                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES FOR CLEAN SPECIAL FUEL VEHICLES (§ 46.2-749.3)

A. The owner of any motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, that may utilize clean
special fuel may purchase special license plates indicating the motor vehicle
utilizes clean special fuels. Upon receipt of an application, the Commissioner
shall issue special license plates to the owners of such vehicles.
			As used in this section, &#8220;clean special fuel&#8221; means any product
or energy source used to propel a highway vehicle, the use of which, compared to
conventional gasoline or reformulated gasoline, results in lower emissions of
oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide or particulates
or any combination thereof. The term includes compressed natural gas, liquefied
natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, hythane (a combination of
compressed natural gas and hydrogen), and electricity.
			On and after July 1, 2006, license plates provided for in this section shall
be issued with a new design distinctively different from the design of license
plates issued to owners of vehicles that qualify for license plates under this
section whose applications are received by the Department prior to July 1, 2006,
hereinafter referred to as &#8220;the FY 2007 design.&#8221; The distinctively
different design shall be developed by the Department in consultation with the
Department of State Police.
			On and after July 1, 2011, license plates provided for in this section shall
be issued with a new design distinctively different from the design of license
plates issued to owners of vehicles that qualify for license plates under this
section whose applications are received by the Department prior to July 1, 2011
(hereinafter referred to as the FY 2012 design). The distinctively different
design shall be developed by the Department in consultation with the Department
of State Police. Thereafter, only &#8220;the FY 2012 design&#8221; plate shall
be issued to owners of vehicles that qualify for license plates under this
section.

   1. For the purposes of subdivision A 6 of &#xA7; 33.2-501, on HOV lanes
   serving the I-95/395 corridor, only vehicles registered with and displaying
   special license plates issued under this section prior to July 1, 2006, shall
   be treated as vehicles displaying special license plates issued under this
   section.

   2. For the purposes of subdivision A 6 of &#xA7; 33.2-501, on HOV lanes
   serving the Interstate Route 66 corridor, only vehicles registered with and
   displaying special license plates issued under this section prior to July 1,
   2011, shall be treated as vehicles displaying special license plates issued
   under this section.

   3. The Commissioner of Highways shall provide annually to the Chairmen of the
   Senate and House of Delegates Committees on Transportation traffic volumes on
   the HOV facilities that result in a degraded condition as identified in
   SAFETEA-LU or other applicable federal law and reported to the Federal Highway
   Administration. This report shall be used by the Chairmen of their respective
   committees to recommend further restriction on use of HOV facilities by clean
   special fuel vehicles.

   4. The Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles, in consultation with
   the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board, shall develop procedures to ensure that all
   potential purchasers of clean special fuel vehicles receive adequate notice of
   the benefits, risks and timelines required for the issuance of clean special
   fuel vehicle license plates.

B. With the exception of plates issued to government-use vehicles, the annual
fee for plates issued pursuant to this section shall be $25 in addition to the
prescribed fee for state license plates. For each such $25 fee collected in
excess of 1,000 registrations pursuant to this section, $15 shall be paid to the
State Treasury and credited to a special nonreverting fund known as the HOV
Enforcement Fund, established within the Department of Accounts, for use by the
Virginia State Police for enhanced HOV enforcement. The fee for plates issued
pursuant to this section to government-use vehicles shall be as prescribed in
subsection A of &#xA7; 46.2-750.

HISTORY: 1993, cc. 255, 625; 1995, c. 134; 1999, c. 883; 2000, cc. 729, 758;
2006, cc. 873, 908; 2010, cc. 351, 390; 2012, cc. 681, 743.