​If you want to support a good cause and spruce up your vehicle or wall with decorated front license plates, support the Kids Tag Art Program, organized by the Putnam County Tax Collector’s Office - fifth-graders in each elementary school have created their own decorative plates, and funds raised go to school art departments.
Putnam County Tax Collector, Linda Myers said “It is designed to take an elementary-age student and explain to them the purpose of specialty tags. They serve two purposes. One, they highlight something that some organization feels is important. The second thing is they raise money for that organization’s mission.”
Anyone interested in buying a student-designed specialty tag, or other items can purchase the tag online at the Kids Tag Art portal.

The elected office of Tax Collector was established in the 1885 Florida Constitution based on the idea that local taxes could best be collected at the local level. Constitutionally elected tax collectors are State Officers elected to serve in each County; this results in the tax collector being more responsive to the needs of the community in which he or she is elected. This independence, coupled with a wide variety of duties and responsibilities, allows Tax Collectors to exercise valuable leadership roles in Florida’s government and to carry out specific delineated statutory and regulatory laws enacted by the Florida legislature.  In most counties, the Tax Collector is responsible for not only the collection of ad valorem taxes, which is the single largest tax collected in Florida, but also collection of other taxes at the local level and on behalf of state agencies such as the Department of Revenue, Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, and the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Putnam County Tax Collector, Linda Myers moved to Florida in 1961 with her family when her father was transferred to McCoy Air Force Base in Orlando and she has called Florida home since that time.  On November 6, 2012, Linda Myers was elected as the Putnam County Tax Collector and took office January 1, 2013.
Linda graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in 1973 and a Master of Accountancy in 1991; she achieved her CPA certification in 1992.  Prior to serving as the Putnam County Tax Collector, Linda was in private practice as a CPA for 20 years and was the owner of a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise for 30 years.  Linda served as Putnam County Commissioner from 1998-2006.  Her accounting and business background coupled with serving her community as a Commissioner has brought customer service experience, financial acumen and the desire to serve her community as the Tax Collector.
Linda lives with her husband Vernon in Palatka; they have three daughters, three sons and 10 grandchildren.

​Beginning Thursday, March 19 through Sunday, April 19 all FLHSMV offices are closed to the public. They will continue to provide renewal services online at GoRenew.com and by telephone.

At the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis, Executive Director Terry L. Rhodes has issued an Emergency Order extending all Florida driver licenses, commercial driver licenses and identification cards that will expire in the next 30 days. All Florida driver licenses, commercial driving licenses and identification cards set to expire in the next 30 days will be granted a 30-day extension beyond their current expiration date. There has been no extension announced for vehicle registrations yet.

Brevard County Tax Collector Lisa Cullen and Property Appraiser Dana Blickley both will be closing their offices to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic. Their action follows directives issued by the state related to the closing of state offices to the public. Cullen said all Tax Collector Office locations will be closed to the public until further notice. Those offices are in Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne, Merritt Island, Palm Bay, Titusville and Viera.

Hendry County Tax Collector will be closing to the public their LaBelle and Clewiston offices effective Wednesday, March 25, until further notice. They will have staff in both offices handling the phone, online service and the mail.

Hernando County Tax Collector has closed its offices for in-person services. The office will continue to process mail and online transactions.

Hillsborough County Tax Collector Doug Belden announced Tuesday, March 17, several office closures in addition to service reductions. The following offices will close until further notice:
AAA – 1701 N. Westshore Blvd., Tampa, Florida 33607
Downtown – 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. 14th Floor, Tampa, Florida 33602
East Tampa – 2814 E. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, Florida 33610
Plant City – 1834 James Redman Parkway, Plant City, Florida 33563
For the offices that remain open, capacity will be limited to 50 customers and starting Wednesday, March 18, all transactions are by appointment only until further notice, only the client who is conducting business with the Tax Collector’s Office will be permitted to enter the facility and all dealership transactions will be processed only as drop-off.

Indian River County Tax Collector, Carole Jean Jordan is providing limited online and drive-thru services at the main and west offices.

Leon County Tax Collector service centers are all closed to the public until further notice.

