SALT LAKE CITY — A Senate panel agreed with legislation that would tighten and clarify the rules on what inscriptions can be approved for a personalized license plate.
Members of the Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Committee considered SB97 Thursday afternoon, ultimately voting 6-1 to send it on to the full Senate.
Bill sponsor Senate Minority Whip Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said her legislation expands restrictions by adding a provision saying the division can’t issue plates of any combination that may “disparage a person or group” based upon race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship status, or physical or mental disability.
Currently, Utah law dictates that personalized plate requests can be denied when they carry connotations that are offensive to “good taste and decency or that would be misleading.” The Utah Division of Motor Vehicles website clarifies this as combinations that reference drugs; are sexual, vulgar, or derogatory in nature; suggest ideas dangerous to public welfare; or disrespect “race, religion, deity, ethnic heritage, gender, or political affiliation.”
Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, pushed back on Escamilla’s bill.
“You go through and create a laundry list here of race, national origin, religion, age, etc.,” Harper said. “I would submit that with that list out there someone could take offense to anything that’s put on a personalized plate.”
Harper, the only no vote on the committee, questioned how this would be handled and expressed concerns that anybody would be able to bring a suit against the Tax Commission challenging another’s license plate.
Escamilla explained that there is already a review process in place that makes sure decisions aren’t made that could potentially be offensive. She said the bill would simply expand the definition and provide more clarifications.
Within the past five years, the division has denied around 1,280 license plates according to a list provided by Tammy Kikuchi, a public information officer for the tax commission.
The legislation was created after a photo of a plate reading DEPORTM gained attention online, though Escamilla clarified that the Administrative Rules Committee meeting in which the idea for the legislation came to be was already scheduled prior to the social media attention.
High school English teacher Matt Pacenza snapped a photo of the plate near Trolley Square on Jan. 9. Troubled by what he saw as an infraction of the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles’ guidelines, he posted the image to Twitter. Likes and comments started pouring in, some expressing discomfort — others outrage — over the plate.
The post attracted the attention of several Utah lawmakers, including Escamilla who left a comment saying the rules committee planned to look at the personalized license plate decision-making process.
Sen. Jake Anderegg, R-Lehi, said that it became clear that there were certain aspects of the license plate approval process that needed clarity. He said Escamilla’s legislation directly reflects some of the conversations they had that day.
“You might recall the license plate that got a lot of media attention DEPORTM that somehow slipped through,” Anderegg said. “This is in an effort to help avoid those type of situations in the future.”
Pacenza wasn’t the first person to express concerns about the DEPORTM plate.
In the years after it was approved in 2015, the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles received multiple complaints. Though each time concerns were raised over the wording, someone in the review process turned it down.
To avoid future issues, representatives from the division and Tax Commission said citizen complaints will be entered into a system so everyone in the decision making process knows how many pertain to a particular plate. They also said the attorney general’s office will step in if the division receives multiple complaints about a plate.
Scott Smith, Utah State Tax Commission executive director, said that a single person would not be able to recall or deny a plate because the division and tax commission operate based on “community standard.” This means that if the community were to find a plate offensive, then it could be repealed.