Special-group license plates show Utahns love their colleges, wildlife, pets and veterans

Nearly 71,000 Utahns — equivalent to the population of South Jordan, the state’s 10th-largest city — happily chose last year to pay what amounts to extra taxes totaling a combined $2 million.

That’s about $28 each on average.

Why?

They paid extra for special-group license plates. These cost at least $16 extra upfront for the plate, and most require an annual contribution of $10 to $40 that goes to universities, government programs or charities.

“I’m one of those people. I have one for the University of Utah,” acknowledges Charlie Roberts, spokesman for the Utah Tax Commission, which administers the special plates.

College fans

The University of Utah tag is the state’s most popular. Last year, 12,932 people sported one on their vehicle. That means about one of every five special-group plates sold is for the U., out of 49 types that taxpayers bought last year.

The U. plate is also one of the more expensive ones, requiring a $40 a year contribution, which last year raised $558,000 for the school’s scholarship fund.

“I don’t know why I don’t just donate to the school’s scholarship fund,” Roberts says. “Maybe it was a couple of really good football seasons” that made him and other Ute fans want to show their pride on the street. “The numbers show Utes are very loyal.”

Behind the U. in support, 7,043 plates for Utah State University were on the road last year. They require a $25 annual donation — raising $189,950 for that school.

Trailing the U. and USU was Brigham Young University, which charges $35 a plate. Fans of the LDS Church-owned school registered 4,106 plates last year, generating $151,620 for scholarships. (A list of how many plates of all types sold is online at sltrib.com.)

Some schools saw next to no support.

Western Governors University sold seven plates last year, raising $175 for scholarships. The College of Eastern Utah had nine, raising $225. And LDS Business College and Salt Lake Community College had 19 each, raising $525 and $475, respectively.

Cute=big seller

Roberts says clerks who sell the plates report that buyers purchase them for two main reasons: “Some do it to support causes, and others buy them because they look good.”

For example, he says a surprise best-seller is the plate for “No More Homeless Pets in Utah.” An older version had a cartoon dog with a waving cat under a shelter roof. A newer version has a simple line drawing that can be seen either as a smiling dog or two people holding each other.

“People think it’s cute, so they buy it,” Roberts says, ” at least that’s what our people on the front lines say.”

Utahns had 3,210 such plates on the road last year requiring a $25 annual donation. That raised $88,300 to provide homes for stray and abandoned animals, and for spay and neuter programs.

In God We Trust

People liked the look and message of one former specialty plate — “In God We Trust” with an American Flag. Legislators liked it, too, and decided to make it one of the standard options available at no extra fee. The other two standard-issue plates include Delicate Arch or a skier with the motto “Greatest Snow on Earth.”

America’s Freedom Festival, the Provo-based celebration of Independence Day, originally pushed for the “In God We Trust” plate as a fundraiser, but that stalled in disputes about whether money from what promised to be a popular plate should go just to the private nonprofit. So, Roberts says, legislators instead offered it for an extra $5 fee, but it was not a fundraiser for any group.

The plate quickly sold more than 11,000 copies. So, legislators decided to make it a standard option — which became available at no extra cost beginning Jan. 1 this year.

Roberts says the tax commission did not have data on how many have been issued this year, but adds that anecdotally they “are trending to be very popular.”

We love vets, wildlife

Some causes are also popular. At the top of that list is 11,002 license plates sold to raise $168,754 for state veterans programs last year — second in popularity overall only to the U. tag.

The state offers different plates for the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force and American Legion, including different motorcycle options. “You don’t have to be a veteran to buy one,” Roberts says.

Also popular are plates that raise money for state wildlife resources. Motorists have bought 7,916 of them overall, raising $220,225.

“They have pictures of people’s favorite wildlife,” Roberts says. The elk version sold the most, 3,619, followed by the trout, 2,211; deer, 1,259; eagle, 652; and heron, 175.

Also popular is a plate to raise money to support the families of fallen Utah Highway Patrol troopers and other Department of Public Safety employees. Registration of 3,065 of those plates last year raised $124,000.

Firefighters bought 9,513 special plates that only they may purchase, raising $159,285 last year for an account to support their organizations. “That became very popular after 9/11,” Roberts says.

Pro sports plates

Pro sports are a fairly recent entry among the special-group license plates “and seem to be doing well,” Roberts says.

A Utah Jazz plate was first offered in 2015 — featuring its signature Jazz note emblem — and has sold 1,372 since then, raising $38,550 for support of women’s and children’s issues.

One for Real Salt Lake became available just in the past year and has sold 809, raising $27,250 to support youth soccer programs.

Tougher rules

After some fundraising license plates proved less than popular, legislators in recent years have made the process of starting a new one a bit tougher. Proposals must be approved by the Legislature as before, but before plates are manufactured, groups must obtain signatures and money from 500 people promising to buy them.

“That’s basically coming up with $22,000 to cover the state’s costs” to make a new plate, Roberts says. “The group must also cover the cost of such things as the graphics design, and obtain state approval.”

He notes that five plates have been approved by the Legislature, but have yet to come up with the required support and money: an adoption support group, a Martin Luther King Jr. plate, one to support the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial, and plates for “Children with Cancer” and “Children with Heart Disease.”

New plates also must maintain significant support — or be eliminated. If they have fewer than 500 registrations for three consecutive years, they will be pulled. However, most plates in the program now were approved before such rules were imposed and are not subject to them.

Roberts says while some plates are popular, several have proved over time that special plates aren’t always an easy sell. He points to one for the Boy Scouts of America as an example.

“Their logo on the plate is very well recognized, and everyone’s either been a Boy Scout or has been bothered by one — so I’m sure they thought a lot of people would want one,” he says. But only 305 were registered last year. “That brought in $8,000 to be divided by three Scout councils, which is chump change for them.”

With the newer, tougher rules in place, Roberts warns organizers truly “have to be serious” about promoting them to be financially worthwhile. “It’s a lot of work.”

While the special-group plates may raise money for some programs and charities, they don’t bring in much money for the state — despite charges designed to cover costs, Roberts says.

“We do very well to break even. It takes a lot of resources and time of our people.” But, he adds, “The Legislature is not going to say no to nice groups” that want to work and raise money through them.