As Amended
SEC. 27-19-48. Personalized license tag; additional fee.
(1) Owners of motor vehicles who are residents of this state, upon complying with the motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles, and upon payment of the road and bridge privilege taxes, ad valorem taxes and registration fees as prescribed by law for private carriers of passengers, pickup trucks and other noncommercial motor vehicles, and upon payment of an additional fee in the amount provided in subsection (3)(a) of this section, shall be issued a personalized license tag of the same color as regular license tags to consist of the name of the county and not more than seven (7) letters of the alphabet or seven (7) numbers in lieu of the license tag numbering system prescribed by law. The purchaser of the personalized license tag may choose the combination of such letters or numbers, but no two (2) motor vehicles shall have the same combination of letters or numbers. In the event that the same combination of letters has been chosen by two (2) or more purchasers, the State Tax Commission shall assign a different number to each such purchaser which shall appear on the license tag following the combination of letters; provided, however, this combination shall not exceed seven (7) letters and/or numbers. The combination of letters and/or numbers written across the license tag shall be sufficiently large to be easily read but shall not be less than three (3) inches in height. No combination of letters or numbers which comprise words or expressions that are considered obscene, slandering, insulting or vulgar in ordinary usage shall be permitted, with the Chairman of the State Tax Commission having the responsibility of making such determination. If, however, such license plate is issued in error or otherwise and is determined by the chairman to be obscene, slanderous, insulting, vulgar or offensive, the chairman shall notify such owner that the license plate must be surrendered and that another personalized license plate may be selected by him and issued at no cost. Should the vehicle owner not desire another personalized license plate, the fee for such plate shall be refunded. In the event the owner fails to surrender the license plate after receiving proper notification, the chairman shall issue an order directing that the license plate be seized by agents of the State Tax Commission or any other duly authorized law enforcement personnel. If such owner is aggrieved by this determination, the appeal procedure and the provisions provided in Section 27-19-337 shall be followed.
(2) Application for the personalized license tags shall be made to the county tax collector on forms prescribed by the State Tax Commission. The application form shall contain space for the applicant to make five (5) different choices for the combination of the letters and numbers in the order in which said combination is desired by the applicant. The application and the additional fee, less five percent (5%) thereof to be retained by the tax collector, shall be remitted to the State Tax Commission within seven (7) days of the date the application is made. The portion of the additional fee retained by the tax collector shall be deposited into the county general fund.
(3)
(a) Beginning with any registration year commencing on or after November 1, 1986, any person applying for a personalized license tag shall pay an additional fee which shall be in addition to all other taxes and fees. The additional fee paid shall be for a period of time to run concurrent with the vehicle's established license tag year. The additional fee of Thirty Dollars ($30.00) is due and payable at the time the original application is made for a personalized tag and thereafter annually at the time of renewal registration as long as the owner retains the personalized tag. If the owner does not wish to retain such personalized tag, he must surrender it to the local county tax collector.
(b) The State Tax Commission shall deposit all taxes and fees into the State Treasury on the day collected. At the end of each month, the State Tax Commission shall certify the total fees collected under this section to the State Treasurer who shall distribute to the credit of the State General Fund Sixteen Dollars and Twenty-five Cents ($16.25) of each additional fee and the remainder of each such additional fee shall be deposited to the credit of the State Highway Fund to be expended solely for the repair, maintenance, construction or reconstruction of highways.
(4) A regular license tag must be properly displayed as required by law until replaced by a personalized license tag; and the regular license tag must be surrendered to the tax collector upon issuance of the personalized license tag. The tax collector shall issue up to two (2) license decals for the personalized license tag, which will expire the same month and year as the original license tag.
(5) The applicant shall receive a refund of the fee paid for a personalized license tag if the personalized license tag is not issued to him because the combination of letters and numbers requested to be placed thereon is not available for any reason.
(6) In the case of loss or theft of a personalized license tag, the owner may make application and affidavit for a replacement license tag as provided by Section 27-19-37. The fee for a replacement personalized license tag shall be Ten Dollars ($10.00). The tax collector receiving such application and affidavit shall be entitled to retain and deposit into the county general fund five percent (5%) of the fee for such replacement license tag and the remainder shall be distributed in the same manner as funds from the sale of regular license tags.
SOURCES: Laws, 1981, ch. 540, Sec. 1; 1984, ch. 478, Sec. 11; 1986, ch. 420, Sec. 5; 1992, ch. 553, Sec. 1, eff from and after July 1, 1992.
