Grab your flip flops and shaker of salt. The Margaritaville license plate is a go.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills last week honoring Florida's favorite son, legendary laid-back musician andbusiness tycoon Jimmy Buffett, who died last September from a rare form of skin cancer. HB 91 designated State Road A1A as the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway andHB 403 approved a specialty plate for Margaritaville, named after the singer's classic hit song and the brand name of his entertainment and hospitality empire.
Fees from the sale of the plate will be distributed to Singing for Change (SFC Charitable Foundation, Inc.), which was founded by Buffett in 1995, to "provide grants to nonprofit organizations in communities impacted by natural or manmade disasters for recovery, rebuilding, and future sustainability in those communities and to promote and inspire local grassroots leadership that will work to improve the quality of life in those communities and others in this state."
What will the Margaritaville license plate look like?
The final design has not been decided, but the bill requires the plate to have Florida at the top and Margaritaville at the bottom. Sample plates displayed in the Florida Legislature showed various beach scenes.
How much will the Margaritaville license plate cost?
Specialty license plates cost an annual $25 on top of your vehicle registration fees. All of the plates can be orderedonlineor atlocal DMV officesexcept for specialty military plates such as Medal of Honor, Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, etc, whichrequire a form to certify eligibility.
When will the Margaritaville license plate be available?
The act goes into effect Oct. 1, 2024, so sometime after that.
What are specialty license plates?
Specialty license plates are plates for your registered vehicle that feature different artwork than the standard Florida white, orange and green plates to let you add a colorful personal touch for your ride. They cost extra, but proceeds from the sales go to benefit the colleges, environmental causes, sports teams, military services and special interests behind them.
The Sunshine State currently offers over 100 different specialty license plates as of June 1, according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and there are 175 different specialty plates on over 2 million vehicles out there.
What is the most popular specialty license plate in Florida?
According to the FLHSMV, the top-selling specialty plates as of June 1 are:
- Endless Summer:136,937
- Helping Sea Turtles Survive:109,286
- University of Florida:92,760
- Miami Heat:80,250
- Florida State University:70,366
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers:61,573
- Save the Manatee:53,361
- Protect Wild Dolphins:52,981
- Marine Corps:49,968
- Vets of the U.S. Armed Forces:49,361
What other new Florida license plates are coming?
The other new plates approved include:
- Live the Dream: A plate to benefit the Historic Cemeteries Program to research, identify, and record abandoned African-American cemeteries and provide grants, with up to 5% going to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. as a royalty for the use of the image of Dr. King.
- American Eagle:No benefitting organization is listed for this plate in the bill.
- Universal Orlando Resort: To benefit Give Kids The World, Inc., which provides week-long, cost-free vacations to children with critical illnesses and their families.
- Clearwater Marine Aquarium:A plate to celebrate the aquarium, with money going to efforts to reduce, rehabilitate and release marine life, public education and other conservation strategies.
- General Aviation:A plate supporting general aviation in the state. Fees from sale of the plate will go to the Aerospace Center for Excellence in Lakeland to fund scholarships.
- The Villages: May All Your Dreams Come True:Use fees from sales of his plate will go to support The Villages Charter School Inc.
- Cure Diabetes:Money from this plate will be distributed evenly among The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, JDRF International Incorporated, and the University of Florida Foundation, Inc., which supports the University of Florida Diabetes Institute to fund research into curing Type 1 diabetes,
- Recycle Florida:Use fees from the sale of this plate will go to Recycle Florida Today Foundation, Inc. for a public awareness program on the importance of recycling and conservation, to promote recycling programs, and to support the professional development people working in fields relating to recycling, conservation, and sustainability.
- Boating Capital of the World:Sales of this plate will support Captain Sandy Yawn, Inc. in the effort to promote and fund maritime workforce instruction, training, professional development and job placement in the marine industry both at sea and on land.
- Project Addiction: Reversing the Stigma:This plate will fund the nonprofit Project Addiction: Reversing the Stigma, Inc. to promote and support awareness of and education about substance use disorder and mental illness.
- United Service Organizations (USO):Annual use fees will go toward United Service Organizations, Inc. to be distributed equally among its ten Florida locations to promote its mission of supporting members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.
The bill also exempts collegiate plates from the rules requiring the bottom 10% of specialty plates measured in sales to be dropped each year and provides a way for previously dropped colleges and universities to be reinstated, and allows family members of alumni of the"Divine Nine,"a nickname for the nine African American fraternities that formed theNational Pan-Hellenic Councilin 1930, to also buy Divine Nine plates.
