Bill would create collegiate license plates

Wolverine fans may soon be able to trade in those standard blue-and-white Michigan license plates next year and show their maize-and-blue pride with a plate bearing the University's logo.

A Senate bill to create license plates for each of the state's 15 public universities is quickly making its way through the Legislature and is headed to the House floor after being reported out of the House Transportation Committee last night. The bill received unanimous approval from the Senate last week.

If the proposal is signed into law, university logo plates would be available to Michigan motorists for an extra $25. The money would go directly to the university whose logo appears on each plate purchased.

"Basically, people can show their colors, show their pride and the schools will benefit because (motorists) have to make a $25 donation," said Sen. Bill Bullard (R-Highland), a University alum who introduced the bill.

University Vice President for Government Relations Cynthia Wilbanks said it's unclear how much money the University could receive from the program.

"It's fair to say that with our number of alumni in the state and friends of alumni, there would probably be a fairly good response," Wilbanks said.

The preliminary designs allows for each license plate to have room for six letters, with the school logo in the upper left-hand corner.

A design for the University's logo to appear on the plate has not been finalized, though the traditional maize block 'M' would be a logical choice, Wilbanks said. The University is working to ensure that the plates conform with proper trademark procedures, she added.

The legislation is one of a series of bills that also will create six more specialty plates to raise money for the Children's Trust Fund, the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, water quality, lighthouse preservation, wildlife habitats and farm heritage.

According to the proposal, Bullard said, if fewer than 500 of the six non-university plates are sold within the first two years of the program, other charities will be chosen to replace the unpopular ones.

Secretary of State Candice Miller unveiled the plan to create specialty plates earlier this year.

"We've basically studied what other states have done with specialty license plates," Miller spokesperson Elizabeth Boyd said.

Miller is hopeful the program will be successful, given the popularity of Michigan State University and the University of Michigan paraphernalia, but exactly how many plates will be sold remains to be seen, Boyd said.

"Our experience with fundraising plates is somewhat limited," Boyd said.

Numerous other states, including Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin, offer collegiate license plates. In 1990, Wisconsin implemented a program that gives $20 per plate to universities. The state currently has 5,734 university plates registered, with 4,600 of those bearing the University of Wisconsin at Madison logo.

"I believe that it has not been as successful as they thought it would be," said Philip Thomas, supervisor of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Specialty Plates and Parking Citation Unit.

Wilbanks said the proposal is expected to pass with little opposition since it was originally introduced by the Department of State.

"There have been legislative proposals to permit this for a number of years," she said, but those died due to opposition from law enforcement agencies concerned about making the plates recognizable.

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