​Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed legislation authorizing the creation of a "Florida Stands with Israel" specialty license plate. The bill enjoyed bipartisan sponsorship and passed through both the Florida House and Senate unanimously.

​The Israeli-American Council applauded DeSantis, the Florida Legislature and the people of Florida "for this heartwarming expression of solidarity, which affirms the strong bond between the State of Florida's citizens and the Jewish State of Israel."
The design of the specialty license plate will be decided by a free 30-day contest open to submissions by the general public. The contest will be sponsored by the IAC and coordinated by co-sponsor organization, Artists 4 Israel. You can order by clicking here (additional fees apply) or at your local Tax Collector's office or DMV.
After the final design is submitted and approved by the Florida Department of Transportation the IAC will lead a community marketing campaign, along with the co-sponsorship of IAC for Action and our local community partners, to drive the necessary 3000 plate pre-sales needed to authorize production.
"The design of the specialty license plate will be decided by a free 30-day contest open to submissions by the general public," the IAC said in a statement. "The contest will be sponsored by the IAC and technically coordinated by co-sponsor organization, Artists 4 Israel. The panel of judges will consist of the lead legislative sponsors of the bill – Sen. Aaron Bean, Sen. Lauren Book, Rep. JW Grant, Rep. Kionne McGhee and Rep. Scott Plakon – joined by Bal Harbour Mayor and community leader Gabe Groisman."
IAC Board Member and IAC for Action Board Chairman Shawn Evenhaim stated: "This kind of warmth is why Florida has always been a leading destination for Israeli-Americans. This gesture celebrates a long and close relationship. Florida and Israel share many ties, including bilateral trade, common values, and leadership in cutting edge fields that have a quality of life impact for all citizens. Florida has been a leader over the years in the fight against anti-Jewish hatred and discrimination, for example, its groundbreaking anti-BDS law and codification this past year of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. We applaud and sincerely appreciate this meaningful expression of solidarity and are pleased that the Israeli-American community can play a part in support of these efforts. Thank you Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature. Shana Tova U'Metuka."
IAC Co-Founder and CEO Shoham Nicolet stated: "This is an incredible gesture of friendship following Governor DeSantis' highly successful 2019 trade mission to Israel and signing of a tough antisemitism law in Jerusalem. When considering the special Florida-Israel relationship, it is critical to examine the cutting-edge nature of the bi-lateral trade and exchange taking place. Trade with Israel encompasses many of the state's most vital sectors, such as agriculture, water desalinization, health sciences, disaster relief, avionics, and essential technology research and development.  The Florida-Israel relationship has a beneficial quality of life impact around the world. We applaud the efforts of the sponsoring legislators who made this happen. We also thank our friends at Artists 4 Israel and the Broward Jewish Federation for their co-sponsorship in this campaign. We thank our counterparts at IAC for Action, and my colleague Executive Director Joe Sabag, who is a leading Floridian pro-Israel advocate, for their excellent work in providing policy guidance and expertise throughout the authorization process."

Statistics received from the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles show that total revenue from all specialty plate sales in August, 2020 actually decreased to $2,701,403.00 from $2,798,122.00 for August, 2019. However, Endless Summer was the highest grossing plate in August, 2020 with $182,075.00, increasing from $171,250.00 for August, 2019.  The next highest was University of Florida with $159,775.00 (falling from $172,825.00 in August, 2019).

This continues to follow the increase each month which will ultimately result in Endless Summer taking over the top selling plate spot from the University of Florida, which they have held for over 20 years. The University of Florida license plate was authorized in 1986, Endless Summer was not available until 2011.
In 2019, University of Florida raised $2,188,575.00 while Endless Summer raised $2,006,075.
So far in 2020, through August 31, University of Florida has raised $1,321,950.00 and Endless Summer has raised $1,367,650.00.
​Nearly 100,000 Florida vehicles should have the Endless Summer specialty license plate on their vehicles in 2021.

