AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION FEES (Includes veterans 75 years or older with a combined service connected disability rating of 70% as eligible for disabled veterans license plates.)

S2418

2026 -- S 2418
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LC004214
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION FEES

Introduced By:
Senators Lawson, LaMountain, Gallo, Lauria, and Britto

Date Introduced:
January 30, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 31-6-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-6 entitled "Registration
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Fees" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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31-6-8. Disabled veterans.
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(a) Any veteran who has been honorably discharged from the service of the armed forces
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or the Merchant Marine of the United States in any of the wars or campaigns in which the United
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States has been engaged and who, while engaged in these wars or campaigns or as a result of
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engagement in these wars or campaigns, by reason of amputation, has lost one or both of the
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veteran’s arms, hands, feet, or legs, or who, by reason of other permanent injury, has lost the use
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of one or both of the veteran’s arms, hands, feet, or legs, or to whom has been granted a motor
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vehicle under chapter 870-2D, United States Public Laws 663, enacted 1946, 79th Congress, or has
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suitable documentation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to establish that the veteran:
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(1) Has a combined service connected disability rating of one hundred percent (100%);
or
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(2)
Is seventy-five (75) years of age or older with a combined service connected disability
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rating of seventy percent (70%); or
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(3)
Is considered “individually unemployable” due to the veteran’s service-connected
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disability, shall be exempt from the payment of any fee for the annual registration of and a license
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to operate that motor vehicle.
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(b) The administrator for the division of motor vehicles shall issue to an eligible veteran
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for use on an automobile, or on a commercial vehicle having a gross weight of twelve thousand

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pounds (12,000 lbs.) or less, registration plates designated “Disabled Veteran.” Upon the death of
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the holder of “Disabled Veteran” plates, the plates may be transferred to the veteran’s surviving
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spouse for the spouse’s lifetime or until the spouse remarries. Only one set of “Disabled Veteran”
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plates shall be issued to an eligible veteran and only after certification of eligibility from the
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Veterans’ Administration or other satisfactory documentation of eligibility is presented.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION FEES
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This act would include a veteran who is seventy-five (75) years of age or older with a
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combined service-connected disability rating of seventy percent (70%), as eligible for disabled
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veterans license plates. A veteran who is “individually unemployable” due to a service-connected
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disability shall be exempted from the payment of the annual registration of and license to operate
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fee.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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