Ohio bill to require 1 license plate goes against legislative panels' recommendation of 2
2/22/2014COLUMBUS— Motorists would only be required to display a single license plate on the rear of their vehicles under a proposal pending in the Ohio House.
But at the same time, a joint House-Senate task force unanimously has recommended against the change to one plate from two, The Columbus Dispatch reports.
Rep. Cheryl Grossman of Grove City, the chairwoman of the License Plate Safety Task Force, said the panel heard no testimony in favor of the switch. The insurance industry, school-bus drivers, truck drivers and the State Highway Patrol along with other law enforcement offices wanted to keep both plates.
At the end of December, the joint panel voted in favor of maintaining the two-plate requirement.
Law-enforcement officials told task force members that front plates help people more easily report crimes and allow officers to spot people involved in traffic investigations, Grossman said
“I think it’s important that we have as many tools as possible for identification,” she told the newspaper. “The ability to identify whoever is in that car is far more important than someone who doesn’t want a license plate to spoil the front of their car.”
A House committee passed a bill seven months ago to require one plate, not two. The proposal has 19 co-sponsors from both parties and is awaiting the OK from House leadership to be taken up for a vote.
Supporters point to the bill’s potential savings for the state: about $1.4 million each year in license plate production and distribution