Martin County Tax Collector has temporarily suspended all services that require physical appearance in their four Tax Collector office locations

​Palm Beach Constitutional Tax Collector Anne M. Gannon announced all tax collector service centers will be closed Friday, March 20 and Monday, March 23 as the agency prepares for critical operational changes due to COVID-19. “I am closing our service centers and batch and payment processing departments tomorrow,” said Gannon. “Our Senior Leadership Team and I will work tomorrow to plan a scheduled re-opening on Tuesday, March 24. The re-opening will substantially limit employees’ face-to-face contact with the public due to COVID-19.” Beginning Tuesday, Mar. 24, the Tax Collector’s Office will re-open to serve the public online, by mail, email and phone. All in person service will be suspended until further notice. “These are extraordinary times and we must do everything we can to protect our employees and community by slowing the spread of COVID-19,” said Gannon. “At the same time, this agency must continue to collect taxes which fund critical services in our community. The driver license and motor vehicle services we provide have a direct impact on people’s ability to work which affects our local economy.”

Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano said Wednesday that only the customer conducting business with the Pasco Tax Collector’s Office will be permitted to enter the premises. He said the staff "will do our best to accommodate parents and guardians with small children.''

Pinellas County Tax Collector’s office is taking precautionary steps by consolidating offices and cancelling some services through March 27th, 2020. Beginning Tuesday, March 17th through Friday, March 27th, the below locations will be closed:
Skyway Office, 1067 62nd Ave S, St. Petersburg, 33705
Gulf to Bay Office, 1663 Gulf to Bay Blvd, Clearwater, 33755

​Previous objections of 40 House Democrats were withdrawn as HB 1135 returned from the Senate to the House, replacing SB 412. The effort to add the 'Divine Nine' African-American fraternity/sorority plates was successful and replaced the '"Ethical Ecotourism" proposed plate, and the bill passed the House by a 113 - 0 unanimous vote. The bill is now on the way to the Governor for approval.
HB 1135 caps the potential number of specialty license plates at 150, proposes 33 new plates (41 if the divine Nine are counted individually) and has revised the process to discontinue low sellers and restructure the independent college license plates. Audits of all specialty plates are now required every 3 years and the bill also allows for the purchase of specialty license plates by fleet companies.
Many of the new specialty plates contained in the bill have been trying to get through for many years. According to the Lobbyist Registration portal, there were 46 lobbyists/principals registered for HB 1135, including Kevin Jacobs and Jennifer Langston on behalf of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and 14 lobbyists/principals registered for SB 412. Rep Jamie Grant (R-Tampa), an entrepreneur, finally got his alumni, Auburn University, as a Florida plate. However, his attempts at advancing technological changes to the DMV failed. Co-sponsors of HB 1135 were Rep Melony Bell (R-Fort Meade), owner of Bell Apiaries and Rep Delores “D” Hogan Johnson (D-Fort Pierce), a retired educator. SB 412 was sponsored by Senator Aaron Bean (R-Jacksonville) a Relationship Development Officer at UF Health Jacksonville and a Licensed Auctioneer, and the bill was co-sponsored by Senator Gayle Harrell (R-Stuart) a Health Information Technology Consultant and CEO of Health IT Strategies, and Senator Doug Broxson (R-Pensacola), an insurance and real estate agent.
The bill, which has an effective date of October 1, 2020, allows new specialty plates approved by the Legislature to get on the road if supporters can successfully record a minimum of 3,000 voucher sales (4,000 for out-of-state college plates). It creates plates for the University of Alabama, the University of Georgia and Auburn University, provided they meet the 4,000 pre-sell requirement, and provided the Department can confirm that the state in which the out-of-state college or university is located has authorized any license plates for Florida colleges or universities in their state.

