HB2254 - Special plate; small business advocate

REFERENCE TITLE: special plate; small business advocate State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session 2026 HB 2254 Introduced by Representative Weninger AN ACT Amending sections 28-2351 and 28-2403, Arizona Revised Statutes; Amending Title 28, Chapter 7, Article 12, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 28-2470.40; Amending sections 28-6501, 28-6991 and 28-6993, Arizona Revised Statutes; Relating to special plates. (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE) Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: Section 1. Section 28-2351, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 28-2351. License plate provided; design A. Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall provide to every owner one license plate for each vehicle registered. At the request of the owner and on payment of a fee in an amount prescribed by the director by rule, the department shall provide one additional license plate for a vehicle for which a special plate is requested pursuant to this chapter. B. The license plate shall display the number assigned to the vehicle and to the owner of the vehicle and the name of this state, which may be abbreviated. The director shall coat the license plate with a reflective material that is consistent with the determination of the department regarding the color and design of license plates and special plates. The director shall design the license plate and the letters and numerals on the license plate to be of sufficient size to be plainly readable during daylight from a distance of one hundred feet. In addition to the standard license plate issued for a trailer before August 12, 2005, the director shall issue a license plate for trailers that has a design that is similar to the standard size license plate for trailers but that is the same size as the license plate for motorcycles. The trailer owner shall notify the department which size license plate the owner wants for the trailer. C. In addition to the requirements prescribed in subsection B of this section, for all license plates, including all special plates, that are designed or redesigned on or after September 24, 2022: 1. The background color of the license plate shall contrast significantly with the color of the letters and numerals on the license plate and with the name of this state on the license plate. 2. The name of this state shall appear on the license plate in capital letters in sans serif font and be three-fourths of an inch in height. D. Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall not contract with a nongovernmental entity to purchase or secure reflective material for the plates issued by the department unless the department has made a reasonable effort to secure qualified bids or proposals from as many individual responsible respondents as possible. E. The department shall determine the color and design of the license plate subject to the requirements prescribed by subsections B and C of this section. All plates issued by the department, except the plates that are issued pursuant to sections 28-2404, 28-2412, 28-2413, 28-2414, 28-2416, 28-2416.01, 28-2417 through 28-2470.39 28-2470.40 , 28-2472, 28-2473, 28-2474, 28-2475, 28-2476 and 28-4533 and article 14 of this chapter, shall be the same color as and similar in design to the license plate as determined by the department. F. A passenger motor vehicle that is rented without a driver shall receive the same type of license plate as is issued for a private passenger motor vehicle. END_STATUTE Sec. 2. Section 28-2403, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 28-2403. Special plates; transfers; violation; classification A. Except as otherwise provided in this article, the department shall issue or renew special plates in lieu of the regular license plates pursuant to the following conditions and procedures and only if the requirements prescribed by this article for the requested special plates are met: 1. Except as provided in sections 28-2416 and 28-2416.01, a person who is the registered owner of a vehicle registered with the department or who applies for an original or renewal registration of a vehicle may submit to the department a completed application form as prescribed by the department with the fee prescribed by section 28-2402 for special plates in addition to the registration fee prescribed by section 28-2003. 2. Except for plates issued pursuant to sections 28-2404, 28-2412, 28-2413, 28-2414, 28-2416, 28-2416.01, 28-2417 through 28-2470.39 28-2470.40 , 28-2472, 28-2473, 28-2474, 28-2475 and 28-2476 and article 14 of this chapter, the special plates shall be the same color as and similar to the design of the regular license plates that is determined by the department. 3. Except as provided in section 28-2416, the department shall issue special plates only to the owner or lessee of a vehicle that is currently registered, including any vehicle that has a declared gross weight, as defined in section 28-5431, of twenty-six thousand pounds or less. 4. Except as provided in sections 28-2416 and 28-2416.01, the department shall charge the fee prescribed by section 28-2402 for each annual renewal of special plates in addition to the registration fee prescribed by section 28-2003. B. Except as provided in sections 28-2416 and 28-2416.01, on notification to the department and on payment of the transfer fee prescribed by section 28-2402, a person who is issued special plates may transfer the special plates to another vehicle the person owns or leases. Persons who are issued special plates for hearing impaired persons pursuant to section 28-2408 and international symbol of access special plates pursuant to section 28-2409 are exempt from the transfer fee. If a person who is issued special plates sells, trades or otherwise releases ownership of the vehicle on which the plates have been displayed, the person shall immediately report the transfer of the plates to the department or the person shall surrender the plates to the department as prescribed by the director. It is unlawful for a person to whom the plates have been issued to knowingly allow them to be displayed on a vehicle except the vehicle authorized by the department. C. The special plates shall be affixed to the vehicle for which registration is sought in lieu of the regular license plates. D. A person is guilty of a class 3 misdemeanor who: 1. Violates subsection B of this section. 2. Fraudulently gives false or fictitious information in the application for or renewal of special plates or placards issued pursuant to this article. 