(a) All revenues produced from the sale or renewal of new specialty earmarked license plates, as defined in § 55-4-201, after deducting the expense the department has incurred in designing, manufacturing, and marketing the plates and, if applicable, disabled driver decals in accordance with § 55-21-103(a)(6), must be allocated as follows:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-4-301

  • Department: means the department of revenue. See Tennessee Code 55-1-111
  • Driver: means :
    (A) For purposes of a conventionally operated vehicle, every person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • Highway: means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way when any part thereto is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Vehicle: means every device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See Tennessee Code 55-8-101
(1) Fifty percent (50%) of the funds must be allocated to the nonprofit organization or state agency or fund earmarked to receive the funds by the statute authorizing the issuance of the plate. The funds must be used solely to fulfill the purpose or to accomplish the goal specified in the statute authorizing the issuance of the plate;
(2) Forty percent (40%) of the funds must be allocated to the Tennessee arts commission created in title 4, chapter 20; and
(3) Ten percent (10%) of the funds must be allocated to the state highway fund.
(b)

(1) The revenues allocated to the Tennessee arts commission pursuant to subdivision (a)(2) must be distributed by the arts commission in the form of grants to arts organizations or events which meet criteria established by the arts commission for receiving grants, within the following parameters:

(A) One-third (1/3) of the funds must be distributed to qualifying arts organizations or events in urban counties; and
(B) Two-thirds (2/3) of the funds must be distributed to qualifying arts organizations or events in rural counties.
(2) Before the revenue allocated in subdivisions (b)(1)(A) and (B) is granted to the particular local arts organizations or events, an amount not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of the revenues allocated to the Tennessee arts commission pursuant to subdivision (a)(2) may be expended for other grants and activities as determined by the commission.
(c) It is the legislative intent that funds statutorily earmarked from the sale or renewal of new specialty earmarked plates must be allocated only to:

(1) A nonprofit organization;
(2) A department, agency, or other instrumentality of state government; or
(3) A special reserve fund to be utilized by a state agency to effectuate a purpose deemed to be in the state’s best interest.
(d) This section does not reallocate revenues produced from the regular motor vehicle registration fees, or renewals thereof, imposed by part 1 of this chapter. Such revenues must be allocated in accordance with § 55-6-107.
(e) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Rural counties” are those counties that are not included within a metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the federal office of management and budget; and
(2) “Urban counties” are those counties that are included within a metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the federal office of management and budget and as enumerated by the Tennessee state data center.
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