Section 5101.5 Of Article 8.5. Environmental License Plates From California Vehicle Code >> Division 3. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 8.5.
5101.5
. (a) A person otherwise eligible under this article who is a
former American prisoner of war may apply for special license plates
for the vehicle under this article. The special license plates
assigned to the vehicle shall run in a separate numerical series and
contain a replica design of the American Prisoner of War Medal
followed by the letters "POW" and four numbers. The special license
plates issued under this subdivision also shall contain the following
words: "Ex-Prisoner of War." The department shall, pursuant to this
article, reserve and issue the special license plates provided for by
this section only to persons who show by satisfactory proof former
prisoner-of-war status. A person otherwise issued license plates
within this series pursuant to this article prior to January 1, 1982,
may retain them.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the department, in
consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans'
service organizations, shall design and make available for issuance
pursuant to this article a special environmental design license plate
for former American prisoners of war who prefer not to have their
former status as a "POW" or "Ex-Prisoner of War" identified by words
or other markings or symbols. This section is not intended to
prohibit individuals eligible for the special license plate from
selecting the existing license plate design specified in subdivision
(a). The design criteria for a special interest license plate
pursuant to this subdivision are as follows:
(1) The license plate for a passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle,
or trailer shall provide a space not larger than two inches by three
inches to the left of the numerical series and a space not larger
than five-eighths of an inch in height below the numerical series for
a distinctive design, decal, or descriptive message as authorized by
this subdivision. The license plates shall be issued in sequential
numerical order or, pursuant to Section 5103, in a combination of
numbers or letters.
(2) The license plate shall not identify "POW" or "Ex-Prisoner of
War" by words or other markings or symbols.
(c) Special license plates may be issued pursuant to subdivision
(a) only for a vehicle owned or coowned by a former American prisoner
of war.
(d) Upon the death of a person issued the special license plates
pursuant to this section, his or her surviving spouse may retain the
special license plates subject to the conditions set forth in this
section. If there is no surviving spouse, the special license plates
shall be returned to the department either within 60 days following
that death, or upon the expiration date of the vehicle registration,
whichever date occurs first. However, in the absence of a surviving
spouse, a member of the former prisoner of war's family may retain
one of the special license plates as a family heirloom, subject to
the conditions set forth in subdivision (i), upon submitting an
affidavit to the department agreeing not to attempt to use the
special license plates for vehicle registration purposes.
(e) If a surviving spouse who has elected to retain the special
license plates as authorized under subdivision (d) dies while in
possession of the special license plates, the special license plates
shall be returned to the department either within 60 days following
that death, or upon the expiration date of the vehicle registration,
whichever date occurs first. However, a member of the former prisoner
of war's family may retain one of the special license plates as a
family heirloom, subject to the conditions set forth in subdivision
(i), upon submitting an affidavit to the department agreeing not to
attempt to use the special license plates for vehicle registration
purposes.
(f) A vehicle exempted from fees by Section 9105 and by Section
10783 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall lose the exemption upon
the death of the former American prisoner of war, except that if a
surviving spouse elects to retain the special license plates as
authorized under subdivision (d), the exemption pursuant to Section
9105, and Section 10783.2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, shall
extend until the death of that spouse.
(g) Sections 5106 and 5108 do not apply to this section.
(h) The department shall recall all former prisoner-of-war special
license plates issued pursuant to this section prior to January 1,
1999, and shall issue to the holder of those special license plates,
without charge, the revised special license plates authorized by this
section.
(i) The special license plates issued under this section are not
valid for use for vehicle registration purposes or for the purposes
of Section 9105 or Section 10783 or 10783.2 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code by a person other than the person issued the special
license plates under subdivision (a) and the surviving spouse of that
person.
(j) For purposes of this section, "family" means grandparents,
stepgrandparents, parents, stepparents, siblings, stepsiblings,
children, and stepchildren of the person issued the special license
plates under subdivision (a).