Revenue from sales of the license plate go to Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, which was established in 2008. The primary funding source for Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation is the Florida “Endless Summer” specialty license plate. The plate is one way to show support for the sport of surfing, as well as keeping Florida’s beaches healthy and clean.
In the enabling legislation, and following the Foundation’s mission, the primary use of the
funds from the specialty plate is to support the proposed Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation “Experience” project, which will be located in Cocoa Beach. The Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation “Experience” will be an interactive encounter telling the story of how surfing has evolved and its role in the creation of two new sports: skateboarding and snowboarding, among other sports.
This project, currently estimated at between $15 million and $20 million, is in the initial
concept and planning stages.  So far, $10,674,302.20 has been raised from sales of the Endless Summer specialty license plate in Florida.
In addition to the Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation “Experience” project, the Foundation
has assisted organizations and events whose missions parallel the Foundation’s goals:
keeping beaches healthy and safe through education and action. The Foundation has
researched opportunities to help and has found a number of partners, including the Marine Discovery Center, whose mission is “To protect and restore the Florida coastal and Indian River Lagoon ecosystems through education, research and community stewardship.”
The Foundation also supports Special Olympics Florida with its board sports programs, and a number of beach cleanup organizations, including local affiliates of Keep America Beautiful, which allows participation in annual events such as Earth Day and the International Coastal Cleanup.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Friday which, among other things, will introduce 32 new specialty license plates onto the road. The bill, sponsored by former Rep. Jamie Grant, paves the way for 32 new specialty license plates, establishes a cap of 150 specialty license plates and formalizes a discontinuation process for low performing specialty license plates.
You can participate in the pre-sale by clicking here.
HB 1135 also authorizes the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to issue a new type of specialty license plates for fleet and motor vehicle dealer vehicles.

The bill also provides for a redesign of the Special Olympics tag to change the slogan to “Be a Fan”; redistribution of proceeds for the “Live the Dream” license plate to be limited to Sickle Cell Disease organizations and the Miami-based Chapman Partnership, with March of Dimes and the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions being deleted, and the DMV now responsible to pay a 5% royalty fee to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. for the use of the image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ; and a change in the use of proceeds for “In God We Trust” tag with up to 90% to be utilized to provide education in public and private schools regarding the historical significance of religion in American and Florida history.
The revenue from the Florida Law Enforcement Officer license plates, originally distributed to the Police and Kids Foundation, Inc., to invest and reinvest, and only the interest earnings was to be used for the operation of the Police and Kids Foundation, Inc., now may be directly used for the operations, activities, programs, and projects of the Police and Kids Foundation, Inc.  Preserve Vision Florida is changing their name on their plate from Prevent Blindness.

​A cap of 150 plates is now in place, with 32 new plates created by the bill, provided they meet the presell requirements with the current number of plates at 122. 
To create the new plate, the organization must submit its proposed art design to DHSMV as soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days after October 1, 2020 . Within 120 days from October 1, 2020, DHSMV must establish a method to issue a specialty license plate voucher allowing for the presale of such plate. The $5 processing fee, the service charge and branch fee, and the annual use fee for the specialty license plate are charged for the voucher. All other applicable fees are charged at the time the license plate is issued. The presell is now 3,000 (4,000 for out of state colleges)
The bill provides that new specialty license plates that have been approved by law but are awaiting issuance will be issued in the order they appear in s. 320.08058, F.S., provided all requirements, including the presale requirement, have been met. If the next awaiting specialty license plate has not met the presale requirement, DHSMV must proceed in the order provided in law to identify the next qualified specialty license plate that has met the presale requirement. DHSMV must cycle through the list in statutory order.
If the Legislature has approved 150 or more specialty license plates, DHSMV may not make any new specialty license plates available for design or issuance until a sufficient number of plates are discontinued so that the number of plates being issued is reduced to fewer than 150.

