Read the full stored bill text
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 1 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to specialty license plates; amending 2
s. 320.08053, F.S.; requiring certain organizations 3
that have an approved specialty license plate to 4
submit within a specified timeframe certain financial 5
information to the Department of Highway Safety and 6
Motor Vehicles; providing for the deauthorization of 7
certain specialty license plates if the organization 8
receiving the annual use fees does not submit the 9
required financial information to the department 10
within the specified timeframe; requiring the 11
department to submit an annual report to the Governor 12
and Legislature by a specified date; amending s. 13
320.08056, F.S.; prohibiting specialty license plate 14
annual use fees or interest earned from such fees from 15
being distributed to certain entities; amending s. 16
320.08058, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the 17
issuance and fee distribution for Fraternal Order of 18
Police license plates; directing the department to 19
develop specified specialty license plates; amending 20
s. 320.08062, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes 21
made by the act; providing an effective date. 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
25
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 2 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Section 1. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section 26
320.08053, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4), 27
(5), and (6), respectively, subsection (1) is amended, and new 28
subsections (2) and (3) are added to that section, to read: 29
320.08053 Establishment of specialty license plates.— 30
(1) If a specialty license plate requested by an 31
organization is approved by law, the organization must submit 32
the proposed art design for the specialty license plate to the 33
department, as soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days 34
after the act approving the specialty license plate becomes a 35
law: 36
(a) The proposed art design for the specialty license 37
plate. 38
(b) A 5-year financial projection that: 39
1. Outlines anticipated revenues and planned expenditures 40
of the revenues to be derived from the sale of the requested 41
specialty license plate. 42
2. Provides a list of administrative expenses that the 43
approved specialty license plate organization anticipates, if 44
such expenses are authorized by s. 320.08058. 45
3. Provides a list of third parties to which the approved 46
specialty license plate organization plans to transfer, convey, 47
or otherwise distribute the specialty license plate annual use 48
fees in a medium prescribed by the department, as soon as 49
practicable, but no later than 60 days after the act approving 50
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 3 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the specialty license plate becomes a law. 51
(2) If the financial projection required in paragraph 52
(1)(b) is not received by the department from the approved 53
specialty license plate organization within the timeframe 54
specified in subsection (1), then the specialty license plate is 55
deauthorized. 56
(3) By December 31 of each year, the department must 57
submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 58
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives summarizing the 59
financial projections submitted to the department pursuant to 60
paragraph (1)(b). The report must also include the department's 61
notification regarding the status of organizations whose 62
revenues have been withheld as provided in s. 320.08062(2)(d). 63
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (10) and subsection 64
(12) of section 320.08056, Florida Statutes, are amended to 65
read: 66
320.08056 Specialty license plates.— 67
(10)(a) A specialty license plate annual use fee collected 68
and distributed under this chapter, or any interest earned from 69
those fees, may be distributed to either a domestic corporation 70
as defined in s. 617.01401(4) that has filed its articles of 71
incorporation with the Department of State pursuant to chapter 72
617 or a foreign corporation as defined in s. 617.01401 that has 73
complied with s. 617.1503 and is authorized to conduct its 74
affairs in Florida. Such corporations authorized by law to 75
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 4 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
collect annual use fees from a specialty license plate may not: 76
1. Transfer, convey, or otherwise distribute the annual 77
use fees or any interest earned from those fees to any third 78
party unless the third party is a domestic corporation as 79
defined in s. 617.01401(4) that has filed its articles of 80
incorporation with the Department of State pursuant to chapter 81
617 or a foreign corporation as defined in s. 617.01401 that has 82
complied with s. 617.1503 and is authorized to conduct its 83
affairs in Florida. 84
2. Use the annual use fees or any interest earned from 85
those fees Be used for commercial or for-profit activities nor 86
for general or administrative expenses, except as authorized by 87
s. 320.08058 or to pay the cost of the audit or report required 88
by s. 320.08062(1). 89
3. Expend the annual use fees or The fees and any interest 90
earned from the fees outside may be expended only for use in 91
this state unless the annual use fee is derived from the sale of 92
United States Armed Forces and veterans-related specialty 93
license plates pursuant to paragraph (3)(d) for the Support Our 94
Troops, American Legion, and Honor Flight license plates; 95
paragraphs (4)(b), (q), and (v) for the Florida Salutes 96
Veterans, United States Marine Corps, and Military Services 97
license plates, respectively; and s. 320.0891 for the U.S. 98
Paratrooper license plate. 99
(12) Notwithstanding s. 320.08058(3)(a), the department, 100
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 5 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
