Distinctive motor vehicle license tag; revise certain provisions regarding tag authorized for supporters of Wildlife Mississippi.

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To: Ways and Means
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Cockerham

HOUSE BILL NO. 1573

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-19-44, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO INCLUDE THE DISTINCTIVE MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE TAG AUTHORIZED TO 2
BE ISSUED TO SUPPORTERS OF WILDLIFE MISSISSIPPI WITHIN THE 3
DISTINCTIVE MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE TAGS THAT MAY BE ISSUED AFTER 4
PROOF HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE THAT 100 OF 5
THE TAGS WILL BE PURCHASED; TO AMEND SECTION 27-19-56.535, 6
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO AND TO EXTEND THE 7
TIME WITHIN SUCH REQUIREMENT MUST BE SATISFIED; AND FOR RELATED 8
PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. Section 27-19-44, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 11
amended as follows: 12
27-19-44. (1) For any distinctive license tag or plate 13
authorized by the Legislature from and after July 1, 2000, through 14
June 30, 2002, or authorized by Sections 27-19-56.37 and 15
27-19-56.55, the requirements of this subsection must be met 16
before the department may prepare or issue any such license tag or 17
plate. The organization or other entity for which the Legislature 18
authorized the distinctive license tag or plate must submit proof 19
satisfactory to the department that at least one hundred (100) of 20
such license tags or plates will be purchased and must deposit 21
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with the department an amount necessary to purchase one hundred 22
(100) of such license tags or plates. The organization or other 23
entity for which the Legislature authorized the distinctive 24
license tag or plate must satisfy the requirements of this 25
subsection (1) within two (2) years after the effective date of 26
the law authorizing the license tag or plate in order to permit 27
the license tag or plate to be prepared and issued. 28
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1) of this 29
section, for any distinctive license tag or plate authorized by 30
the Legislature from and after July 1, 2002, through June 30, 31
2007, the requirements of this subsection must be met before the 32
department may prepare or issue any such license tag or plate. 33
The organization or other entity for which the Legislature 34
authorized the distinctive license tag or plate must submit proof 35
satisfactory to the department that at least two hundred (200) of 36
such license tags or plates will be purchased and must deposit 37
with the department an amount necessary to purchase two hundred 38
(200) of such license tags or plates. The organization or other 39
entity for which the Legislature authorized the distinctive 40
license tag or plate must satisfy the requirements of this 41
subsection (2) within three (3) years after the effective date of 42
the law authorizing the license tag or plate in order to permit 43
the license tag or plate to be prepared and issued. 44
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, Section 45
27-19-56.7, Section 27-19-56.56, Section 27-19-56.59, Section 46
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27-19-56.85 or Section 27-19-56.94, for any distinctive license 47
tag or plate authorized or reauthorized by the Legislature from 48
and after July 1, 2007, the following requirements must be met 49
before the department may prepare or issue any such license tag or 50
plate: 51
(a) The organization or other entity for which the 52
Legislature authorized the distinctive license tag or plate must 53
submit proof satisfactory to the department that at least three 54
hundred (300) of such license tags or plates will be purchased and 55
must deposit with the department an amount necessary to purchase 56
three hundred (300) of such license tags or plates. 57
(b) The organization or other entity for which the 58
Legislature authorized the distinctive license tag or plate must 59
satisfy the requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) 60
within three (3) years after the effective date of the law 61
authorizing the license tag or plate in order to permit the 62
license tag or plate to be prepared and issued. This paragraph 63
(b) shall not apply to distinctive tags or plates issued under 64
Section 27-19-56.154. 65
(4) Any distinctive license tag authorized under Sections 66
27-19-56.186, 27-19-56.203 * * *, 27-19-56.315, and 27-19-56.535 67
must meet the requirements of this subsection before the 68
department may prepare or issue any such license tag or plate. 69
The organization or other entity for which the Legislature 70
authorized the distinctive license tag or plate must submit proof 71
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satisfactory to the department that at least one hundred (100) of 72
such license tags or plates will be purchased and must deposit 73
with the department an amount necessary to purchase one hundred 74