DHSMV must cycle through the list in the following statutory order:

1. Ducks Unlimited “Conserving Florida Wetlands” (Ducks Unlimited, Inc.)
2. Auburn University “War Eagle” (Tampa Bay Auburn Club)
3. Beat Childhood Cancer (75% to Beat Nb and 25% to Ryan Callahan Foundation)
4. Walt Disney World (Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida, Inc.)
5. Florida 4-H (Florida 4-H Club Foundation, Inc)
6. Donate Life Florida “Donors Save Lives” (Donate Life Florida and the Joshua Abbott Organ and Tissue Donor Registry)
7. Florida State Beekeepers Association “Save the Bees”
8. Rotary (Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Inc.)
9. Highwaymen (City of Fort Pierce)
10. Dan Marino Campus “Marino Campus” (Dan Marino Foundation, Inc.)
11. Orlando City Soccer (55% to the Professional Sports Development Trust Fund within the Department of Economic Opportunity; 455 to Enterprise Florida, Inc.)
12. Daughters of the American Revolution (to to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and secure America’s future…)
13. Gadsden Flag “Don’t Tread on Me” (Florida Veterans Foundation, Inc.)
14. America the Beautiful (Live Laugh Love Give, Inc.)
15. Explore Off Road Florida “Explore Off Road” (Florida Off Road Foundation, Inc.)
16. American Eagle “In God We Trust” (American Eagle Foundation, based in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
17. Guardian Ad Litem “Heartfelt Child Advocacy (Florida GAL Foundation, Inc.)
18. Jumbo Shrimp (St. Johns Riverkeeper, Inc.) 
19. Thank a Lineman (Lake-Sumter State College Foundation, Inc.)
20. Best Buddies “BestBuddies.org” (Best Buddies International, Inc.)
21. University of Georgia (Georgia Bulldog Club of Jacksonville)
22. The Divine Nine (Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho, Iota Phi Theta, United Negro College Fund)
23. Florida Bay Forever (Florida National Parks Association, Inc.)
24. Bonefish and Tarpon Trust
25. Coastal Conservation Association “Conserve Florida’s Fisheries” (Coastal Conservation Association Florida)
26. Johnson and Wales University (Johnson and Wales University-North Miami)
27. Florida Stands with Israel (Hatzalah of Miami-Dade, Inc.)
28. Give Kids the World (Give Kids the World, Inc.,)
29. Marine Corps League (Marine Corps League, Department of Florida)
30. K9s United (K9s United, Inc.)
31. Florida Native “Native” (Florida Native Plant Society, Inc.)
32. University of Alabama “Roll Tide” (The Pensacola Bama Club)

​The bill requires DHSMV to discontinue the specialty license plate with the fewest number of plates in circulation, including license plates exempt from a statutory sales requirement on January 1 of each year. For the specialty license plates in the bottom 10 percent of sales, the bill requires DHSMV to mail a warning letter to the sponsoring organizations.
Effective July 1, 2023, the bill requires DHSMV to discontinue the issuance of approved specialty license plates if the number of valid registrations falls below 3,000 plates (4,000 for out of state colleges) for 12 consecutive months.

​In addition to the existing exemption from the 3,000 plate sales requirement for in-state collegiate license plates, the bill provides exceptions from the discontinuance requirement for license plates:
· For institutions in and entities of the State University System;
· With statutory eligibility limitations for purchase;
· For which the annual use fees are distributed by a foundation for student and teacher leadership programs and teacher recruitment and retention; and
 · Florida Professional Sports Team license plates.

​The bill requires DHSMV, in cooperation with the independent colleges and universities, to create a standard template specialty license plate with a unique logo or graphic identifying each independent college or university. Each independent college or university may elect to use this standard template specialty license plate in lieu of its own specialty license plate. Annual use fees from the sale of these license plates are distributed to the independent college or university for which the logo or graphic is displayed and must be used as provided in s. 320.08058(3), F.S. 
Independent colleges and universities opting to use the standard template specialty license plate will have their plate sales combined for purposes of meeting the 3,000 plate minimum sales threshold and determining the 150 plate limit. These plates must be ordered directly from DHSMV.
Prior to the development of an out-of-state college or university license plate, DHSMV must have documentation on file indicating the college or university has consented to use an appropriate image on the license plate.
The bill prohibits any entity from using specialty license plate revenue for lobbying. The current prohibition is limited to agencies.

