H 7048

2026 -- H 7048
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LC003131
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  STATE  OF        RHODE  ISLAND
  IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
  JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
  ____________
  AN ACT
   RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES
  Introduced By: Representatives Azzinaro, O'Brien, Phillips, and Corvese
  Date Introduced: January 09, 2026
  Referred To: House Special Legislation
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1SECTION 1. Section 31-3-80 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-3 entitled "Registration
2 of Vehicles" is hereby amended to read as follows:
331-3-80. Reserve Forces plates.
4(a) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered and authorized to
5 make available to all active and retired members of the United States Reserve Forces of Rhode
6 Island a special motor vehicle registration plate for any motor vehicle eligible for registration as an
7 automobile or a commercial vehicle having a gross weight of eight thousand five hundred pounds
8 (8,500 lbs.) twelve thousand pounds (12,000 lbs.) or less.
9(b) The special motor vehicle registration plate shall carry on it the designation “US
10 Reserve Forces” and shall carry on it the titles (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and
11 Coast Guard) arranged on the left hand side of the plate from top to bottom in this order of
12 precedence, with numerals to the right of the titles and over the United States flag on the plate.
13(c) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall issue the plate upon payment
14 of a service charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) and a transfer charge of five dollars ($5.00) for the
15 plate. All revenues shall be deposited as general revenues.
16(d) For the purposes of this section an active or retired member of the United States Reserve
17 Forces shall be defined as currently serving or having retired under honorable conditions from any
18 of the Reserve Forces other than the Rhode Island Army or Air National Guard.
19(e) In a national state of emergency, any active member of the United States Reserve Forces
1 driving a vehicle bearing the special motor vehicle registration plate shall be authorized and
2 empowered to travel upon the highways of the state notwithstanding any driving ban imposed by
3 any state or municipal authority.
4(f) No US Reserve Forces plates shall be issued until at least nine hundred (900) such plates
5 have been ordered.
6(g) A DD 214 showing "honorable discharge" shall be furnished to the division of motor
7 vehicles for issuance.
8(h)(1) Passenger vehicles shall be renewed every two (2) years, and the renewal month
9 shall be based on the first letter of a registered owner's last name, or the first letter of the name of
10 the company of which the vehicles are registered.
11(2) Commercial vehicles, as defined in subsection (a) of this section, shall be renewed
12 annually in March.
13(i) Upon the death of the veteran, the plates may be transferred to the holder's surviving
14 spouse for the spouse's lifetime unless or until the spouse remarries.
15SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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  EXPLANATION
  BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
  OF
  AN ACT
  RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES
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1This act would raise the gross weight of a vehicle eligible for reserve forces plates from
2 eight thousand five hundred pounds (8,500 lbs.) to twelve thousand pounds (12,000 lbs.) and have
3 the United States flag on the plates. The act would also spell out the requirements for proof of
4 honorable discharge to be furnished to the division of motor vehicles and the renewal month for
5 the passenger and commercial vehicles.
6This act would take effect upon passage.
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