​The Department has to establish a method to issue the specialty plate vouchers within 120 days after the specialty license plate becomes law. Each proposed specialty license plate has 24 months to complete the voucher pre-sale. The proposed specialty plates will be taken in the order they appear in the statute, provided they have met the pre-sale requirement.
The priority order for approval of new specialty plates is as follows:
1.      BLUE ANGELS: “Home of the Blue Angels” 
2.      DUCKS UNLIMITED: “Conserving Florida Wetlands” 
3.      AUBURN UNIVERSITY: “War Eagle” for the Tampa Bay Auburn Club
4.      “BEAT CHILDHOOD CANCER” 
5.  “WALT DISNEY WORLD” for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida, Inc.
6.      FLORIDA 4-H: “4-H”
7.      DONATE LIFE FLORIDA: “Donors Save Lives” 
8.      FLORIDA STATE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION: “Save the Bees”
9.      “ROTARY” for the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Inc. 
10.  “HIGHWAYMEN” for the City of Fort Pierce and St Lucie Education Foundation, Inc.
11.  DAN MARINO CAMPUS: “Marino Campus” for the Dan Marino Foundation
12.  “ORLANDO CITY SOCCER CLUB” 
13.  “DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION” 
14.  GADSDEN FLAG: “Don’t Tread on Me” 
15.  “AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL” 
16.  “EXPLORE OFF ROAD” FLORIDA 
17.  AMERICAN EAGLE: “In God We Trust”
18.  GUARDIAN AD LITEM: “Heartfelt Child Advocacy”
19.  “JUMBO SHRIMP” for St. John’s Riverkeeper, Inc.
20.  “THANK A LINEMAN” for the Lake-Sumpter State College Foundation, Inc.
21.  BEST BUDDIES “Bestbuddies.org” for Best Buddies International, Inc.
22.  “The UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA” for the Georgia Bulldog Club of Jacksonville
23.  “DIVINE NINE” for the United Negro College Fund and nine African-American sororities and fraternities 
24.  “FLORIDA BAY FOREVER” for the Florida National Park Association, Inc.
25.  “BONEFISH AND TARPON TRUST”
26.  COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION: “Conserve Florida’s Fisheries”
27.  “JOHNSON AND WALES UNIVERSITY” 
28.  “FLORIDA STANDS WITH ISRAEL” for the Hatzalah of Miami-Dade, Inc.
29.  “GIVE KIDS THE WORLD” for Give Kids The World, Inc.
30.  “MARINE CORPS LEAGUE” for the Marine Corps League, Department of Florida
31.  “K9S UNITED” for K9’s United, Inc. 
32.  FLORIDA NATIVE: “Native” with a camouflage background including leaves, flowers, or fronds of a minimum of 5 different Florida native plants, for the Florida Native Plant Society. 
33.  UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: “Roll Tide” for the Pensacola Bama Club

​Divine Nine and Independent College Plates
The Divine Nine license plates will have a standard template and a unique logo, graphic or color for each of the listed organizations and the words :Divine Nine" must appear at the bottom of the plate.
5% of all the plates revenue goes to the United Negro College Fund, Inc. for college scholarships for florida residents attending Florida's historically black colleges and universities. 95% go to the organizations as selected by the purchase: The organizations can all spend 10% for marketing of their plate.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Inc.
Kappa alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
The plates will have their sales combined for the purpose of meeting the new minimum sales requirement. 
Also, the Department shall create a standard template license plate with a unique logo or graphic identifying each independent college or university. Each independent college or university may opt in to this new design and shall have their plate sales combined for purposes of meeting the minimum license plate sales threshold and for determining the license plate limit. 
These new 'Divine Nine' and Independent college logo plates must be ordered directly from the DMV.

Discontinuation of Existing Specialty License Plates
On January 1 of each year, the Department shall discontinue the specialty license plate with the fewest number of plates in circulation, including license plates exempt from a statutory sales requirement. The Department shall mail a warning letter to the sponsoring organizations of the 10% of specialty plates with the lowest number of valid, active registrations as of December 1 of each year.
The Department must discontinue the issuance of an approved specialty license plate if the number of valid registrations falls below 3,000 (or 4,000 for out-of-state colleges) for at least 12 consecutive months. The Department shall mail a warning letter, but this does not apply to in-state collegiate license plates, license plates of institutions in and entities of the state University System, specialty license plates that have statutory eligibility limitations for purchase, specialty license plates for which annual use fees are distributed by a foundation for student and teacher leadership programs and teacher recruitment and retention, or Florida Professional Sports Team license plates.

​As of March 1, 2020, according to statistics on the DHSMV website, the following plates are beneath or close to the 3,000 minimum sales requirement (excluding the Independent College plates and Professional Sports plates):
A State of Vision 2,458
Agriculture Education 1,593
American Legion 2,699
Family Values    2,164
Kid's Deserve Justice 1,393
Moffitt Cancer Center 1,517
Parent's Make a Difference 1,464
Scouting Teaches Values 2,130
Florida Sheriff's Youth Ranches 3,313
Keep Kids Drug Free 3,313

The Top Five Specialty License Plates by number of registered vehicles as of March 1, 2020 is as follows:
1. University of Florida 94,769
2. Helping Sea Turtles Survive 88,368
3. Endless Summer 86,870
4. Florida State University 72,489
5. Protect Wild Dolphins 52,300

