Ohio rejected more than 460 vanity plates in 2020; here is a sample
If you want to know what was on the minds of Ohioans in 2020, the list of vanity license plates rejected by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offers some clues.
The BMV rejected 462 plates last year, largely for profanity or sexually explicit phrases, according to the list obtained through a public records request by the USA Today Network Ohio.
COVID-19 was a popular theme among the hundreds of plates rejected last year:
h FURONA
h F U COVID
h FK COV1D
The list also contains cultural phetheir nomena such as F CAROL B, a reference to “Tiger King” documentary star Carole Baskin, and plates containing “WAP,” the hit song by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.
WAP is also an acronym for a phrase not safe for work and one we cannot print.
But the BMV is hip to what it means and rejected seven plates featuring the phrase. There were others with just a general 2020 mood: WTF 2020, F 2020 and SAD AF.
Some were political (both antipresident Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.)
There were fewer Ohio State University fan plates than in past years – MCHSUX didn't make it. And for some reason, multiple people asked to stamp vehicle with bodily functions (GOT2P and TH3 TURD.)
The rest were a mix of sexual phrases and swears, some fairly clever and others that required a perusal of the Urban Dictionary to decode.
The BMV has a few basic rules. Plates cannot:
h Contain words, combinations, and/or phrases in any language, when read either frontward or backward, that are so profane, obscene or sexually explicit.
h Contain words, combinations, and/or phrases that are so offensive that they could possibly provoke a violent response.
h Contains words, combinations and/or phrases that advocate immediate lawlessness.
COLUMBUS – Ohio lawmakers rejected Gov. Mike Dewine’s proposal to penalize cellphones use while driving, increased money for public transportation and axed registration fees.
The changes were made to Ohio’s two-year transportation budget Thursday, but they are not final. House Bill 74 must pass the Ohio House and Senate before reaching Dewine’s desk. More tweaks are expected.
Dewine proposed a ban on texting, taking photos, watching videos and other dangerous cellphone use while driving. Current law allows police to stop drivers age 18 and younger for texting while driving, but adults must commit another traffic violation first.
Dewine wanted police to stop adult drivers for distracted driving while using a cellphone – the same as their teenage counterparts. More than 100,000 distracted driving crashes have occurred in Ohio since 2013 resulting in more than 53,000 injuries, according to Ohio Highway Patrol data.
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns that the new traffic violations would disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic drivers without proper training for police on racial bias.
Republicans, on the other hand, gave procedural reasons for removing the language.
“We generally try not to put criminal
A staple near the Ohio State University campus was robbed at gunpoint early Friday morning. According to an law into the (Ohio Department of Transportation) budget,” Rep. Scott Oelslager, R-canton, said.
New registration fees eliminated
Ohio lawmakers eliminated fees Dewine wanted to charge drivers for registration, a $10 increase, and titles, a $2 hike.
That would have collected an estimated $127 million each year for the Ohio Department of Public safety, with most of it supporting the State Highway Patrol and some going to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
But lawmakers chafed at increasing fees on Ohioans during a pandemic.
“At this critical time where people have lost their businesses and jobs, the last thing we need are increases to taxes and fees,” said Rep. Diane Grendell, Rchesterland.
Lawmakers will instead use general revenue fund money, which comes from Ohioans’ taxes.
Public transit money increased
Dewine’s budget cut state money for public transit 90% from $70 million a year to $7.3 million annually. Even with about $40 million annually in federal money, the amount allocated to pay for public transportation was dramatically lower.
In 2019, lawmakers negotiated a higher sum for public transportation. alert sent out by the university, the Buckeye Donuts located at 1998 N. High St. was robbed around 3 a.m. by two unknown suspects. The two suspects, both males, demanded money and fled the area. One of the suspects showed a handgun. (That was actually reduced from $70 million annually because of pandemicrelated budget cuts.) Dewine’s proposed $7 million a year was in line with past budgets, but advocates for public transit said Ohio shouldn’t go backward.
Instead, lawmakers proposed increasing the budget to $193.7 million over the next two years. Of that, $46.3 million is state general revenue fund money.
Rep. Erica Crawley, D-columbus, said she appreciated the increase but hopes the new dollars mark the beginning, and not the end, of Ohio’s commitment to better funding public transportation.
Fees on electric vehicles and hybrids will remain
In 2019, Ohio lawmakers added a $200 annual fee on electric vehicles and a $100 fee on hybrid vehicles.
Clean Fuels Ohio’s Tyler Fehrman argued for a different approach: Charge $100 for battery electric vehicles, $50 for plug-in hybrid vehicles and $0 for hybrid vehicles.
“Gas-powered vehicles have made significant advancements over the past several years,” Fehrman said. “Many traditional gasoline vehicles are seeing higher – and sometimes equal – gas mileage achieved when compared to their hybrid counterparts.”
However, lawmakers kept the fees in place. No other details about the suspects have been released. No injuries were reported. Anyone with information is asked to call Columbus police at 614-645-4545. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner