HOUSE BILL No. 4170 January 30, 1997, Introduced by Reps. Rhead, Llewellyn and McNutt and referred to the Committee on Senior Citizens and Veterans Affairs. A bill to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled "Michigan vehicle code," by amending section 803e (MCL 257.803e), as amended by 1994 PA 104. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 803e. (1) A person who has been a prisoner of war may 2 make application to the secretary of state for a special regis- 3 tration plate which shall be inscribed with special identifica- 4 tion numbers preceded by the letters "EX-POW" and shall have the 5 words "ex-prisoner of war" inscribed beneath the registration 6 number. 7 (2) A person who was a member of the armed services during 8 World War I may make application to the secretary of state for a 9 special registration plate, which shall be inscribed with special 10 identification numbers preceded by the letters "WWI" and shall 00097'97 VPW 2 1 have the words "World War I veteran" inscribed beneath the 2 registration number. 3 (3) A person who was a member of the armed services during 4 1941, stationed at a United States military or naval establish- 5 ment at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian islands, and who survived 6 the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 may make 7 application to the secretary of state for a special registration 8 plate, which shall be inscribed with special identification num- 9 bers and shall have the words "Pearl Harbor survivor" inscribed 10 beneath the registration number. 11 (4) A person who is a recipient of the purple heart medal 12 may make application to the secretary of state for a special reg- 13 istration plate which shall be inscribed with special identifica- 14 tion numbers and shall have the words "combat wounded veteran" 15 inscribed beneath the registration number. In addition, the spe- 16 cial registration plate described under this subsection shall be 17 inscribed with a vignette of the official purple heart medal. 18 (5) Application for a special registration plate shall be on 19 a form prescribed by the secretary of state, and shall be accom- 20 panied by any proof of the applicant having been a prisoner of 21 war, World War I veteran, Pearl Harbor survivor, or recipient of 22 the purple heart medal which the secretary of state may require. 23 The application for a special registration plate shall also be 24 accompanied with payment of a $5.00 service fee. 25 (6) Upon proper application and payment of the $5.00 service 26 fee, the secretary of state shall issue 1 or more special 27 registration plates for each applicant for use on a passenger 00097'97 3 1 vehicle. A person who is handicapped who makes application for a 2 special registration plate under this section and who makes pay- 3 ment of the $5.00 service fee shall be issued a handicapper tab 4 as provided in section 803f for his or her special registration 5 plate. The secretary of state shall require the same proof that 6 the applicant is a handicapper as is required for issuance of a 7 permanent windshield placard under section 675. A person is 8 entitled to 1 special registration plate issued under 9 subsection (1) OR SUBSECTION (4) which is exempt from payment of 10 the tax provided in section 801. A person who is issued an addi- 11 tional special registration plate under subsection (1) shall be 12 assessed the applicable tax provided for in section 801. A 13 person issued 1 or more special registration plates under 14 subsection (2),OR (3), or (4)shall be assessed the appli- 15 cable tax provided in section 801. 16 (7) The use of a special registration plate on a vehicle 17 other than the vehicle for which the plate is issued, or by a 18 person who does not qualify under this section, is a 19 misdemeanor. 20 (8) The special registration plate issued under this section 21 expires on the birthday of the vehicle owner in a year in which 22 new plates are issued by the secretary of state. Application for 23 renewal of the special registration plate shall be accompanied by 24 a $5.00 service fee. The applicant is not required to furnish 25 the proof provided in subsection (5). 00097'97 Final page. VPW