Sec. 1. 7 MRSA §3906-B, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 422, §3, is further amended to read:

2. Animal Welfare Fund. The commissioner shall deposit all license fees received pursuant to chapters 721, 723, 725 and 735 in a separate account established by the Treasurer of State and known as the Animal Welfare Fund. The commissioner shall deposit 1/2 of feed registration fees collected under section 714 in the Animal Welfare Fund. This account does not lapse, but continues from year to year. The commissioner shall pay from the Animal Welfare Fund the expense of furnishing blanks, stickers and tags, travel expenses and salaries for necessary personnel, payments to animal shelters and expenses incurred in the administration of this Part. All contributions to the Animal Welfare Fund, pursuant to Title 29-A, section 456-C must be used for payments to animal shelters.

Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §456-C is enacted to read:

§456-C. Animal shelter plates

1.__Animal shelter plates.__The Secretary of State, upon receiving an application and evidence of payment of the excise tax required by Title 36, section 1482, the annual motor vehicle registration fee required by section 501 and the contribution provided for in subsection 2, shall issue a registration certificate and a set of animal shelter special registration plates to be used in lieu of regular registration plates.__These plates must bear identification numbers and letters.

2.__Contribution to Animal Welfare Fund.__In addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fee prescribed by law for the particular class of vehicle registered, the initial contribution for animal shelter plates is $20, which must be deposited with the Treasurer of State and credited as follows:

A.__Ten dollars to the Animal Welfare Fund established in Title 7, section 3906-B, subsection 2 for payments to animal shelters; and

B.__Ten dollars to the Highway Fund for administrative and production costs.

3.__Design.__The Secretary of State shall determine a design for the animal shelter special registration plates.__The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters shall review the final design prior to manufacture of the plates.__The Secretary of State shall issue