(a)  The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available special motor vehicle registration plates for the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation. The plates shall be designed to reference the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation and shall feature a striped bass.

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(b)  The special plate shall be displayed upon the same registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it was issued and shall be used in place of, and in the same manner as, the registration plates issued to the vehicle. The original registration plates for the vehicle shall be removed from the vehicle and returned to the division of motor vehicles. The registration certificate for the plates shall be carried in the vehicle in accordance with § 31-3-9. The registration certificate shall be in effect for the special plate.

(c)  The Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation motor vehicle plates shall be the same size as regular motor vehicle plates and shall be designed by the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation, in conjunction with the division of motor vehicles, with design approval by the Rhode Island state police.

(d)  The Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation plates shall be subject to a minimum prepaid order of at least nine hundred (900) sets of plates per plate type (i.e. passenger, commercial, etc.). The Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation plates shall not be issued unless the minimum order(s) requirements are met. The initial order will be handled by the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation and shall not be submitted to the division of motor vehicles for production until the minimum order(s) have been met and the proper paperwork submitted to the division.

(e)  The administrator of motor vehicles shall develop prepayment procedures and any other procedures deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

(f)  In addition to the regular prescribed motor vehicle registration fee, the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation plates shall be subject to a forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge.

(g)  The forty-dollar ($40.00) issuance surcharge shall be allocated as follows: Twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be allocated to the general fund and the remaining twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be distributed annually to the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation in furtherance of its mission to preserve our marine fisheries, environmental protection, restoration projects, and youth activity programs that foster recreational fishing, safety, and conservation.

(h)  A ten-dollar ($10.00) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals shall be allocated to the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation.

(i)  In consideration of the receipt of funds from the registration of the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation license plate, the foundation must use any Rhode Island sourced funds in, and for the benefit of, Rhode Island-based charitable organizations.

(j)  The Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation shall be required to submit an annual accounting report before such monies are distributed.

(k)  There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Foundation plates.