SB 1043 - Under this act, the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight is assigned the duty of approving or denying special license plate applications submitted to it by the Department of Revenue (Section 21.795). This act also removes the special license plate exemption which allowed organizations to forego the 100 applicants requirement by paying for the actual cost of initial issuance (Section 301.2999). Organizations seeking authorization to establish a new special license plate must initially petition the Department of Revenue. The organization must submit an application which: (1) Describes the proposed license plate; (2) Is accompanied by 100 applications and special plate fees from eligible applicants who plan to purchase the special license plate; and (3) Is accompanied by an application fee, not to exceed $5,000, to defray the cost of reviewing the application and developing the plate (Section 301.3150). All moneys received by the Department of Revenue, excluding the special license plate fee, shall be deposited in the "Department of Revenue Specialty Plate Fund". The state Treasurer shall be the custodian of the fund and shall make disbursements from the fund for the development and review of special license plates. The required documents and fees must be submitted to the Department of Revenue by July 1st prior to the next regular session of the General Assembly to be approved by the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight. If the special license plate application is approved by the Joint Committee, the sponsoring organization shall submit the proposed art work to the Department of Revenue no later than 60 days after such approval. If the Joint Committee denies the application, 97% of the application fee shall be refunded to the organization along with all special license plate fees submitted. The Department shall begin production and distribution of the new special license plates within one year after approval of the special license plate by the Joint Committee. The Department is authorized to discontinue issuance of special license plates if the organization no longer provides services or has stopped issuing emblem use-authorization statements. Any person or organization who has received a notice of denial of application for development of a special license plate may request a hearing to review the committee's decision within 15 days of receiving the notice of denial (Section 301.3152). The special license plate fee for all special plates, except special military license plates, is increased from $15 to $25 (Section 301.3154). The fee for personalizing license plates is also increased from $15 to $25 (Section 301.144.1). STEPHEN WITTE