1. No specialized license plate shall be issued after January 1, 2002, by the director of revenue which proposes to raise revenue or funds for an organization which authorizes the use of its emblem for a fee unless such organization:

(1) Is a governmental entity; or

Terms Used In Missouri Laws 301.2999

(2) Is an organization registered pursuant to Section 501(c) of the 1986 Internal Revenue Code, as amended, or an equivalent law which applies to such not-for-profit entity.

2. Any organization which raises revenues or funds through the sponsorship of specialized license plates issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter enacted prior to January 1, 2002, shall have until January 1, 2004, to comply with the provisions of this section. The director shall verify that all organizations that are paid fees for the use of their emblems for specialized license plates are complying with the provisions of this section. The director shall require all organizations which receive revenues for or funds for the use of their emblems to verify their status as a governmental entity or a qualified not-for-profit organization as provided in subsection 1 of this section, in a format prescribed by the director. Any specialized license plates issued prior to January 1, 2004, shall remain valid for the period in which they were registered, regardless of the status of the sponsoring organization.

3. Any moneys received by an organization authorizing the use of its emblem or insignia for a specialized license plate shall only be used by such organization to carry out the organization’s charitable mission. Such moneys shall not be used for salaries or any administrative costs of the organization. No individual member of any organization authorizing the use of its emblem or insignia for a specialized license plate shall derive any personal pecuniary gain from any fees the organization collects.

4. The director of revenue shall not authorize the manufacture of the material to produce such specialized license plates with the individual seal, logo, or emblem until such time as the director has received two hundred applications for such plates and the organization deposits with the department of revenue a fee of up to five thousand dollars to defray the cost for issuing, developing, and programming the implementation of the specialty plate.

5. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any special license plates which bear the emblem or insignia of a branch of the U.S. military or a military organization.