​According to Kevin Jacobs, Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, creation or modification of specialty and special license plates require system programming to implement. Depending on the number of distributions tied to the plate, the amount of programming may vary as will the resources needed to complete the changes. The average specialty/special license plate with a single distribution requires approximately 200-250 hours of programming, at a rate of $35 to $40 per hour. The bill creates 32 new specialty license plates, four new special license plates and removes from law five specialty license plates that have been discontinued. While DHSMV has not determined its fiscal impact, it is likely to be between $7,000 and $10,000 per plate created. Many existing plates had to pay an application fee of $60,000.00 to cover those costs in the past. DHSMV states the cost to perform an audit every three years of each specialty license plate may result in a workload impact that can also be absorbed within existing resources.

​DeSantis signed the bill on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the “Florida Stands with Israel” tag was originally submitted to the House in a separate bill co-sponsored by House Minority Leader Kionne L. McGhee and Rep. Scott Plakon.
“This shows that our relationship with the State of Israel touches upon many of Florida’s most vital interests, values, and ideals,” the pair said in a joint statement. “Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of Floridians support this special relationship and now have a wonderful way to celebrate it.” Plakon in a separate statement recognized the plate’s symbolic passage. “I cannot think of a sweeter way to wish Florida’s Jewish community a Shana Tova – Happy New Year!” he added.
Current law prohibits the redesign of a specialty license plate unless the inventory of the license plate has been depleted. However, the organization may purchase the remaining inventory of the specialty license plate from DHSMV at the department’s cost.133 Special Olympics Florida may be required to purchase the remaining inventory of its specialty license plate at DHSMV’s cost prior to the authorized redesign of its license plates.

Statistics received from the DMV show that total revenue from specialty plate sales in August, 2020 dropped to $2,701,403.00 from $2,798,122.00. New plate sales increased from 18,858 to 18,935, however, renewals of specialty plates fell from 101,595 to 96,784. Similarly, total non-specialty plate registrations fell from 1,189,727 in August 2019, to 1,131,144 for August 2020.
So far in 2020, through August 31, over $22 million has been raised from specialty license plate sales in Florida and 948,971 specialty plates have been sold/renewed.
Endless Summer was the highest grossing plate in August, 2020 with $182,075.00, increasing from $171,250.00.
Revenue for the Protect Wild Dolphins license plate for Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation continued to decline, from $76,000.00 in August, 2019 to $72,160.00 in August, 2020. Choose Life dropped from $31,700.00 to $25,820.00.
Although sales and revenue for specialty license plates indicated a significant downward turn with the closing of DMV offices and some Tax Collectors offices to the public in certain parts of the state in the last week of the month of March, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, total revenue from the sale of Specialty License Plates for the first six months of 2020 only dropped by 2.7% to $16,365,550.00, compared to $16,802,378.00 for the first six months of 2019.
Although this represents a $436,828.00 drop in revenue, some plates have done quite well, with Endless Summer increasing 3% from $959,875.00 for the first half of 2019 to $987,000.00 for the first half of this year. Miami Heat saw a 13.5% increase in revenue from $550,400.00 to $624,700.00. The other top selling plates all saw a decline, with UF dropping from $1,045,975 to $993,200.00; Helping Sea Turtles Survive dropping from $901,255.00 to $886,696.00 and FSU dropping from $813,800.00 to $771,400.00.
Total new plate/new issue sales dropped 25% from 106,793 in the first six months of 2019, to 85,448 in the first six months of 2020. Despite this, some plates fared well, including Miami Marlins, Florida Sheriff's Association, Support Autism, UCF and the Tampa Bay Bucs and Lightning. Visit our Lights saw new plate sales increase from 364 to 778 and revenue increased 25% from $59,450.00 to $74,550.00.
Some plates saw significant declines in the first six months of 2020 compared to 2019, including Choose Life (-10.5%), from $190,960.00 to $171,040.00; Parents Make A Difference (-58%) from $17,925.00 to $7,725.00 and Protect Wild Dolphins (-6%) from $472,580.00 to $445,200.00.
Total revenue from the sale of Florida Specialty License Plates for the month of July, 2020 increased slightly to $2,983,780.00, compared to $2,919,801.00, for July 2019. New plate sales also increased to 19,448 from 18,779.
Miami Heat new plate sales increased to 1,249 for the month of July, 2020, compared to 880 in July, 2019 and revenue increased to $115,750.00 from $96,400.00.
Tampa Bay Bucs maintained their 'Brady effect' by increasing new plate sales for the month of July, 2020 to 867 compared to 513 last year and saw revenue increase to $85,300.00 from $73,700.00.
Endless Summer increased total revenue for July to $198,575.00 compared to $177,025.00 in July, 2019.
Some plates saw revenue declines for July 2020 compared to July, 2019, including UF, FSU, Golf Capital of the World, Protect Wild Dolphins, and Choose Life.

