Senator Brad von Gillern yesterday presented legislation to the afternoon’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee hearing that would require one rear license plate per car. Currently, Nebraska law demands cars have a license plate mounted on both the front and back of every vehicle. If LB807 passes, Nebraskans would need only a rear-mounted plate. Senator von Gillern gave three reasons for bringing this legislation to the committee.
Von Gillern touted taxpayer savings as the primary reason to pass the legislation. “It should be clear that affecting this bill would cut our total cost of $26 million for plates dramatically,” said von Gillern. Environmental concerns came second, and the senator said it was “foolish” to mine so much aluminum that is simply discarded after six years. Finally, von Gillern said the process of having two license plates can be burdensome to consumers and cited a study by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association that claims up to 30 percent of new cars are sold without front license plate brackets.
“Consumers must purchase a bracket and then pay a shop or a mechanic to install it; an additional cost that is often unanticipated,” said von Gillern.
Members of Lincoln spoke out in support of the bill, including Lt. Dan Martin of the Omaha Police Department. No one spoke in opposition to it or in a neutral capacity.