“Choose Life” License Plates (H 5053A, S 0298A)

In the last days of the legislative session, the General Assembly authorized the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue specialty “Choose Life” license plates.  The ACLU had previously argued against the creation of specialty license plates by a legislative, rather than an administrative, process, on the grounds that it could lead to viewpoint discrimination when some license plates are approved and others are denied.  The “Choose Life” license plate legislation exemplified that concern. Just as critically, the legislation was an affront to church-state separation, as a portion of the fees collected for the license plates was earmarked for a local “crisis pregnancy center” whose mission is to “engage evangelicals in responding to the abortion crisis” and to “share the love and truth of Jesus Christ in both word and deed.”  The ACLU and other organizations have asked Governor Chafee to veto the legislation.