MO - New license plate choices released

**StlouisX50** · 02-10-2007, 04:00 PM

Gerrr more reflective I bet :x

New license plate choices released

New license plate choices released
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - With a few clicks of the computer, Missourians can help determine the look of the state's new license plate.

State law required Missouri officials to redesign the plate, and the Department of Revenue announced Friday that people could go online and vote for their favorite among three options. That online tally will run until March 5 and will determine which design is selected.

The agency also plans public meetings in Springfield, Lee's Summit and St. Louis on the plate designs starting late next week.

The new plate must be issued starting in 2009, but Revenue Department spokeswoman Maura Browning said Friday that it could begin sometime in 2008. Residents will be charged an additional fee, estimated at $2.50, to cover the cost of the new plates when their renewals come up.

Browning said the new designs defer to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's wishes that the plate be easier to read, and said color coding should make the tags less susceptible to theft.

Missouri's current plate was released in April 1996.

The three new options all include blue and white elements. One has a bluebird, the official state bird, at the bottom. Another has the word "Missouri" reflected across the top, and the third has a ribbon running through the state's name across the top.

ON THE NET

To view or vote for the plate designs: http://dory.dor.mo.gov/dor/voteplate

**StlouisX50** · 03-07-2007, 11:33 PM

:cry: :cry: :cry:

They are going for the blue bird, this sucks

Bluebird to be featured on new Missouri license plate
DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Be they bird watchers or not, Missouri motorists soon be will looking at a lot of bluebirds.

State officials on Wednesday released a new vehicle license plate design that features a bluebird sitting on a small hawthorn branch. The new standard plates could start appearing on cars and trucks by summer 2008.

The bluebird (the official state bird) and the hawthorn (the official state floral emblem) captured 56 percent of an Internet vote that concluded Monday. The design easily defeated the two other finalists - one with a wavy blue line through "Missouri"; the other with an orange sun in place of Missouri's "o."

Missouri's current license plates, on vehicles since 1997, feature a squiggly blue line under "Missouri" that's intended to represent the state's many waterways. The background colors fade from white on top to a light blue in the middle and green on the bottom.

The new license plates use a similar color scheme, fading from white on top to blue on bottom and retaining the darker blue letters and numbers. In the background will be blue outline of the shape of Missouri. And because the perching bluebird will be on the bottom, the phrase "Show Me State" will switch from the bottom to the right side of the license plate.

A new license plate design was mandated by a 2004 law.

The bill's sponsor, former Sen. Jon Dolan, R-Lake St. Louis, believed the new plates could generate millions of dollars for governments by enticing people to pay overdue property taxes - a requirement to get vehicle license plates.

The new license plates originally were to be in place by this year. But the law's target date was extended to Jan. 1, 2009.

The Department of Revenue, which oversees vehicle licensing, now hopes to have the new plates ready for distribution by summer or fall of 2008, said spokeswoman Maura Browning.

Missourians will have to pay a fee - on top of the annual licensing cost that ranges from $18-$51 - to get the new license plate. Browning said the fee was $2.50 when the license plates were last redesigned. The cost this time will depend partly on the bids for its materials, she said. License plates are manufactured by state prisoners.

The new design for Missouri's license plates was developed by a committee consisting of the Revenue Department director, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the House and Senate transportation committee chairmen and the head of the Department of Correction's Missouri Vocational Enterprises.

The present model, unveiled in April 1996, had been selected by a seven-person committee. It marked a stark contrast to the maroon background with white letters and numbers that had been used on Missouri license plates since 1979.

**maxima lover** · 03-08-2007, 02:41 AM

And the real reason.........

Originally Posted by StlouisX50

The bill's sponsor, former Sen. Jon Dolan, R-Lake St. Louis, believed the new plates could generate millions of dollars for governments by enticing people to pay overdue property taxes - a requirement to get vehicle license plates.

Money!

If the state patrol can't read the current plates, they need to find another job or get better glasses. If that was the reason, why not just make the plates flat black with orange lettering. They would see that, but they would also loose some distance on the laser gun.