Other Specialty Plates
Specialty plates for Congressman have been de-listed and plates for former and current state Representatives and Senators are allowed for any who served a minimum of 2 years prior to July 1, 2021, for a payment of a one-time fee of $500. 
The bill creates a specialty motorcycle license plate for Purple Heart recipients, with the slogan "Combat Wounded Veteran" and may have the term "Purple Hart" stamped on the plate with the likeness of the Purple Heart medal.
Bronze Star recipients are added to the existing veterans motor vehicle license plates and all are also now available as motorcycle specialty license plates with "Veteran" or "Woman Veteran" on the bottom of the plate. Gold Star license plates are now only available to family members (up to 3) of a service member killed while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
The Special Olympics slogan is to be changed from "Everyone Wins" to "Be a Fan". 
The "Live the Dream" plate is to be distributed by the Dream Foundation, Inc. equally among the sickle cell organizations that are Florida members of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. (60%) and to the Miami-based Chapman Partnership, Inc. (30%), with up to 5% to be paid by the Department on behalf of the Dream Foundation, Inc. to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. in Atlanta, as a royalty for the use of the image of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. and the Dream Foundation, Inc. may use up to 5% to administer, promote and market the license plate. 
Amendments that either failed or were withdrawn included proposals for specialty license plates for Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society (Senator Powell), Morehouse College, a private historically black college in Atlanta, (Senator Thurston), Solar Power (Senator Berman) Knights of Columbus (Senator Gruthers), Jimmy Buffet's  Margaritaville (Senator Thurston) and Ethical Ecotourism (Senator Perry). Other plates that appeared on SB 412 before the amendments that also failed included: Florida Benevolent Group and Paddle Florida.

An amendment filed by Rep Grant to require independent tag agencies to disclose their fees and require approval from the DMV of agreements made between Tax Collector's and independent vendors also failed.
The 50 cents fee that is paid in addition to the fees required under s. 320.08, continues to be charged on every license registration sold to cover the costs of the Florida Real Time Vehicle Information System. The fees collected are deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund to be used exclusively to fund the system. In an audit conducted by the auditor General in 2014, it was determined that the Department did not timely deactivate access privileges of some former employees and did not perform periodic reviews of user access privileges to FRVIS and the FRVIS database. 
In 2015, a glitch in updating the system caused the program to go down statewide. Leslie Palmer, then acting communication director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said, "The system is old. It requires lots of coding. When we make these Legislature changes like this sometime really minor just because of the age of the system it causes a little glitch like this." The state says that FRVIS is on a constant upgrade schedule since the late 1980s.
The proposal for the DMV to conduct a pilot program for digital license plates, which have been approved in California, Michigan and Arizona, was removed from the language of the bill prior to passing. The company behind the digital plates, Reviver Auto, say the plates have two versions, the RPlate for $499, or $799 for the RPlate Pro, which has more advanced telematics features. The language of the bill had been reduced to a pilot program for state vehicles only, before it disappeared from the final version completely.
So, Florida license plates will continue to be made at the state prisons as metal embossed plates through an agreement with PRIDE.

The Committee substitute for Senate Bill 412 has been retained on the Special Order calendar. Senator Thurston and Senator Berman are both still trying to get amendments onto the bill to include plates for the 'Divine Nine' African American Sororities and fraternities, Palm Beach Zoo, Solar Power, Morehouse College and Margaritaville. Senator Bean has also filed amendments to HB 1135, which has passed the House, to bring it in conformance with Senator Bean's SB 412.
Currently, the following are included in both bills and are listed in priority enactment order:
1. DUCKS UNLIMITED LICENSE PLATES
2. AUBURN UNIVERSITY LICENSE PLATES
3. BEAT CHILDHOOD CANCER LICENSE PLATES.
4. WALT DISNEY WORLD LICENSE PLATES
5. FLORIDA 4-H LICENSE PLATES
6. DONATE LIFE FLORIDA LICENSE PLATES
7. FLORIDA STATE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION LICENSE PLATES
8. ROTARY LICENSE PLATES
9. HIGHWAYMEN LICENSE PLATES
10. DAN MARINO CAMPUS LICENSE PLATES
11. ORLANDO CITY SOCCER CLUB LICENSE PLATES
12. DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION LICENSE PLATES
13. GADSDEN FLAG LICENSE PLATES
14. AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL LICENSE PLATES
15. EXPLORE OFF ROAD FLORIDA LICENSE PLATES
16. AMERICAN EAGLE LICENSE PLATES
17. GUARDIAN AD LITEM LICENSE PLATES
18. JUMBO SHRIMP LICENSE PLATES
19. THANK A LINEMAN LICENSE PLATES
20. BEST BUDDIES LICENSE PLATES
21. UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA LICENSE PLATES
22. ETHICAL ECOTOURISM LICENSE PLATES
23. FLORIDA BAY FOREVER LICENSE PLATES
24. BONEFISH AND TARPON TRUST LICENSE PLATES
25. COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION LICENSE PLATES
26. JOHNSON AND WALES UNIVERSITY LICENSE PLATES
27. FLORIDA STANDS WITH ISRAEL LICENSE PLATES
28. GIVE KIDS THE WORLD LICENSE PLATES
29. MARINE CORPS LEAGUE LICENSE PLATES
30. K9S UNITED LICENSE PLATES
31. FLORIDA NATIVE LICENSE PLATES
32. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA LICENSE PLATES
33. Purple Heart special motorcycle license plate
34. Bronze Star recipients