in cooperation with the independent colleges or universities as 101
described in s. 1009.89, shall create a standard template 102
specialty license plate with a unique logo or graphic 103
identifying each independent college or university. Each 104
independent college or university may elect to use this standard 105
template specialty license plate in lieu of its own specialty 106
license plate. Annual use fees from the sale of these license 107
plates shall be distributed to the independent college or 108
university for which the logo or graphic is displayed on the 109
license plate and shall be used as provided in s. 320.08058(3). 110
An independent college or university opting to use the standard 111
template specialty license plate shall have the standard 112
template specialty license plate sales added to the total number 113
of remaining current valid registrations under paragraph (8)(a) 114
for the formerly separate independent college and university 115
license plates which were issued before the independent college 116
or university elected to use the standard template specialty 117
license plate for purposes of the standard template specialty 118
license plate meeting the minimum license plate sales threshold 119
in paragraph (8)(a) and for determining the license plate limit 120
in s. 320.08053(5)(b) s. 320.08053(3)(b). Specialty license 121
plates created pursuant to this subsection must be ordered 122
directly from the department. If the independent college or 123
university elects to use the standard template specialty license 124
plate, the department shall discontinue the existing specialty 125
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 6 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
license plate and, notwithstanding paragraph (8)(c), shall 126
continue to collect the applicable specialty license plate 127
annual use fee under paragraph (3)(d) or subsection (4) for the 128
remainder of the 10-year license plate replacement period for 129
the existing plate being discontinued or being replaced with the 130
standard template specialty license plate. 131
Section 3. Subsection (67), paragraph (a) of subsection 132
(71), paragraph (a) of subsection (72), paragraph (a) of 133
subsection (73), paragraph (a) of subsection (74), paragraph (a) 134
of subsection (75), paragraph (a) of subsection (76), paragraph 135
(a) of subsection (77), paragraph (a) of subsection (78), and 136
paragraph (d) of subsection (101) of section 320.08058, Florida 137
Statutes, are amended, and subsections (136) through (142) are 138
added to that section, to read: 139
320.08058 Specialty license plates.— 140
(67) FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE LICENSE PLATES.— 141
(a)1. The department shall develop a Fraternal Order of 142
Police license plate as provided in this section. The plate must 143
bear the colors and design approved by the department. The word 144
"Florida" must appear at the top of the plate, and the words 145
"Fraternal Order of Police" must appear at the bottom of the 146
plate. 147
2. The department may issue the plate only to an applicant 148
who submits a notarized letter from the Florida State Lodge of 149
the Fraternal Order of Police stating that the applicant is a 150
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 7 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
member of the lodge in good standing or a member of a lodge 151
member's family, together with other fees and documents required 152
for a specialty plate. 153
(b) The annual use fees shall be distributed to the 154
Florida State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, which 155
shall retain all proceeds until the startup costs to develop and 156
establish the plate have been recovered. Thereafter, the 157
proceeds shall be distributed to the Florida State Lodge 158
Fraternal Order of Police Memorial Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit 159
corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, 160
which shall distribute funds according to its articles of 161
incorporation of the Fraternal Order of Police and used as 162
follows: 163
1. A maximum of 10 percent of the proceeds may be used to 164
promote and market the plate, to administer the license plate 165
program, and to pay administrative costs directly associated 166
with the state Fraternal Order of Police Law Enforcement 167
Memorial. 168
2. The remaining proceeds shall be used by the foundation 169
to fund projects, programs, or events related to the memorial or 170
to fund improvements, maintenance, or other support for the 171
memorial. 172
(71) FREEMASONRY LICENSE PLATES.— 173
(a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of 174
Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida, 175
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 8 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the department shall develop a Freemasonry license plate as 176
provided in this section and s. 320.08053(1) and (4) s. 177
320.08053(1) and (2). The word "Florida" must appear at the top 178
of the plate, and the words "In God We Trust" must appear at the 179
bottom of the plate. 180
(72) AMERICAN LEGION LICENSE PLATES.— 181
(a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of 182
Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida, 183
the department shall develop an American Legion license plate as 184
provided in s. 320.08053(1) and (4) s. 320.08053(1) and (2) and 185
this section. The plate must bear the colors and design approved 186
by the department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of 187
the plate, and the words "American Legion" must appear at the 188
bottom of the plate. 189
(73) LAUREN'S KIDS LICENSE PLATES.— 190
(a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of 191
Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida, 192
the department shall develop a Lauren's Kids, Prevent Child 193
Sexual Abuse license plate as provided in s. 320.08053(1) and 194
(4) s. 320.08053(1) and (2) and this section. The plate must 195
