Front license plate bill fizzles in House panel
Backers claim it could help law enforcement recover stolen vehicles
SANTA FE — Across New Mexico, low-riders, minivans and pickup trucks are currently united by at least one thing — their lack of front license plates.
That doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon, as a bill requiring front-end license plates to be affixed to most vehicles — starting in July 2027 — was soundly rejected Tuesday by a House committee.
The House Transportation and Public Works Committee voted 8-1 to table the measure, House Bill 56, despite backers’ claims that it could aid law enforcement officers in their efforts to recover stolen vehicles.
Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, who is sponsoring the bill with House Majority Leader Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, said after Tuesday’s hearing he wasn’t happy that data collected by an Albuquerque Police Department commander about other states was not allowed to be presented before the committee vote.
“It’s just amazing to me the opposition to change,” Rehm said in an interview.
But Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, D-Albuquerque, the House committee’s chairwoman, said bill sponsors had rebuffed offers to change the bill, including by requiring a holographic windshield sticker instead of the front license plate.
“My issue with this bill has been it’s a 20th century solution to a 21st century problem,” Hochman-Vigil told the Journal, claiming front-end license plates can interfere with vehicle cameras and sensors used in self-driving cars.
This year’s legislation is not the first attempt to require front-end license plates. A similar bill was proposed in 2019 but ultimately stalled in a Senate committee after passing the House.
The current proposal would exempt trailers, motorcycles and collector vehicles that are at least 30 years old from the front license plate mandate.
In addition, an additional $2 per year registration fee would be required for front license plates, which would generate an estimated $3,700 in extra revenue annually.
That would be on top of the current fees that range from $27 to $62 for a one-year registration, depending on the weight and age of a vehicle.
New Mexico is currently one of 21 states that do not require motorists to have license plates affixed to both the front and back of their vehicles, after Ohio dropped its front plate requirement in 2020, according to Autolist.
Among neighboring states, Arizona and Oklahoma are also front plate-less, while both Texas and Colorado require two license plates.
While this year’s bill could still be revived, it now faces long odds to make it to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk before the 60-day legislative session ends March 18.
That’s just fine with HochmanVigil and other skeptics of the proposal.
“It’s just another tax on people who can’t afford it,” she said.