Sen. Spilka Advocates for Specialty License Plates

Photo: MSPSA.org

Last month, the legislature passed a budget for fiscal year 2016 that includes provisions to expand the opportunity for local charitable organizations to create and sell distinctive registration plates, Senator Karen E. Spilka, D-Ashland and Representative Jeff Roy, D-Franklin, announced.

Sen. Spilka, whose district includes Natick, Holliston and Hopkinton, has been working with Rep. Roy since 2013 in an effort to lower the threshold for charitable organizations to participate in the specialty license plate program.

Several Massachusetts organizations, including the Pan-Mass Challenge and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, have faced challenges in their efforts to create specialty license plates to raise money and awareness for their charitable causes, said the announcement.

“Local organizations are doing terrific work in our communities – from cancer research and treatment to housing and shelter assistance,” said Senator Spilka in a statement. “Specialty license plates help raise awareness of these important organizations and are a useful fundraising tool. As the wife of a twenty-plus year PMC rider, I’m especially committed to helping to support this worthy cause.”

The new provisions in the budget change state law to reduce the number of pre-applications required for specialty plates to be produced from 1,500 to 750 applications. The budget also increases the time an organization has to sell 3,000 specialty plates before forfeiting a portion of their $100,000 bond from two years to five years.

Since its inception in 2003, the specialty license plate program has allowed participating charities to collectively raise close to $75 million. The MA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has raised more one million dollars since 2005. The Firefighter plate has raised $750,000 since 2007. The Right Whale and two other environmentally-themed license plates have resulted in $500,000 in grants for a number of cities and towns.

Every year, more than 60 organizations attempt to reach the minimum threshold, but to date the Commonwealth has only 19 specialty license plates, continues the announcement. The legislation, if passed, will allow smaller organizations to participate in this good will fundraising and allow them to raise awareness of their work.