bear the colors and design approved by the department. The word 196
"Florida" must appear at the top of the plate, and the words 197
"Lauren's Kids" must appear at the bottom of the plate. 198
(74) BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS LICENSE PLATES.— 199
(a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of 200
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 9 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida, 201
the department shall develop a Big Brothers Big Sisters license 202
plate as provided in s. 320.08053(1) and (4) s. 320.08053(1) and 203
(2) and this section. The plate must bear the colors and design 204
approved by the department. The word "Florida" must appear at 205
the top of the plate, and the words "Big Brothers Big Sisters" 206
must appear at the bottom of the plate. 207
(75) FALLEN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS LICENSE PLATES.— 208
(a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of 209
Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida, 210
the department shall develop a Fallen Law Enforcement Officers 211
license plate as provided in s. 320.08053(1) and (4) s. 212
320.08053(1) and (2) and this section. The plate must bear the 213
colors and design approved by the department. The word "Florida" 214
must appear at the top of the plate, and the words "A Hero 215
Remembered Never Dies" must appear at the bottom of the plate. 216
(76) FLORIDA SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION LICENSE PLATES.— 217
(a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of 218
Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida, 219
the department shall develop a Florida Sheriffs Association 220
license plate as provided in s. 320.08053(1) and (4) s. 221
320.08053(1) and (2) and this section. The plate must bear the 222
colors and design approved by the department. A sheriff's star 223
must appear on the left side of the plate, the word "Florida" 224
must appear at the top of the plate, and the words "Florida 225
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 10 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Sheriffs Association" must appear at the bottom of the plate. 226
(77) KEISER UNIVERSITY LICENSE PLATES.— 227
(a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of 228
Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida, 229
the department shall develop a Keiser University license plate 230
as provided in s. 320.08053(1) and (4) s. 320.08053(1) and (2) 231
and this section. The plate must bear the colors and design 232
approved by the department. The word "Florida" must appear at 233
the top of the plate, and the words "Keiser University" must 234
appear at the bottom of the plate. 235
(78) MOFFITT CANCER CENTER LICENSE PLATES.— 236
(a) Notwithstanding s. 45, chapter 2008-176, Laws of 237
Florida, as amended by s. 21, chapter 2010-223, Laws of Florida, 238
the department shall develop a Moffitt Cancer Center license 239
plate as provided in s. 320.08053(1) and (4) s. 320.08053(1) and 240
(2) and this section. The word "Florida" must appear at the top 241
of the plate, and the words "Moffitt Cancer Center" must appear 242
at the bottom of the plate. 243
(101) DIVINE NINE LICENSE PLATES.— 244
(d) A Divine Nine license plate: 245
1. May be personalized. 246
2. May not be transferred between vehicle owners. 247
248
License plates created pursuant to this subsection shall have 249
their plate sales combined for the purpose of meeting the 250
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 11 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
minimum license plate sales threshold in s. 320.08056(8)(a) and 251
for determining the license plate limit in s. 320.08053(5)(b) s. 252
320.08053(3)(b). License plates created pursuant to this 253
subsection must be ordered directly from the department. 254
(136) MIAMI NORTHWESTERN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION LICENSE 255
PLATES.— 256
(a) The department shall develop a Miami Northwestern 257
Alumni Association license plate as provided in this section and 258
s. 320.08053. The plate must bear the colors and design approved 259
by the department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of 260
the plate, and the words "Miami Northwestern Alumni Association" 261
must appear at the bottom of the plate. 262
(b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be 263
distributed to the Miami Northwestern Alumni Association, Inc., 264
which may use up to 10 percent of the fees for administrative 265
costs and marketing of the plate. The balance of the fees must 266
be used by the Miami Northwestern Alumni Association, Inc., to 267
fund academic programs, athletic programs, and need-based 268
scholarships for the benefit of Miami Northwestern Senior High 269
School students and the Miami Northwestern Senior High School 270
Performing and Visual Arts Center. 271
(137) CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS HIGH SCHOOL LICENSE PLATES.— 272
(a) The department shall develop a Christopher Columbus 273
High School license plate as provided in this section and s. 274
320.08053. The plate must bear the colors and design approved by 275
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 12 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of the 276
plate, and the words "Christopher Columbus High School" must 277
appear at the bottom of the plate. 278
(b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be 279
distributed to Christopher Columbus High School, Inc., which may 280
use up to 10 percent of the fees for administrative costs and 281
marketing of the plate. The balance of the fees must be used by 282
Christopher Columbus High School, Inc., to fund academic 283
programs, athletic programs, and need-based scholarships for the 284
benefit of Christopher Columbus High School students. 285
(138) ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP (UFC) LICENSE 286
PLATES.— 287
(a) The department shall develop an Ultimate Fighting 288
Championship (UFC) license plate as provided in this section and 289
