(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue special motor vehicle license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles as defined in § 56-3-630 and motorcycles registered in their names which shall have imprinted on the plate the words "South Carolina Elks Association". The fee for this special license plate is the regular motor vehicle license fee set forth in Article 5, Chapter 3 of this title and the special fee required by § 56-3-2020. This special license plate must be of the same size and general design of regular motor vehicle license plates. The special license plates must be issued or revalidated for a biennial period which expires twenty-four months from the month they are issued.

(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, of the fees collected for the special license plate, the Comptroller General shall place into the State Highway Fund as established by § 57-11-20, to be distributed as provided in § 11-43-167, an amount equal to the expenses of the Department of Motor Vehicles in producing and administering the special license plate. Any remaining funds must be deposited in a special account, separate and apart from the general fund, designated for use by the South Carolina Elks Association to be used to support its Alzheimer’s state project.

(C) Before the Department of Motor Vehicles produces and distributes a special license plate pursuant to this section, it must receive four hundred prepaid applications for the special license plate or a deposit of four thousand dollars from the individual or organization seeking issuance of the license plate. If a deposit of four thousand dollars is made by an individual or organization pursuant to this section, the department must refund the four thousand dollars once an equivalent amount of license plate fees is collected for that organization’s license plate and, a plan to market the sale of the special license plate must be approved by the department. If the equivalent amount is not collected within four years of the first issuance of the license plate, the department shall retain the deposit.

(D) If the department receives less than three hundred biennial applications and renewals for the ‘South Carolina Elks Association’ special license plate, it may not produce additional special license plates in that series. However, the department shall continue to issue special license plates of that series until the existing inventory is exhausted.