Single license plate option for cars considered

Some cars in Nebraska could display only one license plate under a bill heard by the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee Feb. 3.

LB53, introduced by Norfolk Sen. Jim Scheer, would allow owners of passenger cars to be issued only a rear license plate. The fee for the single plate option would be $100 in addition to standard licensing charges.

In lieu of a second plate, drivers would be required to purchase a decal for 65 cents to be affixed to the driver’s side of the windshield.

Scheer said the bill would give passenger car owners a license plate option that already is available to numerous other vehicles in Nebraska, such as motorcycles and buses.

Loy Todd, president of the Nebraska New Car and Truck Dealers Association, testified in favor of the bill. For many new cars, license plate brackets are an option that dealers and customers do not want to pay for, Todd said. For vehicles sold in Nebraska that do not have brackets, holes must be drilled which can diminish the value of high end and collectible cars, he said.

Todd recommended that Nebraska switch to single plates for all vehicles, pointing out that 19 states already follow that policy.

Mick Mines, a lobbyist for the 3M company, testified in opposition to the bill, saying front license plates should not be eliminated for aesthetic reasons. Often, a license plate is the only reflective surface on the front of a vehicle, he said, and having two plates enhances law enforcement’s ability to quickly identify vehicles.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.