H 8614

2026 -- H 8614
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 LC006562
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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 FEES
  Introduced By: Representatives Furtado, Messier, Dawson, Boylan, and Kazarian
  Date Introduced: June 04, 2026
  Referred To: House Veterans` Affairs
 It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1SECTION 1. Section 31-6-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-6 entitled "Registration
2 Fees" is hereby amended to read as follows:
331-6-8. Disabled veterans.
4(a) Any veteran who has been honorably discharged from the service of the armed forces
5 or the Merchant Marine of the United States in any of the wars or campaigns in which the United
6 States has been engaged and who, while engaged in these wars or campaigns or as a result of
7 engagement in these wars or campaigns, by reason of amputation, has lost one or both of the
8 veteran’s arms, hands, feet, or legs, or who, by reason of other permanent injury, has lost the use
9 of one or both of the veteran’s arms, hands, feet, or legs, or to whom has been granted a motor
10 vehicle under chapter 870-2D, United States Public Laws 663, enacted 1946, 79th Congress, or has
11 suitable documentation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to establish that the veteran:
12(1) Has a combined service connected disability rating of one hundred percent (100%); or
13(2) Is considered “individually unemployable” due to the veteran’s service-connected
14 disability, shall be exempt from the payment of any fee for the annual registration of and a license
15 to operate that motor vehicle.
16(b) The administrator for the division of motor vehicles shall issue to an eligible veteran
17 for use on an automobile, or on a commercial vehicle having a gross weight of twelve thousand
18 pounds (12,000 lbs.) or less, registration plates designated “Disabled Veteran.” Provided that:
19(1) Upon certification that the veteran is no longer able to operate a vehicle, the "Disabled
1 Veteran" plates may be transferred, during their lifetime, to the veteran's spouse; and
2(2) Upon the death of the holder initial registrant of the “Disabled Veteran” plates, the
3 plates may be transferred to the veteran’s surviving spouse for the spouse’s lifetime or until the
4 spouse remarries. Only one set of
5(3) “Disabled Veteran” plates shall be issued to an eligible veteran and or their spouse as
6 provided for in subsection (b)(1) of this section only after certification of eligibility from the
7 Veterans’ Administration or other satisfactory documentation of eligibility is presented.
8SECTION 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 FEES
  ***
1This act would permit upon certification that the veteran is no longer able to operate a
2 vehicle, the transfer of the plate to the veteran's spouse. Additionally, a disabled veteran license
3 plate may be issued to an eligible veteran or their spouse.
4This act would take effect upon passage.
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