The Honorable David Rust
AGO 2019-L-08
Letter Opinion 2019-L-08
North Dakota Attorney General Opinion
October 22, 2019
The
Honorable David Rust
State
Senator
PO Box
1198
Tioga,
ND 58852-1198
The
Honorable Dan Ruby
State
Representative
4620
46th Avenue N.W. Minot, ND 58703-8710
Dear
Senator Rust and Representative Ruby:
Thank
you for your letter requesting my opinion on whether Measure
No. 4, which was approved by a vote of the people during the
2018 general election, was intended to provide free
registration as well as a free set of license plates for one
vehicle of a volunteer responder.
For the
reasons indicated below, it is my opinion that the plain
language of Measure No. 4 requires the Department of
Transportation to provide one free set of special license
plates for one vehicle of an eligible volunteer responder,
and that, in order to provide the plates for free, the annual
registration fee for one vehicle is waived.
ANALYSIS
Initiated
Measure No. 4 was approved during the November 6, 2018,
election, becoming effective December 6, 2018, and provides:
Special
vehicle license plates for volunteer emergency responders.
Upon
application, the director shall issue red personalized plates
to volunteer emergency responders at no initial or annual
cost to the volunteers. Volunteers shall include fire
fighters and emergency medical responders. Qualified
applicants are eligible to receive one set of plates.
Plates
may not be displayed on a vehicle with a registered gross
weight exceeding 20,000 pounds. The first three digits of the
plates are the last three digits of the zip code where the
volunteer’s department is located. The remaining space
may contain up to three characters of the volunteer’s
choosing. This plate serves as an entrance pass to all North
Dakota state parks. In cooperation with the volunteer
organizations, the director shall designate qualifications
and verification procedures for the plates issued under this
section.1
The
language of the measure does not include or...