Bill aims to waive cost of specialty license plates for military veterans
BY COURTNEY RYAN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH 2015
Green Bay — A De Pere man has been working to honor veterans in a new way and it's paying off.
His idea is now in the hands of lawmakers at the Wisconsin State Capitol.
Right now veterans pay an additional $15 to have a specialty license plates on top of their regular registration, but for the past year, Dean Raasch has been working to change that.
"In Colorado, if you're a vet and you're a Purple Heart recipient or a Medal of Honor recipient, you get free plates," Raasch said.
He said he got the idea from his cousin who served overseas.
"He said I just moved back to Wisconsin from Colorado and I went to register my license plate. I wanted a Purple Heart Plate, because I earned a Purple Heart, and I had to pay for it," said Raasch
Raasch then reached out to area lawmakers, including Republican Representative, Andre Jacque. On Monday, Jacque introduced a bill that would eliminate the additional cost of a specialty veteran's plates.
"If you have a honorably discharged veteran, then any military specialty plate they qualify for, they'd be able to get it at the same cost as a regular license plate," Jacque said.
Under the bill, veterans that have received a special honor like the Purple Heart or were wounded in service, their license plate would be free.
"Those individuals would get a registration at no cost, in addition to a specialty plate at no cost," said Jacque.
In order to get a specialty plate, honorably discharged military veterans need to submit documentation to the DOT showing their service record.