Regular Session 2021-2022 House Bill 2632 P.N. 3176

PRINTER'S NO. 3176

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

2632

Session of

2022

INTRODUCED BY DELOZIER, MULLINS, BURGOS, DOWLING, GILLEN,

KENYATTA, MADDEN, SCHMITT, STEPHENS, WARNER AND WHITE,

MAY 31, 2022

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, MAY 31, 2022

AN ACT

Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes, in registration of vehicles, providing for vendor-

designed registration plates.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 1341.2. Vendor-designed registration plates.

(a) Duties of department.--The department shall:

(1) Enter into a contract with a private vendor for the

marketing and sale of vendor-designed registration plates

within 12 months of the effective date of this section. The

department shall select a private vendor according to the

provisions of 62 Pa.C.S. (relating to procurement).

(2) Only select a private vendor who is able to fulfill

the requirements of this section.

(3) Develop policies and procedures for the

implementation of this section.

(b) Contract requirements.--A contract entered into with a

private vendor under subsection (a) shall be for an initial term

of not less than five years and be renewable by the same private

vendor for not less than two successive five-year terms. The

contract shall require the private vendor to:

(1) Market and sell the vendor-designed registration

plates on the private vendor's publicly accessible Internet

website.

(2) Process the purchase and issuance of vendor-designed

registration plates hosted on the private vendor's publicly

accessible Internet website and pay any associated costs and

fees.

(3) Permit a vendor-designed registration plate that is

purchased from the private vendor's publicly accessible

Internet website to be personalized.

(4) Provide to the department, at least monthly,

periodic accounts that accurately detail all material

transactions, including information reasonably required by

the department to support fees that are collected by the

private vendor, and regularly remit all money payable to the

department under the contract.

(5) Establish an electronic infrastructure coordinated

and compatible with the department's systems, by which motor

vehicle owners may electronically send and receive

applications, other documents or required payments, and that,

when secure access is necessary, can be electronically

validated by the department.

(6) Establish the amounts to be received by the

department from the fees imposed under subsection (d) as

negotiated with and agreed upon by the department.

20220HB2632PN3176 - 2 -

(7) Comply with the provisions of section 1331(a), (b)

and (d) (relating to issuance and reissuance of registration

plates).

(8) Manufacture the vendor-designed registration plates

in accordance with current department practices.

(9) Provide for a minimum revenue guarantee within the

first five years of the contract. The guarantee shall be

negotiated between the department and the private vendor.

(10) Comply with any other requirement established by

the department, subject to the contract limitations in

subsection (c).

unreasonably:

(1) disapprove or limit an aspect of a private vendor's

marketing and sales plan;

(2) interfere with the selection, assignment or

management by the private vendor of the private vendor's

employees, agents or subcontractors;

(3) restrict the ability of the private vendor to offer

a variety of plate designs with personalized and

nonpersonalized alphanumeric patterns;

(4) disapprove or limit the ability of the private

vendor to offer vender-designed registration plate renewal

terms of more than one year; or

(5) disapprove or limit the ability of the private

vendor to offer symbols on a vendor-designed registration

plate.

(d) Fees.--

(1) The private vendor, in consultation with the

department, shall establish fees for the issuance and renewal

20220HB2632PN3176 - 3 -

of vendor-designed registration plates that are marketed and

sold by the private vendor. The fee shall be an amount

sufficient to allow:

(i) The private vendor to recoup costs associated

with the design, marketing, issuance, renewal and sale of

the vendor-designed registration plates or otherwise

associated with fulfilling contractual requirements with

the department.

(ii) For profit by the private vendor.

(iii) For the department to recoup administrative

costs associated with the implementation of this section.

(iv) For the department to receive additional

revenue from the sale, issuance and renewal of vendor-

designed registration plates.

(2) The fee established for vendor-designed registration

plates under paragraph (1) shall be in addition to the annual

or biannual registration fee and, as applicable, a fee under

paragraph (3).

(3) An additional personalization fee, as determined by

the private vendor, in consultation with the department,

shall be imposed for the personalization of a vendor-designed

registration plate.

(e) Deposit.--Amounts received by the department from the

fees collected under subsection (d) shall be deposited into the

Motor License Fund.

(f) Issuance limitation.--

(1) Vendor-designed registration plates may only be sold

and issued for a motorcycle or a passenger car or truck with

a registered gross weight of not more than 14,000 pounds.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), 12 vendor-designed

20220HB2632PN3176 - 4 -

registration plate designs shall be made available by the

private vendor for purchase by the motoring public.

(3) After 12 months from the initial date the private

vendor makes approved vendor-designed registration plates

available for purchase by the motoring public, the department

may approve additional vendor-designed registration plate

designs in excess of the limitation contained in paragraph

(2).

(g) Design limitation.--A vendor-designed registration plate

may not substantially mimic:

(1) The department's standard white, blue and yellow

registration plate or any future standard-issue registration

plates provided by the department.

(2) Other registration plates specifically authorized by

this subchapter.

(h) Design approval.--The department shall approve the

designs and color combinations for vendor-designed registration

plates that are exclusively marketed and sold by a private

vendor in consultation with the Pennsylvania State Police

subject to the following:

(1) The department may not restrict the background

color, color combinations or color of plate numbers or

letters of vendor-designed registration plates, except as

determined by the department as necessary for law enforcement

purposes.

(2) The department may disapprove a design, cancel a

vendor-designed registration plate or require the

discontinuation of a vendor-designed registration plate or

color combination that is marketed, hosted or sold by a

private vendor at any time if the department determines that

20220HB2632PN3176 - 5 -

the disapproval, cancellation or discontinuation is in the

best interest of the Commonwealth or the motoring public.

(i) Ownership retained.--Each approved vendor-designed

registration plate design and color combination remains the

property of the department. A vendor-designed registration plate

remains the property of the department and shall not be

considered property of the person that is issued the vendor-

designed registration plate.

(j) Cease of operations.--If the private vendor that enters

into a contract with the department ceases operations:

(1) The department may fulfill the duties of the private

vendor temporarily until another private vendor is selected

and begins operation.

(2) The private vendor's share of the fee under

subsection (d) is deposited to the credit of the Motor

License Fund until a new private vendor is selected by the

department, at which time, the share of the fee shall be

transmitted to the private vendor that ceased operations.

(k) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be

construed to prohibit:

(1) The seizure of a vendor-designed registration plate

under section 1334.1 (relating to seizure of registration

plate).

(2) The surrender of a vendor-designed registration

plate under section 1376 (relating to surrender of

registration plates and cards upon suspension or revocation).

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 180 days.

20220HB2632PN3176 - 6 -