55-4-239 - Holders of the Purple Heart.
55-4-239. Holders of the Purple Heart.
(a) A holder of the Purple Heart shall be issued a special memorial registration plate upon request, upon complying with the title and registration law.
(b) The special plates provided for in this section shall be issued in conformity with § 55-4-202, shall include an identification legend distinctive to the holders of the Purple Heart, and be designed by the commissioner in consultation with the department's taxpayer and vehicle services director. The legend shall read Purple Heart Veteran, Combat Wounded. The registration number of the special plate shall include the letters PH and a unique identifying number, whereby the total characters do not exceed the sum of seven (7).
(c) Eligibility for the special memorial registration plate shall be determined by the department in consultation with the appropriate information on the DD214 form, or in a case of military service predating 1950, in consultation with appropriate information on the equivalent form or on other official documentation, citing that the request is submitted by a holder of the Purple Heart.
(d) Persons eligible for such special memorial registration plates shall be eligible to apply for plates on a vehicle owned or leased by the person or owned or leased by a company and furnished to the person; provided, that all appropriate fees, including the supplemental twenty-five dollar ($25.00) special fee, if still applicable to this category of plates, shall be paid. Special memorial registration plates for holders of the Purple Heart that are issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2007, shall not be subject to the twenty-five dollar ($25.00) special fee, but shall be free of charge pursuant to § 55-4-203(b)(7).
(e) A disabled veteran who is entitled to be issued special memorial registration plates, free of charge, pursuant to § 55-4-237, may elect in the alternative for the issuance of special memorial registration plates for holders of the Purple Heart, free of charge, for no more than two (2) motor vehicles or two (2) recreational vehicles owned or leased by that disabled veteran; provided, that a disabled veteran shall meet the requirements of subsection (c) in order to be eligible for the issuance of special memorial registration plates for holders of the Purple Heart.
(f) Additional license plates may be obtained by any person entitled to receive the holders of the Purple Heart registration plate upon payment of the regular license fee for plates, as prescribed under § 55-4-111, plus the payment of a fee equal to the cost of actually producing the plate.
[Acts 1998, ch. 1063, § 1; 2007, ch. 484, § 54; 2007, ch. 604, §§ 45, 46; 2008, ch. 1165, § 47.]