Contact: Rep. David Steffen (608) 266-5840

Legislation enabling Law Enforcement Memorial license plate to collect donations moves forward

Madison- State Representative David Steffen (R-Howard) testified before the Assembly Committee on Transportation today in favor of a bill he authored which will allow Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Memorial Fund license plate to serve as a fundraiser for the organization. This specialty license plate already exists in Wisconsin, but currently does not collect donations to assist the Memorial. The Wisconsin and National Law Enforcement Memorial Funds provide financial assistance to families immediately following a line-of-duty death. The organizations also constructed and continue to maintain memorials in Wisconsin and D.C. recognizing our fallen heroes.

“Wisconsin already has several specialty plates that garner financial support to assist with various organizations. Providing this type of assistance to the families of fallen law enforcement officers through the Memorial license plate is an obvious choice. This legislation will directly assist our law enforcement community and the families who are so incredibly deserving of our support,” said Rep. Steffen.

The legislation will attach a $10 mandatory donation to the existing Law Enforcement Memorial Fund license plate, to be paid at the time of registration. This plate will use the same donation system already in place for existing specialty plates that collect donations for their respective organizations. The proceeds will be equally divided between the Wisconsin and National Law Enforcement Memorial Funds, and all revenue will be required to be spent in Wisconsin.

“I am encouraged to see this bill receive a public hearing and look forward to it continuing to move forward. While this specialty plate has been around since 2015, so far it has done nothing to financially benefit the organization it recognizes. This legislation rectifies this situation by ensuring that the Memorial Fund, which will in turn directly benefit the families of our fallen heroes, fully receives our state’s support,” said Rep. Steffen.

The legislation is expected to receive a vote in the Transportation Committee in the coming weeks.

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