(100) of such license tags or plates. The organization or other 75
entity for which the Legislature authorized the distinctive 76
license tag or plate must satisfy the requirements of this 77
subsection (4) within three (3) years after the effective date of 78
the law authorizing the license tag or plate in order to permit 79
the license tag or plate to be prepared and issued. 80
(5) The distinctive license tags authorized under Section 81
27-19-56.108 must meet the requirements of this subsection before 82
the department may prepare or issue any such license tag or plate. 83
The organization or other entity for which the Legislature 84
authorized the distinctive license tag or plate must submit proof 85
satisfactory to the department that at least two hundred (200) of 86
such license tags or plates will be purchased and must deposit 87
with the department an amount necessary to purchase two hundred 88
(200) of such license tags or plates. 89
(6) Any distinctive license tag authorized under Section 90
27-19-56.549(1)(l), (n), (z) or (ai) must meet the requirements of 91
this subsection before the department may prepare or issue any 92
such license tag or plate. The organization or other entity for 93
which the Legislature authorized the distinctive license tag or 94
plate must submit proof satisfactory to the department that at 95
least one hundred (100) of such license tags or plates will be 96
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purchased and must deposit with the department an amount necessary 97
to purchase one hundred (100) of such license tags or plates. The 98
organization or other entity for which the Legislature authorized 99
the distinctive license tag or plate must satisfy the requirements 100
of this subsection (4) within three (3) years after the effective 101
date of the law authorizing the license tag or plate in order to 102
permit the license tag or plate to be prepared and issued. Until 103
a total of three hundred (300) such tags are sold, the department 104
shall deposit the proceeds of the additional fee into the License 105
Tag Acquisition Fund created in Section 27-19-179. After three 106
hundred (300) tags are sold, the proceeds of the additional fee 107
shall be distributed as provided in the section authorizing the 108
issuance of the applicable special tag. The department may 109
promulgate rules and regulations to administer this subsection. 110
(7) If the organization or other entity for which the 111
Legislature authorized the distinctive license tag or plate meets 112
the requirements of subsection (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of 113
this section, the department shall prepare and issue the 114
distinctive license tag or plate. 115
(8) The department shall review the number of distinctive or 116
special license tags or plates issued pursuant to this chapter 117
during the period for the license tag or plate series. If the 118
number of any distinctive or special license tag or plate issued 119
pursuant to this chapter falls below one hundred (100) in the last 120
year of the license tag or plate series, the distinctive or 121
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special license tag or plate shall be discontinued at the end of 122
the period for the license tag or plate series. 123
(9) If a distinctive or special license tag or plate is 124
discontinued under subsection (7) of this section, the 125
organization or other entity for which the license tag or plate 126
was discontinued may prepare a distinctive or special license tag 127
or plate decal. The distinctive or special license tag or plate 128
decal shall be of such size, color and design as may be agreed 129
upon by the organization or other entity and the department. 130
However, the department shall have final approval of the size, 131
color and design of the decal. The distinctive or special license 132
tag or plate decals shall be prepared and sold by the organization 133
or other entity, and the proceeds derived from the sale of such 134
decals shall be retained by the organization or other entity for 135
any use deemed appropriate by the organization or other entity. 136
(10) The provisions of this section shall not apply to 137
distinctive or special license tags or plates: 138
(a) Which are issued under Section 27-19-45, 27-19-46, 139
27-19-47.1, 27-19-47.2, 27-19-48, 27-19-49, 27-19-53, 27-19-55, 140
27-19-56, 27-19-56.1, 27-19-56.2, 27-19-56.3, 27-19-56.5, 141
27-19-56.6, 27-19-56.9, 27-19-56.11, 27-19-56.12, 27-19-56.13, 142
27-19-56.40, 27-19-56.62, 27-19-56.69, 27-19-56.79, 27-19-56.90, 143
27-19-56.125, 27-19-56.127, 27-19-56.137, 27-19-56.140, 144
27-19-56.162, 27-19-56.187, 27-19-56.199, 27-19-56.205, 145
27-19-56.239, 27-19-56.292, 27-19-56.318, 27-19-56.379, 146
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27-19-56.425, 27-19-56.466, 27-19-56.489, 27-19-56.522(1)(a), 147
27-19-56.524 or 27-19-56.557; or 148
(b) For which no additional fee is required to be paid. 149
SECTION 2. Section 27-19-56.535, Mississippi Code of 1972, 150
is amended as follows: 151
27-19-56.535. (1) Beginning with any registration year 152