s. 320.08053. The plate must bear the colors and design approved 290
by the department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of 291
the plate, and the words "UFC Lives Here" must appear at the 292
bottom of the plate. 293
(b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be 294
distributed to the UFC Foundation, a nonprofit corporation under 295
s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which may use up to 296
10 percent of the proceeds to promote and market the plate. The 297
UFC Foundation shall use the remainder of the proceeds to 298
support charities and nonprofits in this state that align with 299
the foundation's mission and goals, such as children's 300
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 13 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
hospitals, support for first responders and the military, and 301
youth advocacy and mentorship, and to fund the development and 302
operation of youth mentorship programs in partnership with local 303
law enforcement agencies. 304
(139) UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY LICENSE PLATES.— 305
(a) The department shall develop a United States Naval 306
Academy license plate as provided in this section and s. 307
320.08053. The plate must bear the colors and design approved by 308
the department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of the 309
plate, and the words "Go Navy, Beat Army!" must appear at the 310
bottom of the plate. 311
(b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be 312
distributed to the Jacksonville Chapter of the Naval Academy 313
Alumni Association, which may use up to 10 percent of the fees 314
for administrative costs related to promotion and marketing of 315
the plate. The chapter shall use the remaining fees to provide 316
grants to charitable organizations in this state which directly 317
support veterans and their families for purposes including, but 318
not limited to: 319
1. Providing food or shelter. 320
2. Providing service animals or support animals to wounded 321
veterans. 322
3. Supporting children of servicemembers killed in the 323
line of duty. 324
(140) UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY LICENSE PLATES.— 325
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 14 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(a) The department shall develop a United States Military 326
Academy license plate as provided in this section and s. 327
320.08053. The plate must bear the colors and design approved by 328
the department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of the 329
plate, and the words "Go Army, Beat Navy!" must appear at the 330
bottom of the plate. 331
(b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be 332
distributed to Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., which may use up 333
to 10 percent of the fees for administrative costs related to 334
promotion and marketing of the plate. The balance of the fees 335
must be used by Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., to fund the 336
Florida Veterans Legal Helpline. 337
(141) MIAMI DADE COLLEGE LICENSE PLATES.— 338
(a) The department shall develop a Miami Dade College 339
license plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The 340
plate must bear the colors and design approved by the 341
department. The word "Florida" must appear at the top of the 342
plate, and the words "Miami Dade College" must appear at the 343
bottom of the plate. 344
(b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be 345
distributed to the Miami Dade College Foundation, Inc., which 346
may use up to 10 percent of the fees for administrative costs 347
and marketing of the plate. The balance of the fees must be used 348
by the Miami Dade College Foundation, Inc., to fund student 349
scholarships. 350
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 15 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(142) FLORIDA FILM LEGACY LICENSE PLATES.— 351
(a) The department shall develop a Florida Film Legacy 352
license plate as provided in this section and s. 320.08053. The 353
plate must bear the colors and design approved by the department 354
in consultation with Feature Florida Partnerships, Inc. The word 355
"Florida" must appear at the top of the plate, and the words 356
"Film Legacy" must appear at the bottom of the plate. 357
(b) The annual use fees from the sale of the plate must be 358
distributed to Feature Florida Partnerships, Inc., a nonprofit 359
corporation under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. By 360
September 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, Feature Florida 361
Partnerships, Inc., must submit a financial report to the 362
department detailing the use of such fees during the preceding 363
fiscal year. 364
Section 4. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 365
320.08062, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 366
320.08062 Audits and attestations required; annual use 367
fees of specialty license plates.— 368
(2) 369
(d) If an organization fails to comply with the 370
department's recommendations and corrective actions as outlined 371
in paragraph (c), the revenue distributions shall be 372
discontinued until completion of the next regular session of the 373
Legislature. By December 31 of each year and as part of the 374
report required in s. 320.08053(3), the department shall notify 375
CS/CS/HB 639 2026
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb639-02-c2
Page 16 of 16
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of 376
the House of Representatives by the first day of the next 377
regular session of any organization whose revenues have been 378
withheld as a result of this paragraph. If the Legislature does 379
not provide direction to the organization and the department 380
regarding the status of the undistributed revenues, the 381
department shall deauthorize the plate and the undistributed 382
revenues shall be immediately deposited into the Highway Safety 383
Operating Trust Fund. 384
Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2026. 385