(a)  The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available special motor vehicle registration plates for the nonprofit Atlantic Shark Institute. The plates shall be designed to reference Atlantic Shark Institute.

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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)  Atlantic Shark Institute motor vehicle plates shall be the same size as regular motor vehicle plates, and shall be designed by Atlantic Shark Institute in conjunction with the division of motor vehicles, with the design approved by the Rhode Island state police.

(d)  Atlantic Shark Institute plates shall be subject to a minimum prepaid order of at least six hundred (600) sets of plates per plate type (i.e., passenger, commercial, etc.). Atlantic Shark Institute plates shall not be issued unless the minimum order(s) requirements are met. The initial order will be handled by Atlantic Shark Institute 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, Atlantic Shark Institute 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 Atlantic Shark Institute to assist in the fiscal needs and in furtherance of its mission.

(h)  A ten-dollar ($10) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals will go to Atlantic Shark Institute.

(i)  In consideration of the receipt of funds from the registration of Atlantic Shark Institute plates, the organization must use any Rhode Island-sourced funds in and for the benefit of Rhode Island-based charitable organizations.

(j)  Atlantic Shark Institute will be required to submit an annual accounting report before such monies are distributed.

(k)  There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of Atlantic Shark Institute motor vehicle license plates.