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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah drivers who want to declare "In God We Trust" on their car's license plate may soon be able to do so without paying an extra $11 fee, but it could cost the state about $34,000 a year in lost revenue.
Since 2013, Utah has offered a special license plate that features the motto "In God We Trust" and an American flag. Drivers who want to sport the plate instead of standard designs featuring skiing themes or sandstone arches from Arches National Park currently pay the extra fee.
A number of other states offer a similar "In God We Trust" design as a specialty license plate. But only a handful of states, including Florida and Indiana, offer them to drivers without an extra fee.
A House of Representatives committee voted 10-0 on Tuesday afternoon to advance the bill from Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem. It now goes before the entire House for a vote.
Peterson said the "In God We Trust" plate is Utah's third most popular specialty plate after plates issued for disabled individuals or vintage cars.
"It's becoming more and more popular as it becomes more visible across the state," Peterson said Tuesday. "It just seems to me to make sense if it's going to become that popular that it would just be one of the standard designs that we would have."
Legislative budget staff estimated that it will cost $100,000 in the first year to produce about 25,000 plates to meet an initial demand. They also estimated that the state will lose out on $33,500 a year from people who are currently opting to sport the plates and pay special fees.
Peterson said those opting for the plate will still be paying other fees that all other drivers pay each year. He said the popularity of the plate makes it worth forgoing the small extra fee.
At the end of last year, 12,035 cars in Utah had the "In God We Trust" plates, said Charlie Roberts, a spokesman for the Utah State Tax Commission, which oversees the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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