Utah bill would change where your money goes if you pick a black license plate

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Utah House Transportation Committee advanced HB324 on Tuesday.
The bill would alter black license plate fund allocations, sending $2 from each sale to the Utah Historical Society and the rest to the state's transportation fund.
The previous version of the bill was held up in the committee last week.

SALT LAKE CITY — Brad Westwood was the director of what is now the Utah Historical Society when a state lawmaker first approached him about possibly rekindling Utah's old black license plates.

He remembers seeing "contraband" black license plates on the road about a decade ago, so he figured there was some interest. It would take a few more years, but Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, would eventually piece together a bill that would allow for the plates to return, serving as a nod to the plates issued at times between the 1920s and 1960s.

Neither of them could have imagined how quickly they would turn into a smash hit across the state. More than 200,000 sales have been reported since the black plates became available, according to the state.

"Even to my way of thinking, I didn't know it would be so popular," Westwood said. "It was a surprise."

While he's no longer the division's director, he's pleased to see the black plates have raised $3.7 million in annual sales and renewals for the Utah Historical Society. It's helped create a $6 million endowment overseen by the Utah Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, which oversees the historical society.

The endowment will be used to help pay for regular updates to exhibits at the new state history museum set to open next year, as well as other operating measures to keep it "fresh" and "exciting" for visitors, said Donna Law, the department's director.

However, how much money the agency receives may soon change. The House Transportation Committee voted on Tuesday to advance HB324, which would tweak the back end of all purchases tied to the black plate.

Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, the bill's sponsor, contends that the black plate's unexpected success highlights an unforeseen problem, arguing that it challenges the Utah Legislature's "constitutional authority" to appropriate state funds. State lawmakers approve the Utah Historical Society's budget and special projects, like the state history museum. Hence, he says the agency doesn't need to receive funds from license plate sales.

His bill seeks to direct $2 of all sales and renewals to the group behind the plate, while the remaining $23 would go back toward the state's transportation investment fund. It would also direct $3.5 million in one-time funds to the Utah State Historical Society to account for what it likely would have received this year.

"It's our responsibility to have that oversight, to have that constitutional power of the purse," he said on Friday, when he first took his bill to the committee.

A previous version, which the committee voted to hold, would have capped all profits at $500,000 for all state agencies. That version was met with pushback from history advocates like Westwood, as well as a barrage of questions from the committee.

Some members worried that the bill could trickle down into other groups, such as educational plates that help fund scholarships. Others wondered if it targeted the Utah Historical Society only because it succeeded at raising money.

"The funding is always sparse when it comes to historical preservation, so why would we punish them for doing exactly what they thought they could do to earn the money to be able to preserve?" said Rep. Rosalba Dominguez, D-Murray. "We're in a tight budget crunch this year, and this was a good way for them to figure out another avenue to support those initiatives."

Peterson clarified on Tuesday that all the money the plate has collected thus far will still go to the Historical Society. The $2 from each sale in the latest version of the bill is projected to create about $500,000, much like the proposed cap would have been. He anticipates the agency will get about another $500,000 through a 5% endowment return.

The changes reflect feedback from the committee, as well as the Utah Historical Society. Meanwhile, the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles would also clarify the language on its website to reflect where the money spent on all black plates goes after a sale.

"I think this strikes a nice balance," Peterson said.

Members of the committee said they were happy with the changes made over the holiday weekend, while there were no comments from others in the meeting. The committee also added to it, agreeing to remove a section that prevented historical vehicles built in 1982 or before from getting a black plate.

"I think this is a fairly easy thing to understand," said Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, who was one of the lawmakers skeptical of the previous version. "It delivers on ... transparency, oversight and accountability."

The bill now heads to the House floor for a full vote by the Utah House of Representatives. It would go into effect on July 1, should it pass the House and Senate by the end of March 7.

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