​A final batch of bills approved this year by the Legislature, many scheduled to become law on October 1, have finally been requested by Governor Ron DeSantis.
The 26 remaining measures, ranging from a revamp of the state’s specialty license-plate system to putting additional teeth into the fight against shark finning and trying to curb e-cigarette use by teens, have been sitting in the House and Senate since the legislative session ended on March 19.
More than 3,500 bills, memorials and resolutions were filed for the session, which began in January. DeSantis has signed 177 bills into law from the session, including the $92.2 billion budget (HB 5001), and vetoed three measures: SB 410 (Growth Management, Senator Keith Perry, R-Gainesville) SB 1292 (Public Records/Nonjudicial Arrest Record of a Minor, Senator Keith Perry, R-Gainesville) and HB 1049 (Office of Judges of Compensation Claims, Reps Charlie Stone, Cord Byrd, Jennifer Webb and Ardian Zika). Most of the bills, including the budget, went into effect with the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

​The Governor vetoed $1 billion from the budget, the largest budget veto made by a Governor in the state's history. He also vetoed $264 million worth of legislative “member” projects, which generally are earmarks for lawmakers’ districts - amounting to 518 of the 829 member projects. 
The vetoes included $134 million for aid to local governments, $28 million for Infectious disease Drug Treatment, $20 million for FSU School of Business, $5 million for FSU Florida Institute for Child Welfare, $15 million for Universities of Distinction, $5 million for UCF, $3.5 million for Nova Southeastern University - Veterans Access Clinic, $2.9 million for the City of Hialeah Educational Academy, $2 million for Gulf Coast State College, $1.5 million for Mote Marine Laboratory STEM Education, $1.5 million for Bay of Pigs - Brigade 2506 Museum, $1 million for Heart Gallery of Florida - Child Welfare Services, $1 million for Italian Club of Tampa, $650,000 for the First Tee Champ, $530,115 for Tallahassee Jewish Community Inc., $500,000 for Blind Babies Successful Transition Program, $400,000 for FAMU, $75,000 for the Bethune Cookman University - Small, Women and Minority Owned Businesses, $350,000 for Best Buddies International, $750,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters, $750,000 for Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, $375,000 for AMIkids, $164,701 for Black Male Explorers, $255,000 Feeding Tampa Bay, $193,669 for Invicta Institute of Intelligence, $625,000 for Mental Health Assistance Allocation for Florida Virtual Schools, $500,000 for Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, $250,000 for St Augustine Lighthouse Tower Preservation, and $25,000 for ACEing Autism Florida Adaptive Tennis Project.
The budget retained $322 million for Everglades restoration, $50 million for springs and $40 million for alternative water supplies.
A planned state workers' pay raise was saved from the vetoes intended to make up for more than $2 billion in lost revenue from the coronavirus pandemic's effect on the state's economy. The Legislature had approved a 3% pay raise, worth $249 million, for all 90,000 state workers. The state also agreed to cover the cost of a 7% increase in health insurance premiums.
The changes to the specialty license-plate program (HB 1135) sponsored by Rep James "J.W." Grant, is set to take effect Oct. 1, and would allow new plates to get on the road if supporters can meet higher sales thresholds, while bumping some low sellers from the road. It would allow plates for the University of Alabama, the University of Georgia and Auburn University.