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 Tagged
Specialty tags more popular than ever
Last Updated:June 12.
2007 11:46PM
Published: June 13. 2007 3:30AM
David
Harris is passionate about taking his two sons fishing,
so much so that he was willing to buy a specialty car
tag to support the statewide initiative.
But with a third child to care for, the cost to fund his
passion was prohibitive.
At $50 a pop for Harris' specialty tag and his wife's
Choose Life tag, Harris chose to downsize to the
standard plate when he renewed his tags at the end of
May.
"We feel strongly about these causes, and we'll probably
renew them next year," Harris said. "But, right now, we
need the money for other things."
With more than 50 choices for specialty tags, from
supporting the arts to supporting the Cahaba River
Society, drivers in Alabama can show their allegiance to
any number of causes.
Couple these tags with the growing number of generic
tags that owners can purchase a decal for, and the list
keeps growing, all the while generating thousands of
dollars for their individual causes.
Lauderdale County License Commissioner Mickey Haddock
stops short of saying that there are too many choices,
but "it probably means some of these causes get less
money."
Getting a designated specialty tag is no easy task for
an organization. After years of going through a
legislative process, groups must appeal to a legislative
oversight committee, of which Haddock is a newly minted
member.
"There are organizations out there that warrant these
tags," he said. "Ovarian cancer is one that's trying,
and, of course, the money would go there, but there are
others who will apply who I don't think warrant a plate.
NASCAR drivers' tags come to mind."
There are two categories of plates in Alabama.
One is generic tags for which the organization has
guaranteed to the committee a sale of 250 tags statewide
at $50 each. These tags have a space for a decal in
support of the organization.
Square dancers and letter carriers are two plates in
this category.
The second category is for a designated plate and
requires the sponsoring organization to sell 1,000 tags
at $50 each to qualify for the state to print it. In
this group are the Forever Wild and Agriculture tags.
The organizations have a year to meet their goal, and,
if they don't, Haddock said they can always try again.
Regardless of the tag, $41.25 of the $50 price goes to
the organization. The remaining money is divided among
the Alabama Department of Corrections for manufacturing
the plates, the Alabama Department of Revenue, county
licensing officials and the Penny Trust Fund.
Haddock said a breakthrough in specialty tags took place
when the state gave the go-ahead to develop and sell
university tags.
In the years since, the University of Alabama and Auburn
are now getting more than $2 million each year for sale
of their specialty plates.
Of the 26 state-run colleges and universities in
Alabama, the University of North Alabama comes in 13th
among tag sales.
"We've set up an endowment to let the earnings
accumulate," said Steve Smith, UNA's controller. "We've
been earning well, but we reached a point where we were
able to perpetuate (the fund) in case something happened
and no one bought the tags."
Even with the plethora of specialty tags available --
more than 80 -- personalized tags are by far the most
popular, bringing in more than $29 million in the past
12 months. All of that money goes straight into the
state's general fund budget.
Helping Schools tags are also popular among motorists.
Becky O'Kelley, of Killen, upgraded her standard plates
to the Helping Schools tag because the $15 for it goes
directly back to the district she chooses to support.
"I've got two grandkids in Lexington Schools, and they
need all the help they can get," she said. "Right now,
$50 is too much, but I'd rather my money go to the
schools."
Perhaps the most popular tag, however, has been the God
Bless America tag, a tag developed by state Rep. Ken
Guin, D-Tuscaloosa, and an option for motorists who want
an upgrade they don't have to pay for.
"A lot of people coming in to renew their tags are
getting the God Bless America tags," said Emily
Pressley, an assistant chief clerk in the Colbert County
Probate Judge's office.
In fact, the tag has been popular across the state, and
local offices are already into a third shipment of the
tags.
Sherri Phelps, in the state controller's office, said
the tags are free to consumers as a standard plate
because they have allowed the Department of Corrections
to test the new digital equipment that creates the flat
imprint of letters and numbers across the metal.
One downside, however, is that they can't be
personalized.
"Tags are good for five years, and the next plate will
be released in 2009," she said. "We have an extra year
on the standard plates so we could save money for the
digitizing equipment."
Although Phelps said she's unsure what the tag will look
like, she's fairly certain it will have the state's
signature "Heart of Dixie" motto embedded in a small red
heart, a tradition that began in 1955.
Staff Writer Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at
740-5745 or
michelle.eubanks@timesdaily.com. |
