SALT LAKE CITY — After two years of waiting, special license plates raising money for Great Salt Lake preservation efforts have started arriving.
Over the weekend, people started messaging FOX 13 News with the good news that their license plates had finally arrived in their mailboxes. It was never supposed to be this long of a wait, said Sen. Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City, who sponsored the bill to create the specialty license plate. She pointed out that people from all over Utah ordered them to show support for saving the Great Salt Lake. The Utah State Tax Commission said more than 600 people requested one.
But the plate got caught up in some Capitol Hill drama around license plates leading to a two year wait and frustrated people who spent money on them.
"It really was just sort of march out, get a bunch of plates ordered and then there was a little sort-of hiccup in getting the plate process approved," Sen. Plumb said in an interview Tuesday. "We’re there though. You learn a lot every day in government, right? Always something new, always make new mistakes is my motto. This is really something. And I think now we’re highlighting how important it is we pour more attention and focus on the lake."
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What contributed to the delay were new laws the Utah State Legislature passed around specialized license plates that raise money for various causes. A bill that eliminated the need for a front license plate on a vehicle in Utah also created a special committee to review all license plate designs. The state has adopted new license plate printing methods that do away with raised letters and now allows for a "full plate" design. Last year, Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, who is involved in the license plate redesigns, said they were trying to ensure they got it right and the Great Salt Lake plate got caught up in the middle of things.
For now, the Great Salt Lake specialty plate only uses a fraction of the full space. Sen. Plumb said she hoped the next version will have a scenic lake image.
When that will be available? It's unknown at this point.
This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake—and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late. Read all of our stories at greatsaltlakenews.org.
