Wichita flag license plate on the fast track to Topeka

A Wichita flag license plate is on cruise control and headed for the state Legislature, expected to win easy approval when lawmakers return to the Capitol in January, officials said Tuesday.

State Sen. Mike Petersen, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said he’ll introduce the measure to authorize the flag plate as a committee-sponsored bill and schedule a hearing early in the upcoming session.

“I think they’ll do all right with that,” he said. “It seems to be very popular.”

The bill has bipartisan support. Petersen said he made it a committee bill after consulting with Democratic Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau.

City Council members got an update on the progress of the “Plates for Parks” campaign during a workshop Tuesday on Wichita’s state and federal legislative priorities

Once the plate is approved, purchasers will pay a $50 royalty fee each year. The money will go to the Wichita Parks Foundation to support city park improvements and programs.

About 1,600 motorists have presubscribed for the plate, which will feature a stylization of the city flag of red and white triangles overlaid with a blue and white Native American sunburst symbol.

That’s more than three times the 500 subscriptions the state usually requires to authorize a special-interest license plate.

“We hit that 500 goal in one day,” said City Council member Bryan Frye.

The current level of subscriptions would generate about $80,000 in extra income for the park system each year, although city officials expect to sell substantially more plates as the issue date gets closer.

Even though the flag plate is on the fast track at the Statehouse, it will probably be a year before you’ll be able to bolt one into your license plate frame.

If the plate is approved next year, it will still take a while for the Department of Motor Vehicles to finalize the design and actually produce the plates.

The first plates are expected to be issued in January 2019, according to city officials.

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Wichita flag license plate on the fast track to Topeka."