HB 1517 — An Act amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in registration of vehicles, providing for vendor-designed registration plates.

PRINTER'S NO.   1773

                      THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                          HOUSE BILL
                          No. 1517
                                                 Session of
                                                   2025

     INTRODUCED BY MULLINS, DELOZIER, JAMES, HILL-EVANS, FLEMING,
        GIRAL, CERRATO, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, SANCHEZ, DONAHUE, SCHLEGEL
        AND GREEN, MAY 29, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, MAY 29, 2025


                                      AN ACT
 1   Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
 2      Statutes, in registration of vehicles, providing for vendor-
 3      designed registration plates.
 4      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 5   hereby enacts as follows:
 6      Section 1.      Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
 7   Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
 8   § 1341.2.      Vendor-designed registration plates.
 9      (a)   Duties of department.--The department shall:
10            (1)    Enter into a contract with a private vendor for the
11      marketing and sale of vendor-designed registration plates
12      within 12 months of the effective date of this section. The
13      department shall select a private vendor according to the
14      provisions of 62 Pa.C.S. (relating to procurement).
15            (2)    Only select a private vendor who is able to fulfill
16      the requirements of this section.
17            (3)    Develop policies and procedures for the
18      implementation of this section.
 1      (b)   Contract requirements.--A contract entered into with a
 2   private vendor under subsection (a) shall be for an initial term
 3   of not less than five years and be renewable by the same private
 4   vendor for not less than two successive five-year terms. The
 5   contract shall require the private vendor to:
 6            (1)   Market and sell the vendor-designed registration
 7      plates on the private vendor's publicly accessible Internet
 8      website.
 9            (2)   Process the purchase and issuance of vendor-designed
10      registration plates hosted on the private vendor's publicly
11      accessible Internet website and pay any associated costs and
12      fees.
13            (3)   Permit a vendor-designed registration plate that is
14      purchased from the private vendor's publicly accessible
15      Internet website to be personalized.
16            (4)   Provide to the department, at least monthly,
17      periodic accounts that accurately detail all material
18      transactions, including information reasonably required by
19      the department to support fees that are collected by the
20      private vendor, and regularly remit all money payable to the
21      department under the contract.
22            (5)   Establish an electronic infrastructure coordinated
23      and compatible with the department's systems, by which motor
24      vehicle owners may electronically send and receive
25      applications, other documents or required payments, and that,
26      when secure access is necessary, can be electronically
27      validated by the department.
28            (6)   Establish the amounts to be received by the
29      department from the fees imposed under subsection (d) as
30      negotiated with and agreed upon by the department.

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 1            (7)    Comply with the provisions of section 1331(a), (b)
 2      and (d) (relating to issuance and reissuance of registration
 3      plates).
 4            (8)    Manufacture the vendor-designed registration plates
 5      in accordance with current department practices.
 6            (9)    Provide for a minimum revenue guarantee within the
 7      first five years of the contract. The guarantee shall be
 8      negotiated between the department and the private vendor.
 9            (10)    Comply with any other requirement established by
10      the department, subject to the contract limitations in
11      subsection (c).
12      (c)   Contract limitations.--The department may not
13   unreasonably do any of the following:
14            (1)    Disapprove or limit an aspect of a private vendor's
15      marketing and sales plan.
16            (2)    Interfere with the selection, assignment or
17      management by the private vendor of the private vendor's
18      employees, agents or subcontractors.
19            (3)    Restrict the ability of the private vendor to offer
20      a variety of plate designs with personalized and
21      nonpersonalized alphanumeric patterns.
22            (4)    Disapprove or limit the ability of the private
23      vendor to offer vender-designed registration plate renewal
24      terms of more than one year.
25            (5)    Disapprove or limit the ability of the private
26      vendor to offer symbols on a vendor-designed registration
27      plate that are not part of the registration plate's
28      alphanumeric pattern.
29      (d)   Fees.--The department, in consultation with the private
30   vendor, shall establish fees for the issuance and renewal of

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 1   vendor-designed registration plates that are marketed and sold
 2   by the private vendor.
 3      (e)    Restricted account.--The Pennsylvania State Police
 4   Traffic Safety Enhancement Restricted Account is established in
 5   the Motor License Fund. The department shall be reimbursed
 6   actual costs incurred in the implementation of this section from
 7   fees generated under this section. The remainder of fees
 8   collected under this section shall be deposited into the
 9   Pennsylvania State Police Traffic Safety Enhancement Restricted
10   Account solely for the purchase of equipment and supplies by the
11   Pennsylvania State Police for enforcing and enhancing traffic
12   safety efforts in this Commonwealth. Money in the account shall
13   be appropriated on a continuing basis.
14      (f)    Issuance limitation.--
15             (1)   Vendor-designed registration plates may only be sold
16      and issued for a motorcycle or a passenger car or truck with
17      a registered gross weight of not more than 14,000 pounds.
18             (2)   Subject to paragraph (3), 12 vendor-designed
19      registration plate designs shall be made available by the
20      private vendor for purchase by the motoring public.
21             (3)   After 12 months from the initial date the private
22      vendor makes approved vendor-designed registration plates
23      available for purchase by the motoring public, the department
24      may approve additional vendor-designed registration plate
25      designs in excess of the limitation contained in paragraph
26      (2).
27      (g)    Design limitation.--A vendor-designed registration plate
28   may not substantially mimic:
29             (1)   The department's standard white, blue and yellow
30      registration plate or any future standard-issue registration

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 1      plates provided by the department.
 2            (2)   Other registration plates specifically authorized by
 3      this subchapter.
 4      (h)   Design approval.--The department shall approve the
 5   designs and color combinations for vendor-designed registration
 6   plates that are exclusively marketed and sold by a private
 7   vendor in consultation with the Pennsylvania State Police
 8   subject to the following:
 9            (1)   The department may not restrict the background
10      color, color combinations or color of plate numbers or
11      letters of vendor-designed registration plates, except as
12      determined by the department as necessary for law enforcement
13      purposes.
14            (2)   The department may disapprove a design, cancel a
15      vendor-designed registration plate or require the
16      discontinuation of a vendor-designed registration plate or
17      color combination that is marketed, hosted or sold by a
18      private vendor at any time if the department determines that
19      the disapproval, cancellation or discontinuation is in the
20      best interest of the Commonwealth or the motoring public.
21      (i)   Ownership retained.--Each approved vendor-designed
22   registration plate design and color combination remains the
23   property of the department. A vendor-designed registration plate
24   remains the property of the department and shall not be
25   considered property of the person that is issued the vendor-
26   designed registration plate.
27      (j)   Cease of operations.--If the private vendor that enters
28   into a contract with the department ceases operations:
29            (1)   The department may fulfill the duties of the private
30      vendor temporarily until another private vendor is selected

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 1      and begins operation.
 2            (2)   The private vendor's share of the fee under
 3      subsection (d) is deposited to the credit of the Motor
 4      License Fund until a new private vendor is selected by the
 5      department, at which time the share of the fee shall be
 6      transmitted to the private vendor that ceased operations.
 7      (k)   Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
 8   construed to prohibit:
 9            (1)   The seizure of a vendor-designed registration plate
10      under section 1334.1 (relating to seizure of registration
11      plate).
12            (2)   The surrender of a vendor-designed registration
13      plate under section 1376 (relating to surrender of
14      registration plates and cards upon suspension or revocation).
15      Section 2.    This act shall take effect in 180 days.




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