HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 154        FILED ON: 1/10/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3278

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Daniel Cahill

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to electronic license plates.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 154        FILED ON: 1/10/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3278

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to electronic license plates.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 6C the following section:-

SECTION 6D: (a) The registry of motor vehicles may issue one or more stickers, tabs, or other suitable devices in lieu of the license plates provided for under this chapter. Except where the physical differences between the stickers, tabs, or devices and license plates by their nature render the provisions of this code inapplicable, all provisions of this code relating to license plates may apply to stickers, tabs, or devices.

(b) The registry may establish a pilot program to evaluate the use of alternatives to license plates as described in section (a) subject to all of the following requirements:

(1) The alternative products shall be approved by the Massachusetts State Police.

(2) The pilot program shall be limited to no more than 0.5 percent of registered vehicles for the purpose of road testing and evaluation.

(3) The alternative products to be evaluated shall be provided at no cost to the state.

(4) Any pilot program established by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be completed no later than 12 months from the passing of this legislation.

(5) Any pilot program established by the registry of motor vehicles pursuant to this section shall be limited to vehicle owners who have voluntarily chosen to participate in the pilot program.

(c) In the conduct of any pilot program pursuant to this section, any data exchanged between the registry of motor vehicles and any electronic device or the provider of any electronic device shall be limited to that data necessary to display evidence of registration compliance. The registry of motor vehicle shall not receive or retain any information generated during the pilot program regarding the movement, location, or use of a vehicle participating in the pilot program.

(d) If the registry of motor vehicles conducts a pilot program authorized in section (b), the registry shall, no later than 18 months after formation of the pilot program, submit a report of the results of the pilot program to the Legislature, to include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) An evaluation of the cost effectiveness of the alternatives used in the pilot program when compared to the department’s current use of stickers, tabs, license plates, and registration cards.

(2) A review of all products evaluated in the pilot program and of the features of those products. The report shall note if the devices evaluated in the pilot program are available with the ability to transmit and retain information relating to the movement, location, or use of a vehicle, and if a product contains that feature, the report shall also note if the product includes any security features to protect against unauthorized access to information.

(3) Recommendations for subsequent actions, if any, that should be taken with regard to alternatives evaluated in the pilot program.