SPECIALTY LICENSE PLATE RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT FENTANYL DANGERS COMING THIS SPRING
Senator Jimmy Higdon encourages support of new plate; organization responsible for making it possible
FRANKFORT, Ky. (January 17, 2024) – A new specialty license plate will be available in March/early spring for Kentuckians wishing to help raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, Senate Transportation Chair Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, shared on Wednesday. The plate's availability will follow an update to the Kentucky Automated Vehicle Information System, known as KAVIS, as the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) takes a step forward in modernizing the state's vehicle information database.
Efforts to create the fentanyl awareness specialty license plate were led by advocates such as Angela Parkerson and Tami Bolitt, mothers of sons whose lives were cut short by fentanyl.
"We began our nonprofit organization after our children, Nick Rucker, forever 24, and Chase Linton, forever 30, were killed by illicit fentanyl after unknowingly ingesting it, believing the pills they consumed were pharmaceutical products, in 2021," Parkerson and Bolitt said in a shared statement.
A 501(c)(3) organization, the Never Alone Nick Rucker Foundation was established in 2022. The nonprofit advocacy group is dedicated to education and prevention.
"Stories like the loss of Nick and Chase are heartbreaking, and they're all too common across Kentucky," Higdon said. "This is an issue that connects many people. It doesn't matter what region because we're losing our children and members of our law enforcement community because fentanyl has such as high toxicity and is almost invisible in many cases.
"I'm grateful for advocates like Angela and Tami because they are the ones who get things like this done," Higdon added. "I would encourage anyone who feels compelled to consider one of the fentanyl awareness plates for their vehicle because the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) requires 500 yearly registrations to keep the plate in active production. I'd also ask people—especially those who've felt the same loss as Angela and Tami—to get involved with the organization."
The Never Alone Nick Rucker Foundation will host a Kentucky Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness event on August 17 at My Old Kentucky Home State Park rotunda in Bardstown.
The new fentanyl awareness license plate, donning the organization's logo, is another effort to save lives through education and awareness.
Anyone who has lost a loved one in Kentucky is encouraged to contact Parkerson and Bolitt at www.neveralonenick.org. You will be engaged with the organization's Never Alone Awareness Angel Missions, which raise awareness across the commonwealth and the nation.
The fentanyl awareness license plates will be $44, $10 of which will go directly to the Never Alone Nick Rucker Foundation to support the organization's mission for fentanyl prevention and education.
To find all available license plate options and to apply for yours, visit drive.ky.gov.
PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATE
Plate personalization requests are granted on a first-come, first-serve basis. KYTC reports it is a possibility that a character combination may become unavailable if the same request was received before your submission. The only valid characters are letters A through Z, numbers 1 through 9, spaces and dashes. Personalized plate character combinations may only appear on one plate at any given time.
SPECIALTY PLATE PROCESS
Any nonprofit organization based in Kentucky or has a chapter located in Kentucky may apply for a special license plate by sending an email request to KYTC.SpecialLicensePlate@ky.gov. The organization will then receive a packet from Kentucky containing the documents you need to apply.
The nonprofit must return the documents listed below to KYTC.SpecialLicensePlate@ky.gov, or mail them to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing, Special License Plates, P.O. Box 1014, Frankfort, KY 40622:
A letter of request which should include the mission or vision of the organization, a list of all chapters within Kentucky, and any other pertinent information about your organization that you would like to share with the Committee.
Form TC 96-333, Organization Application for a Special License Plate.
Proof of nonprofit status from the IRS or Articles of Incorporation from the Kentucky Secretary of State.
Plate image, designed per enclosed specifications. The packet includes an Adobe Illustrator file (*.ai) and an editable Adobe Document file (*.pdf). You may use either format to submit your design.
Once KYTC receives the completed application, the Special License Plate Committee will review it at the next quarterly meeting. Submissions must be received at least 10 business days in advance. Any late submissions will be reviewed at the following meeting. KYTC will send the organization a notice of approval or denial within 30 days after the committee makes its determination. Once the committee approves the plate design, the organization will receive an invoice for the pre-production costs before the plate goes into production. The current cost is $2,500—although KYTC says that may change without notice. The cabinet returns the $10 mandatory contribution to the organization annually at the start of the following calendar year as soon as it receives an audit attestation.
Questions concerning any of this may be directed to KYTC.SpecialLicensePlate@ky.gov.
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Senator Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, represents the 14th Senate District, including Larue, Marion, Nelson, Spencer, and Washington Counties. He co-chairs the Interim Joint Committee on Transportation and the Public Pension Oversight Board. Additionally, Higdon is a member of the Interim Joint Committees on Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations, Education, and Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection. Finally, he is a member of the newly formed Multimodal Freight Transportation System Improvement Task Force.