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SB99 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.

Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Poore
Last action
2025-07-30
Official status
Signed 7/30/25
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify who benefits directly from the fund other than it being used for scholarships and community events sponsored by the high school.

Special License Plate for William Penn High School

This act creates a special background license plate for William Penn High School that supports scholarships and community events, available to the public.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a special background license plate for William Penn High School.
  • Requires at least 200 applications before issuing plates.
  • Sets an initial fee of $50 for each application, including an administrative fee of $15.
  • Deposits remaining funds into the Scholarship Fund to support scholarships and community events sponsored by the high school.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Drivers who want to purchase a special license plate for William Penn High School.

Terms To Know

Special License Plate
A unique background license plate that supports a cause and is available for purchase by the public at large, including members of the organization.
Scholarship Fund
The fund where proceeds from special license plates are deposited to support scholarships and community events sponsored by William Penn High School.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It requires at least 200 applications before the plates can be issued.
  • Details about how funds will be used for promoting plate sales and administering the program are not specified in the summary.

Bill History

  1. 2025-07-30 Delaware General Assembly

    Signed by Governor

  2. 2025-06-25 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 1 ABSENT 1 VACANT

  3. 2025-06-18 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Transportation) in House with 6 On Its Merits

  4. 2025-05-20 Delaware General Assembly

    Assigned to Transportation Committee in House

  5. 2025-05-15 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

  6. 2025-05-07 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Environment, Energy & Transportation) in Senate with 8 On Its Merits

  7. 2025-04-09 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.
This Act creates a background special license plate for the William Penn High School to support scholarships and community events sponsored by the high school.

A background special license plate supports a cause and is available for purchase by the public at large, including members of the organization. The numbers, letters, or both, assigned will be the same as the license plate assigned to the owner’s vehicle at the time of the application for the plate.

This Act requires a greater-than-majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths for the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when a new tax or license fee is imposed.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Poore & Rep. Minor-Brown & Rep. Kamela Smith

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 99

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 21 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Three-fifths of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. Amend Chapter 21, Title 21 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 2140T. William Penn High School special license plate.

(a) The owner of any vehicle described in subsection (b) of this section may apply to the Division of Motor Vehicles (“Division”) for a special William Penn High School license plate. The Division shall issue the plate only if it receives at least 200 applications for the plate.

(b) This section only applies to the following:

(1) A private passenger vehicle.

(2) Subject to paragraph (b)(2)b. of this section, a motor vehicle or trailer with a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight rating (“GVWR”) of 26,000 pounds or less.

a. The motor vehicle or trailer described in this paragraph (b)(2) may be owned by an individual or an artificial entity, including a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, or joint-stock company.

b. A motor vehicle that qualifies to register for the International Registration Plan (“IRP”), individually, or as part of a combination of vehicles, may not be issued a special plate under this section.

(c)(1) On the initial application for a plate to be issued under this section, a 1-time fee of $50, which includes an administrative fee of $15, is required in addition to the annual registration fee required by this title.

(2) The initial application fee under paragraph (c)(1) of this section is required for any person applying for the plate, including a member of a non-profit organization, even if the member is exempt from registration fees under §2159 of this title.

(3) A replacement plate may be obtained on payment of a fee to be set by the Division, which must cover the cost of the plate.

(d) The Division shall deposit the 1-time administrative fee collected under subsection (c) of this section into a special fund and use the fund for the purpose of promoting the sale of the plate and administering this section. Proceeds remaining after the Division has covered the costs of promoting the sale of the plate and administering this section must be applied under subsection (e) of this section.

(e) The funds derived by the State from that portion of the 1-time fee of $50 under subsection (c) of this section other than the funds spent by the Division under subsection (d) of this section must be deposited by the Division with the State Treasurer and must be specifically set aside in the Scholarship Fund for use by the William Penn Alumni Association Fund to support its mission to raise funding for scholarships and organize community events sponsored by the high school.

(f) The design for all plates issued under this section must be submitted by the William Penn Alumni Association for final color and design approval by the Division, and are subject to the following:

(1) The wording, “The First State”, may be dropped and substituted with the wording “William Penn High School”.

(2) A plate may not be solely black and white in color.

(3) The Division may refuse any design that it believes would cause a public safety enforcement problem.

(g) The numbers, letters, or both, assigned will be the same as the license plate assigned to the owner’s vehicle at the time of the application for the plate.

(h) The Division may promulgate rules and regulations as required to administer this section.

SYNOPSIS

This Act creates a background special license plate for the William Penn High School to support scholarships and community events sponsored by the high school.

A background special license plate supports a cause and is available for purchase by the public at large, including members of the organization. The numbers, letters, or both, assigned will be the same as the license plate assigned to the owner’s vehicle at the time of the application for the plate.

This Act requires a greater-than-majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths for the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when a new tax or license fee is imposed.

Author: Senator Poore