3. Conceals a material fact or otherwise commits fraud in the application for or renewal of special plates or placards issued pursuant to this article. END_STATUTE Sec. 3. Title 28, chapter 7, article 12, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 28-2470.40, to read: START_STATUTE 28-2470.40. Small business advocate special plates; fund A. If, by December 31, 2026, a person pays $32,000 to the department for the implementation of this section, the department shall issue small business advocate special plates. The person that provides the $32,000 shall design the small business advocate special plates. The design and color of the small business advocate special plates are subject to approval of the department. The director may allow a request for small business advocate special plates to be combined with a request for personalized special plates. If the director allows such a combination, the request shall be in a form prescribed by the director and is subject to the fees for the personalized special plates in addition to the fees required for the small business advocate special plates. B. Of the $25 fee required by section 28-2402 for the original special plates and for the renewal of the special plates, $8 is a special plate administration fee and $17 is an annual donation. C. The department shall deposit, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, all special plate administration fees in the state highway fund established by section 28-6991 and shall transmit all donations collected pursuant to this section to the small business advocate special plate fund established by this section. D. The small business advocate special plate fund is established consisting of monies deposited pursuant to this section. The director shall administer the fund. The first $32,000 in the fund shall be reimbursed to the person that paid the implementation fee to the department pursuant to subsection a of this section. Not more than ten percent of the monies deposited in the fund annually shall be used for the cost of administering the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated. E. The director shall annually allocate monies from the fund to an entity that is qualified under section 501( c )(6) of the United States internal revenue code for federal income tax purposes. The entity must: 1. Be headquartered in this state. 2. Have been in existence for at least fifty years. 3. Serve as a statewide nonpartisan advocate and resource hub for small businesses in this state. 4. Provide education resources to entrepreneurs, including workshops, mentorship programs and events that are designed to provide relevant knowledge and skills. F. On notice from the director, the state treasurer shall invest and divest monies in the fund as provided by section 35-313, and monies earned from investment shall be credited to the fund. END_STATUTE Sec. 4. Section 28-6501, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 28-6501. Definition of highway user revenues In this article, unless the context otherwise requires or except as otherwise provided by statute, "highway user revenues" means all monies received in this state from licenses, taxes, penalties, interest and fees authorized by the following: 1. Chapters 2, 7, 8 and 15 of this title, except for: (a) The special plate administration fees prescribed in sections 28-2404, 28-2407, 28-2412 through 28-2470.39 28-2470.40 and 28-2514. (b) The donations prescribed in sections 28-2404, 28-2407, 28-2412 through 28-2415, 28-2417 through 28-2470.39 28-2470.40 , 28-2473, 28-2474, 28-2475 and 28-2476. 2. Section 28-1177. 3. Chapters 10 and 11 of this title. 4. Chapter 16, articles 1, 2 and 4 of this title, except as provided in sections 28-5926 and 28-5927. END_STATUTE Sec. 5. Section 28-6991, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 28-6991. State highway fund; sources The state highway fund is established that consists of: 1. Monies distributed from the Arizona highway user revenue fund pursuant to chapter 18 of this title. 2. Monies appropriated by the legislature. 3. Monies received from donations for the construction, improvement or maintenance of state highways or bridges. These monies shall be credited to a special account and shall be spent only for the purpose indicated by the donor. 4. Monies received from counties or cities under cooperative agreements, including proceeds from bond issues. The state treasurer shall deposit these monies to the credit of the fund in a special account on delivery to the treasurer of a concise written agreement between the department and the county or city stating the purposes for which the monies are surrendered by the county or city, and these monies shall be spent only as stated in the agreement. 5. Monies received from the United States under an act of Congress to provide aid for the construction of rural post roads, but monies received on projects for which the monies necessary to be provided by this state are wholly derived from sources mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this section shall be allotted by the department and deposited by the state treasurer in the special account within the fund established for each project. On completion of the project, on the satisfaction and discharge in full of all obligations of any kind created and on request of the department, the treasurer shall transfer the unexpended balance in the special account for the project into the state highway fund, and the unexpended balance and any further federal aid thereafter received on account of the project may be spent under the general provisions of this title. 6. Monies in the custody of an officer or agent of this state from any source that is to be used for the construction, improvement or maintenance of state highways or bridges. 7. Monies deposited in the state general fund and arising from the disposal of state personal property belonging to the department. 8. Receipts from the sale or disposal of any or all other property held by the department and purchased with state highway monies. 9. Monies generated pursuant to section 28-410. 10. Monies distributed pursuant to section 28-5808, subsection B, paragraph 2, subdivision (d). 11. Monies deposited pursuant to sections 28-1143, 28-2353 and 28-3003. 12. Except as provided in section 28-5101, the following monies: (a) Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-2206 and section 28-5808, subsection B, paragraph 2, subdivision (e). (b) $1 of each registration fee and $1 of each title fee collected pursuant to section 28-2003. (c) $2 of each late registration penalty collected by the director pursuant to section 28-2162. (d) The air quality compliance fee collected pursuant to section 49-542. (e) The special plate administration fees collected pursuant to sections 28-2404, 28-2407, 28-2412 through 28-2416, 28-2416.01, 28-2417 through 28-2470.39 28-2470.40 and 28-2514. (f) Monies collected pursuant to sections 28-372, 28-2155 and 28-2156 if the director is the registering officer. 13. Monies deposited pursuant to chapter 5, article 5 of this title. 14. Donations received pursuant to section 28-2269. 15. Dealer and registration monies collected pursuant to section 28-4304. 16. Abandoned vehicle administration monies deposited pursuant to section 28-4804. 17. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-710, subsection D, paragraph 2. 18. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-2065. 19. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-7311. 20. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-7059. 21. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-1105. 22. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-2448, subsection D. 23. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-3415. 24. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-3002, subsection A, paragraph 14. 25. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-7316. 26. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-4302. 27. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-3416. 28. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-4504. 29. Monies deposited pursuant to section 28-2098. 30. Monies deposited pursuant to sections 28-2321, 28-2324, 28-2325, 28-5474, 28-5739, 28-5863 and 28-5864. END_STATUTE Sec. 6. Section 28-6993, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE 28-6993. State highway fund; authorized uses A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section and section 28-6538, the [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]