​Over objections of House Democrats, lawmakers are trying to increase the number of specialty license plates while putting new guardrails around the process.
The House voted 78-40 on Wednesday for a proposal (HB 1135) that would expand the potential number of specialty license plates from 121 to 150, while revising the process to discontinue low sellers.
The bill would allow new plates to get on the road if supporters can meet higher sales thresholds. It would allow plates for the University of Alabama, the University of Georgia and Auburn University, giving fans a chance to showcase their support for the out-of-state schools.
On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a similar version (SB 412), sending it to the Senate floor. There was no debate on the bill.
The Senate measure by Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, pushes for a cap of 200 designs.

​The House proposal was opposed by House Democrats for failing to include long-sought plates for nine black fraternities and sororities dubbed the “Divine 9.”
Rep. Geraldine Thompson, D-Windermere, said supporters of plates for the Greek service organizations have been told for eight years to “wait,” which “almost always means no.”
“If we’re going to have 150 specialty license plates here in the state of Florida, we ought to make sure that in terms of ethnic groups, in terms of colleges and universities, that it is fair and there is some objective criteria in recommending these license plates,” Thompson said.
Rep. Bobby DuBose, D-Fort Lauderdale, called it ironic that Georgia and Alabama offer specialty plates for the “Divine 9” organizations.

​House sponsor James Grant, R-Tampa, said he gave backers of the “Divine 9” plates an opportunity to submit a single “super tag” template that could be used for the different organizations.
“I’ll still honor that deal despite the rhetoric in this chamber suggesting that in some capacity a decision about license tags has anything to do with racial discrimination,” Grant said.
Among the proposed new designs would be for Ducks Unlimited, The Dan Marino Foundation, the Florida State Beekeepers Association, Rotary, the Florida National Parks Association, the St. Lucie County Education Foundation, Orlando City Soccer, the Palm Beach Zoo and Conservation Society and Daughters of the American Revolution.
Backers of each plate would have 60 days to submit designs. That would be followed by a two-year period to reach a pre-sale level of at least 3,000 plates, up from 1,000, before the tags could move forward. Supporters of the of the out-of-state universities would have to get 4,000 pre-sales.
Each plate would have to maintain those numbers or, starting July 1, 2022, be discontinued if below the new sales benchmark for 12 consecutive months.
If a plate fails to reach the pre-sale minimum, people who have pre-bought could opt for different designs or get refunds.
Plates for Florida colleges, some of which are the lowest sellers, would be exempt from the minimum sales requirement.
As of last month, 1.63 million specialty plates were registered in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
The top seller remains the University of Florida, followed by Helping Sea Turtles Survive, the surfing-related Endless Summer and Florida State University.
Grant has been working since the 2017 legislative session to get a plate for Auburn, his alma mater.
Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, added a plate for Morehouse College, a private historically black college in Atlanta, to the Senate bill on Tuesday. The Senate proposal also don’t include the “Divine 9” organizations.

​Starting next month, fans of the LSU Tigers who live in Alabama will be able to purchase their own specialty license plate through the Alabama Department of Revenue. The license plate honoring the current college football National Champions will have a white background with a purple square with LSU written in gold on the side.
Two-hundred and fifty pre-commitments were required before the license plate could be printed.
The plates may be personalized and will cost an additional $50. Alabama will get some benefit from the tags – the $50 will go to the state’s general fund.
LSU isn’t the only out-of-state university with Alabama license plates. Fans of Florida State University, Mississippi State University, University of Georgia and University of Mississippi can also purchase official license plates supporting their teams.
Louisiana doesn’t offer any specialty license plates for Alabama universities.

​Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation that will create a new license plate with the slogan “VB Strong” honoring the victims of a mass shooting in Virginia Beach.
The bill sponsored by Sen. Bill DeSteph has passed unanimously out of both chambers and heads to the governor’s desk for his signature, The Virginian-Pilot reported Wednesday.
The plates won’t be available until 450 people apply for them and pay a $10 fee that goes toward Department of Motor Vehicles operations by Nov. 20.
“It was a horrific tragedy, and we felt like this was just one way that people could help memorialize the event and ensure that people know that the tragic events that occurred that day are not going to be forgotten,” said Scott Humphrey, a legislative aide for DeSteph’s office.
The DMV offers more than 250 specialty license plates.