House panel advances bill to eliminate license plate decals

Legislation that would end a requirement in Florida for motorists to apply a yellow registration decal on their license plates just zipped through its first committee with uniform support.

Members of the House Government Oversight Subcommittee voted 15-0 for the measure (HB 341) by Miami Lakes Republican Rep. Tom Fabricio, who described the change as minor, but “very important.”

“It will make a monumental change throughout the state of Florida,” he said.

“This will cut the red tape — we like to say it cuts the yellow tape — and it’ll help everyone’s life be a little bit easier. We’re going to save government money, which in turn will save taxpayer dollars.”

Fabricio filed the legislation late last year with support in the Senate (SB 982) Doral Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez. If passed as-is, all vehicle registration renewals in Florida would be recorded electronically, eliminating the need for a physical license plate sticker.

It’s a policy already in place in several other states, including Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Vermont, where modern technology has eliminated the need for a physical tag.

In the Sunshine State, the proposal already has support from the Fraternal Order of Police, Americans for Prosperity and Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez, whose call for the change in early December helped get the ball rolling on Fabricio’s bill.

Notable Florida political figures supporting the legislation include Gov. Ron DeSantis; Florida GOP Chair Evan Power; Hialeah Republican Rep. Alex Rizo, who is a co-prime sponsor of HB 341; and Republican Reps. Danny Alvarez of Hillsborough County and Susan Valdés of Tampa, who are co-sponsoring the measure.

Fernandez told the panel Thursday that implementing HB 341 would save taxpayers “nearly $3 million each year” in Miami-Dade alone.

He warned about “special interests” who oppose the change, though no one spoke against the bill at Thursday’s meeting. The House’s lobbyist registration page shows 17 lobbyist signups on the bill, many for rent-a-car company Enterprise, which last year settled a $1.8 million age discrimination lawsuit.

Freshman Democratic Rep. Mitch Rosenwald of Oakland Park called HB 341 a “great bill,” adding that he was surprised to learn how many cars are targeted for decal theft.

“So, (HB 341 is making things) not only more efficient, but it’s also going to keep people safer,” he said. “This is exactly the type of bill (to improve) efficiency and safety — seems like a little bill, but it’s actually, I think, a pretty sweeping bill.”

HB 341 will next go to the House State Affairs Committee, its last stop in the chamber before reaching a floor vote. SB 982 awaits a hearing before the first of three committees to which it was referred this month.