(a)  The administrator of the division of motor vehicles is empowered to make available special motor vehicle registration plates for passenger vehicles based upon the not-for-profit entity Operation Stand Down RI.

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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 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)  Operation Stand Down RI motor vehicle plates shall be the same size as regular motor vehicle plates and shall be designed in conjunction with the division of motor vehicles, with design approval by the Rhode Island state police.

(d)  Operation Stand Down RI plates shall be subject to a minimum prepaid order of at least nine hundred (900) sets of plates per plate type including, but not limited to, passenger and commercial. Operation Stand Down RI plates shall not be issued unless the minimum order requirements are met. The initial order will be handled by Operation Stand Down RI and shall not be submitted to the division of motor vehicles for production until the minimum order has been met and the proper paperwork submitted to the division. Subsequent Operation Stand Down RI plate orders will be handled by the division of motor vehicles.

(e)  The administrator of motor vehicles shall develop application forms, 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, Operation Stand Down RI 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 Operation Stand Down RI in furtherance of its mission to “support our troops: in helping struggling and homeless veterans by offering housing and supportive services necessary to their well-being.”

(h)  A ten-dollar ($10.00) surcharge for subsequent registration renewals shall be allocated to Operation Stand Down RI.

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

(j)  Operation Stand Down RI will be required to submit an annual accounting report before such monies are distributed.

(k)  There shall be no refunds for early cancellation of Operation Stand Down RI plates.