In the past, Kansas wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on overproduction costs. Officials said the transition would be more efficient than managing inventory from the mass production of the state license plate and a host of specialty plates. Kansas switched to digital license plate production in 2018, with plates printed on-demand once the tag is ordered. But the law allows the Revenue Department to extend the cycle if plates are not deteriorating to where they need replaced, which the agency has done. The current Ad Astra license plate design dates to 2008, meaning a new plate was supposed to be issued in 2013. Under Kansas law, the Revenue Department's license plates are supposed to have a five-year cycle, and the agency sought to get back in compliance with the statute. ![]() More: License plates can make Kansas groups millions, but legislators are getting tired of them After the Revenue Department revised its cost estimate, the Legislature cut the budget to $9.8 million, contingent on the availability of ARPA funds. The governor's office trimmed the request to $12.6 million just to replace the embossed plates with a provision to use ARPA funds if possible. About 3 million license plates would have been replaced. The amount included $13.9 million in production costs and $11.4 million for mailing costs. The agency had initially requested $25.3 million for a complete replacement of the standard Ad Astra license plate design. Only people with the standard embossed plates will be receiving replacement plates. "A design has yet to be determined, but the Division of Vehicles has assembled a team to discuss plate design options," a Revenue Department spokesperson said. "I know some people are very particular about that, but we're not going to be able to accommodate that, unfortunately." Will there be a new Kansas license plate design?Ī city of Topeka flag license plate is seen within a mix of current and older Kansas license plates.Īt the time, Holm said he did not know if there would be a new license plate design as part of the replacement. ![]() "No, they will not have the same number," Holm said. The new license plate in the mail will come with a new tag number. Replacement is only for the standard embossed plates those receiving replacement plates will not pay additional fees during the 2024 registration process." If I like my Kansas license plate number, can I keep it? "Those affected will receive instructions on replacing and disposing of current plates at the appropriate time. "This will coincide with the normal registration renewal month for Kansas vehicle owners with embossed license plates," the Revenue Department spokesperson said. ![]() The project is scheduled to begin in calendar year 2024. If your vehicle still uses an embossed plate, the state may be sending you a new one that uses flat tag numbers printed digitally. Holm said Kansans will receive their new plate in the mail at no cost to them.Ī collection of old Kansas license plates with embossed lettering are seen on a windowsill at the Truckhenge property in East Topeka. More: When Kansas police use license plate readers, should data collected be public record? Will I have to pay for my new plate in Kansas? "As long as the funding is there for the plate replacement, that takes care of an issue for law enforcement," said revenue secretary Mark Burghart. That poses challenges for law enforcement. But right now we're concerned with the older ones, to get those off the road."Įmbossed plates lose about 50% of their reflectivity after five years, making them more difficult to read, especially at night, according to agency testimony. "And so right now those digitally produced ones that we started to produce back in 2018 are just reaching the five-year useful life. "The license plates have a five-year useful life, I guess you could say, before the reflectivity starts to wear off," Holm said. That age is far beyond their expected life. ![]() "A lot of those are anywhere between 10 and 15 years old and the reflectivity on them has gone down significantly," Kris Holm, the Revenue Department's chief financial officer, told lawmakers in February. Virgil Peck, R-Havana, said in a February committee meeting. "The license plates, some of them that I see out there, you cannot read," Sen.
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