Creates the "Master Combat Infantryman" specialty license plate. (8/1/26)

Senate Bill 129 creates a new special prestige motor vehicle license plate known as the "Master Combat Infantryman" plate by enacting Louisiana Revised Statutes section 47:463.243. The statute requires the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to establish and issue this plate upon application to eligible individuals. The license plate design must feature the United States Army Master Combat Infantryman Badge as specified in Department of the Army MILPER 25-093, positioned on the left side of the plate with the words "Master Combat Infantryman" centered beneath the license plate number, with the plate colors being light blue and gold. The office of motor vehicles shall create the plate when statutory requirements are met and the department's electronic vehicle and title registration system is updated to support the new plate. Fees for the plate are governed by existing statutory provisions in sections 47:463 and 490.1.

The license plate is restricted to use on passenger cars, pickup trucks, recreational vehicles, motorcycles, and vans. Eligibility is limited to individuals authorized to wear the Master Combat Infantryman Badge under federal Army regulations, which requires having been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge plus one of three additional expert badges: the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Expert Field Medical Badge, or the Expert Soldier Badge. Upon issuance, these plates become military honor plates subject to a succession provision: when the holder dies, the plate must be returned to the secretary unless the surviving spouse applies for a transfer and has not remarried, in which case the spouse may retain the plate until their death or remarriage. The Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the plate program.

This legislation operates within Louisiana's existing special prestige license plate statutory framework established in Revised Statutes section 47:463 and related provisions governing motor vehicle registration and licensing. The new section creates a specialty license plate category that honors military service members meeting specific federal military award criteria, consistent with Louisiana's established practice of issuing military honor plates recognizing various service distinctions. The statute's reference to Department of the Army MILPER 25-093 and Army Regulation 600-8-22 incorporates federal military standards by reference to ensure that only those individuals federally recognized as authorized to wear the Master Combat Infantryman Badge can obtain the plate. The succession provision for surviving spouses mirrors language common in military honor plate statutes and aligns with estate and family law principles regarding the retention of memorial items by surviving spouses who do not remarry.