commencing on or after July 1, 2024, any owner of a motor vehicle 153
who is a resident of this state, upon payment of the road and 154
bridge privilege taxes, ad valorem taxes and registration fees as 155
prescribed by law for private carriers of passengers, pickup 156
trucks and other noncommercial motor vehicles, and upon payment of 157
an additional fee in the amount provided in subsection (3) of this 158
section, shall be issued a distinctive license tag for any motor 159
vehicle registered in his name identifying such person as a 160
supporter of Wildlife Mississippi. The distinctive license tags 161
so issued shall be of such color and design as the department, 162
with the advice of Wildlife Mississippi, may prescribe and shall 163
consist of such letters or numbers, or both, as may be necessary 164
to distinguish each license tag. 165
(2) Application for the distinctive license tags authorized 166
by this section shall be made to the county tax collector on forms 167
prescribed by the department. The application and the additional 168
fee imposed under subsection (3) of this section, less Two Dollars 169
($2.00) thereof to be retained by the tax collector, shall be 170
remitted to the department on a monthly basis as prescribed by the 171
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department. The portion of the additional fee retained by the tax 172
collector shall be deposited into the county general fund. 173
(3) Any person applying for a distinctive license tag under 174
this section shall pay an additional fee in the amount of Thirty 175
Dollars ($30.00) for each distinctive license tag applied for 176
under this section, which shall be in addition to all other taxes 177
and fees. The additional fee paid shall be for a period of time 178
to run concurrently with the vehicle's established license tag 179
year. The additional fee is due and payable at the time the 180
original application is made for a distinctive license tag under 181
this section and thereafter annually at the time of renewal 182
registration as long as the owner retains the distinctive license 183
tag. If the owner does not wish to retain the distinctive license 184
tag, he must surrender it to the local county tax collector. 185
(4) The department shall deposit all fees into the State 186
Treasury on the day collected. At the end of each month, the 187
department shall certify to the State Treasurer the total fees 188
collected under this section from the issuance of the distinctive 189
license tags issued under this section. The State Treasurer shall 190
distribute such collections as follows: 191
(a) Twenty-four Dollars ($24.00) of each additional fee 192
collected on distinctive license tags issued pursuant to this 193
section shall be distributed to Wildlife Mississippi. 194
(b) One Dollar ($1.00) of each additional fee collected 195
on distinctive license tags issued pursuant to this section shall 196
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be deposited into the Mississippi Burn Care Fund created pursuant 197
to Section 7-9-70. 198
(c) Two Dollars ($2.00) of each additional fee 199
collected on distinctive license tags issued pursuant to this 200
section shall be deposited to the credit of the State Highway Fund 201
to be expended solely for the repair, maintenance, construction or 202
reconstruction of highways. 203
(d) One Dollar ($1.00) of each additional fee collected 204
on distinctive license tags issued pursuant to this section shall 205
be deposited to the credit of the special fund created in Section 206
27-19-44.2. 207
(5) A regular license tag must be properly displayed as 208
required by law until replaced by a distinctive license tag under 209
this section. The regular license tag must be surrendered to the 210
tax collector upon issuance of the distinctive license tag under 211
this section. The tax collector shall issue up to two (2) license 212
decals for each distinctive license tag issued under this section, 213
which will expire the same month and year as the regular license 214
tag. 215
(6) In the case of loss or theft of a distinctive license 216
tag issued under this section, the owner may make application and 217
affidavit for a replacement distinctive license tag as provided by 218
Section 27-19-37. The fee for a replacement distinctive license 219
tag shall be Ten Dollars ($10.00). The tax collector receiving 220
such application and affidavit shall be entitled to retain and 221
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ST: Distinctive motor vehicle license tag;
revise certain provisions regarding tag
authorized for supporters of Wildlife
Mississippi.
deposit into the county general fund five percent (5%) of the fee 222
for such replacement license tag and the remainder shall be 223
distributed in the same manner as funds from the sale of regular 224
distinctive license tags issued under this section. 225
(7) In order for a distinctive license tag to be issued 226
under this section, the provisions of * * * Section 27-19-44(4) 227
must be satisfied for the distinctive license tag before July 228
1, * * * 2029. 229
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 230
and after July 1, 2026. 231