A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require all registration plates that are issued by the Division to be "first in flight" plates, including all future specialized plates.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑63(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Every license plate shall have displayed upon it the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is issued, the name of the State of North Carolina, which may be abbreviated, and the year number for which it is issued or the date of expiration. A plate issued for a commercial vehicle, as defined in G.S. 20‑4.2(1), and weighing 26,001 pounds or more, must bear the word "commercial," unless the plate is a special registration plate authorized in G.S. 20‑79.4 or the commercial vehicle is a trailer or is licensed for 6,000 pounds or less. The plate issued for vehicles licensed for 7,000 pounds through 26,000 pounds must bear the word "weighted".
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a registration plate issued by the Division for a private passenger vehicle or for a private hauler vehicle licensed for 6,000 pounds or less shall be a "First in Flight" plate. A "First in Flight" plate shall have the words "First in Flight" printed at the top of the plate above all other letters and numerals. The background of the plate shall depict the Wright Brothers biplane flying over Kitty Hawk Beach, with the plane flying slightly upward and to the right. 																									"
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009, and applies to all registration plates issued on or after that date.  Any special registration plate that has been authorized by the General Assembly and is in production on the date this act becomes effective may continue to be produced in the same manner as before the effective date of this act.