plate" means alicense plate with a decal on its face that represents an organization asdefined in this section.

(c)  Organizations as defined under subsection(b) may apply for a special number plate with the director.  The organizationshall design a decal to be placed on the license plate that represents theorganization and complies with this section.

All organizations shall be headquartered in theState; provided that an organization that is a chapter or branch of aninternational, national, or regional organization shall be in good standing andauthorized in writing by the parent organization to use the decal designapplied for by the organization.

(d)  An organization shall apply for a specialnumber plate with the director on an application form prescribed by thedirector.  The application shall include:

(1)  A design of the organization's decal;

(2)  A signed notarized statement by an officer ordirector of the organization that the organization will acquire at least onehundred fifty special number plates; and

(3)  The dollar amount the organization plans to raisefrom each special number plate.

The director shall determine, based on criteriain this section, and the director's discretion, whether an organization'sapplication has been accepted or rejected.  The director shall also seek theapproval of an organization's decal design from the county chief of policewhere the application is made.

If the director rejects an application, thedirector shall state the reasons for the rejection in writing and shall allowthe applicant to reapply within a reasonable period after the rejection.

After an organization's application has beenapproved, a motor vehicle owner may apply for the organization's special numberplate.  The director may require the completion of a form as prescribed by thedirector.  Special number plates shall be issued only to the registered ownerof an applicant motor vehicle.

(e)  The design of the decal used on anorganization's special number plate shall not:

(1)  Infringe or otherwise violate any trademark,trade name, service mark, copyright, or other proprietary or property right;

(2)  Represent any obscene or degrading image, idea,word, or phrase;

(3)  Advertise or endorse a product, brand, or servicethat is provided for sale;

(4)  Promote any religious belief; or

(5)  Promote any philosophy based on prejudice or thatis contrary to state civil rights laws;

provided that the decal does not obstruct thevisibility of the number or letters or any other information that is requiredby law to be on the license plate and is readily identifiable anddistinguishable under actual traffic conditions.

(f)  The director shall charge a special numberplate fee equal to the county's cost of providing the special number plate plusthe organization's fundraising amount applied for under subsection (d).  Thefee shall be in addition to any other state or county fees collected for amotor vehicle registration or license plate.  The fundraising portion of thefee shall be deposited in the name of the organization in a separate countybudget account.  The director shall determine the most efficient means ofreimbursing organizations for their fundraising portion of the fee.

(g)  The director may revoke the approval of anorganization's application for special number plates if the total number ofregistered vehicles that obtained the special number plates is less than onehundred fifty within three years of receiving approval to issue theorganization's special number plate.  Upon the revocation of the approval, thedirector shall return the unused decals to the organization.

(h)  Nothing in this section shall be construedto apply to special number plates issued pursuant to section 249-9.2. [L 1997,c 326, §1; am L 1999, c 208, §4; am L 2000, c 13, §1; am L 2005, c 8, §1]