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Missouri seeks input on new license plate design
By Steve Moyer
Herald-Tribune
Nevada, Mo. -- Missouri residents are getting a sneak peek at the three possibilities for a new license plate and are being given a chance to go on the Missouri Department of Revenue's Web site to vote on which they prefer. Three public meetings are scheduled for Springfield, Kansas City and St. Louis in the next three weeks to gather public input.
The process was started in 2004 when state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1233 which authorized the License Plate Advisory Committee to develop designs for a new Missouri license plate.
Members of the advisory committee included Trish Vincent, Missouri Revenue Director; Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Colonel James F. Keithly; the director of Missouri Vocational Enterprises; and the chairmen of the senate and house transportation committees.
"The committee came up with ideas over the past year," Maura Browning, public information officer for the revenue department said. "They looked at many designs and eventually settled on the three choices."
Revenue Director Vincent said she enjoyed the process and encourage Missourians to participate.
"I encourage Missourians to vote for the plate they'd like to see on Missouri's roads," Vincent said. "It's been a privilege to be part of this process, and I look forward to meeting with Missourians about our plate designs in the coming weeks."
The current license plate design replaced the white-on-maroon plates that had been in use since 1979. Standard license plates are embossed, but personalized license plates are made by a computer graphics process that produces a flat license plate. The computer process has also enabled the state to produce very detailed special license plates that commemorate a particular organization, activity, or charity.
St. Louis artist Bill O'Donnell designed the current Missouri license plate. His design features gradations of blue and green on a field of white. At the top of the license plate, the state name is featured in green block letters. Under it is a wavy blue line that represents the state's many bodies of water -- rivers, streams, and lakes.
Two of the proposed plates have a plain white background with the phrase Show Me State at the bottom of the plate. The two are differentiated by the Missouri at the top of the plate. One has a wavy blue ribbon behind Missouri and a yellow sun over the first "s." The second has Missouri on top of its reflection, an orange sun replaces the "o." The third choice has a background that has a gradient from white at the top to blue at the bottom with the phrase Show Me State running vertically at the right side of the plate, a bluebird sits at the bottom of the plate.