HB 1138-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
2022 SESSION
22-2235
11/10
HOUSE BILL 1138-FN-A
AN ACT exempting the display of a front license plate on certain vehicles.
SPONSORS: Rep. Prout, Hills. 37; Rep. Conley, Straf. 13; Rep. Osborne, Rock. 4; Rep. T. Lekas,
Hills. 37; Rep. Torosian, Rock. 14; Rep. Warden, Hills. 15; Rep. A. Lekas, Hills. 37;
Rep. Binford, Graf. 15; Rep. Yakubovich, Merr. 24
COMMITTEE: Transportation
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ANALYSIS
This bill allows for an application and payment of a fee to exempt the display of a front license
plate on certain vehicles.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
 HB 1138-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
22-2235
11/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
AN ACT exempting the display of a front license plate on certain vehicles.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 New Section; Motor Vehicles; Number Plates; Exemption from Display of Front Plate. Amend
2 RSA 261 by inserting after section 76 the following new section:
3 261:76-a Exemption from Display of Front Number Plate.
4 I. The owner of a vehicle may apply to the department for a waiver of any requirement to
5 display a number plate on the front of a vehicle if affixing a front number plate would alter its
6 historic character, its collectability, or devalue the vehicle. The applicant shall include a statement
7 from a car dealer, appraiser, collector, or other information to support the request for a waiver.
8 II. Within 20 days of receiving such application, the commissioner or designee shall respond
9 to the applicant by either granting the waiver or denying it.
10 III. If the application is denied, the commissioner or designee shall state in writing the
11 reasons for the denial. Any person whose application has been denied shall have the right to appeal
12 pursuant to RSA 541.
13 IV. If the waiver is granted, the department shall issue a permit to the applicant. Such
14 permit shall be kept in the vehicle. The director is hereby authorized to design and to issue, under
15 such rules as the director deems appropriate, a distinctive identifying decal to be placed on the
16 windshield of vehicles granted a permit under this section. A special fee in the amount of $15 shall
17 be paid for the identifying decal or a replacement decal. This special fee shall be in addition to the
18 regular motor vehicle registration fee and shall be paid to the state treasurer and credited to the
19 highway fund. A permit and decal issued under this section shall be transferable in the event the
20 vehicle is sold or the ownership is otherwise transferred or conveyed.
21 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
 LBA
22-2235
11/8/21
HB 1138-FN-A- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT exempting the display of a front license plate on certain vehicles.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
Estimated Increase / (Decrease)
STATE: FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025
Appropriation $0 $0 $0 $0
Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable
Revenue $0
Increase Increase Increase
Indeterminable Indeterminable
Expenditures $0 $55,000
Increase Increase
[ ] General [ ] Education [ X ] Highway [ X ] Other -
Funding Source:
Restricted - Cost of Collections/Administration
*Pursuant to Part II, article 6-a of the New Hampshire constitution, any costs associated with the collection and
administration of Highway Funds by the Department of Safety shall be deducted by the Department before such
funds are credited to the Highway Fund as unrestricted revenue
LOCAL:
Indeterminable Indeterminable
Revenue $0 $0
Increase Increase
Expenditures $0 $0 $0 $0
METHODOLOGY:
This bill would allow the owner of a motor vehicle to apply to the Department of Safety for a
waiver of any requirement to display a front license plate (a rear plate would still be required).
If approved, a permit would be issued to the applicant along with a decal to be placed in the
windshield area of the vehicle. The cost of this decal would be $15. The Department has
provided the following assumptions and fiscal impact estimates relative to this bill:
 The Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would continue the present process of
manufacturing two number plates per set to limit the disruption to production and
storage. The waiver would be required to display only the plate on the back of the
vehicle, customers could purchase just one plate.
 Based on the waiver response time of 20 days, DMV would require one (1) additional
part-time position to review requests as they are received. This position (labor grade 11
/ 25 hours per week) is estimated to cost approximately $20,000 per year.
  An application for waiver would need to be drafted along with the design of a new decal
and permit. State expenditures will increase due to the additional cost associated with
decals and permits issued for approved waivers, estimated at $35,000 for the first year
(decals at $30,000 with permits and forms around $5,000). Subsequent fiscal years
would see expenditures of less than $10,000 to maintain a stock of permits and decals
for new and replacement purposes.
 State revenue would increase state highway fund revenue by in an indeterminable
amount as neither the number of waiver applications nor how many will be approved
can be estimated at this time. Also, pursuant to RSA 235:23 (“Apportionment A”), 12
percent of road toll and motor vehicle fees collected are distributed to municipalities,
therefore, under this bill state expenditures and local revenue would increase by an
indeterminable amount beginning FY 2024.
It is assumed that any fiscal impact would occur after FY 2022.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Safety