1997 Amendment
SECTION 4. Section 27-19-48, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended by
Section 5 of House Bill
1525, 1997 Regular Session, is amended as follows:
27-19-48. (1) Owners of motor vehicles who are residents of this state,
upon complying with the
motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor
vehicles, and upon payment of the
road and bridge privilege taxes, ad valorem taxes and registration
fees as prescribed by law for
private carriers of passengers, pickup trucks and other noncommercial
motor vehicles, and upon
payment of an additional fee in the amount provided in subsection (4)(a)
of this section, shall be
issued a personalized license tag of the same color as regular license
tags to consist of the name of
the county and not more than seven (7) letters of the alphabet or seven
(7) numbers in lieu of the
license tag numbering system prescribed by law. The purchaser of the
personalized license tag may
choose the combination of such letters or numbers, but no two (2) motor
vehicles shall have the same
combination of letters or numbers. In the event that the same combination
of letters has been chosen
by two (2) or more purchasers, the State Tax Commission shall assign
a different number to each
such purchaser which shall appear on the license tag following the
combination of letters; provided,
however, this combination shall not exceed seven (7) letters and/or
numbers. The combination of
letters and/or numbers written across the license tag shall be sufficiently
large to be easily read but
shall not be less than three (3) inches in height. No combination of
letters or numbers which comprise
words or expressions that are considered obscene, slandering, insulting
or vulgar in ordinary usage
shall be permitted, with the Chairman of the State Tax Commission having
the responsibility of
making such determination. If, however, such license plate is issued
in error or otherwise and is
determined by the chairman to be obscene, slanderous, insulting, vulgar
or offensive, the chairman
shall notify such owner that the license plate must be surrendered
and that another personalized
license plate may be selected by him and issued at no cost. Should
the vehicle owner not desire
another personalized license plate, the fee for such plate shall be
refunded. In the event the owner
fails to surrender the license plate after receiving proper notification,
the chairman shall issue an order
directing that the license plate be seized by agents of the State Tax
Commission or any other duly
authorized law enforcement personnel. If such owner is aggrieved by
this determination, the appeal
procedure and the provisions provided in Section 27-19-337 shall be
followed.
(2) For the purposes of this section the terms "motor vehicle" and "vehicle" include motorcycles.
(3) Application for the personalized license tags shall be made to the
county tax collector on forms
prescribed by the State Tax Commission. The application form shall
contain space for the applicant
to make five (5) different choices for the combination of the letters
and numbers in the order in which
said combination is desired by the applicant. The application and the
additional fee, less five percent
(5%) thereof to be retained by the tax collector, shall be remitted
to the State Tax Commission within
seven (7) days of the date the application is made. The portion of
the additional fee retained by the
tax collector shall be deposited into the county general fund.
(4) (a) Beginning with any registration year commencing on or after
November 1, 1986, any person
applying for a personalized license tag shall pay an additional fee
which shall be in addition to all other
taxes and fees. The additional fee paid shall be for a period of time
to run concurrent with the
vehicle's established license tag year. The additional fee of Thirty
Dollars ($30.00) is due and payable
at the time the original application is made for a personalized tag
and thereafter annually at the time of
renewal registration as long as the owner retains the personalized
tag. If the owner does not wish to
retain such personalized tag, he must surrender it to the local county
tax collector. The additional fee
due at the time of renewal registration shall be collected by the county
tax collector and remitted to
the State Tax Commission on a monthly basis as prescribed by the commission.
(b) The State Tax Commission shall deposit all taxes and fees into the
State Treasury on the day
collected. At the end of each month, the State Tax Commission shall
certify the total fees collected
under this section to the State Treasurer who shall distribute to the
credit of the State General Fund
Sixteen Dollars and Twenty-five Cents ($16.25) of each additional fee
and the remainder of each
such additional fee shall be deposited to the credit of the State Highway
Fund to be expended solely
for the repair, maintenance, construction or reconstruction of highways.
(5) A regular license tag must be properly displayed as required by
law until replaced by a
personalized license tag; and the regular license tag must be surrendered
to the tax collector upon
issuance of the personalized license tag. The tax collector shall issue
up to two (2) license decals for
the personalized license tag, which will expire the same month and
year as the original license tag.
(6) The applicant shall receive a refund of the fee paid for a personalized
license tag if the
personalized license tag is not issued to him because the combination
of letters and numbers
requested to be placed thereon is not available for any reason.
(7) In the case of loss or theft of a personalized license tag, the
owner may make application and
affidavit for a replacement license tag as provided by Section 27-19-37.
The fee for a replacement
personalized license tag shall be Ten Dollars ($10.00). The tax collector
receiving such application
and affidavit shall be entitled to retain and deposit into the county
general fund five percent (5%) of
the fee for such replacement license tag and the remainder shall be
distributed in the same manner as
funds from the sale of regular license tags.
SOURCE: 1997 Laws, Chapter 377, Sec. 5, HB1525, and Chapter 552, Sec. 4, HB137, Effective July 1, 1997.