6 New Special License Plates Coming to Wisconsin, Including a “Choose Life” Plate

According to the WisDOT, 6 new special license plates will be available soon for Wisconsin motorists. Once ready, the WisDOT will be collecting an annual $25 donation to benefit the groups (listed below) when plates are issued or renewed.

• The “Help Cure Childhood Cancer” 
• The “Scouting Alumni” 
• The “Whitetails Unlimited” 
• The “Wisconsin Rocky Mountain Elk”
• The “Nurses Change Lives” 
• The “Choose Life Wisconsin, Inc.” 

Choose Life Wisconsin issued the following press release shortly after the announcement by the WisDOT:

(Press Release) -- Choose Life Wisconsin, Inc., announced it is now an Authorized Group with the Department of Motor Vehicles for the purpose of requesting a specialty license plate.

“The choose life plate has been almost ten years in the making,” said Julaine Appling, Choose Life Wisconsin president. “We are excited that within the next eight to twelve months, Wisconsin pro-life citizens will be able to purchase a beautiful license plate that expresses their views on life while also directly helping our state’s life-saving, woman-helping Pregnancy Resource Centers.”

Choose Life plates are now available in over 30 states. Since the first plate was approved in Florida nearly 20 years ago, over $23 million has been raised nationwide to assist with adoption and other life-affirming educational work.

In the Midwest, Indiana has raised $650,000, and Ohio has raised over $500,000. Both states have over 25,000 cars sporting their Choose Life plates.

Matt Sande, Choose Life Wisconsin vice-president, said, “We have experienced increasing demand for a “Choose Life” license plate in Wisconsin over the last five years. We are confident the plate will sell quickly, and we are excited to open up a funding stream for Wisconsin’s Pregnancy Resource Centers, which offer health services, adoption referrals, and in general help women in crisis pregnancies make life-saving choices.”

The Choose Life Wisconsin license plate originated with Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Family Action partnering on the idea and working together throughout the long administrative/legislative process.

“Julaine and I, on behalf of our respective organizations, have been through legislative hearings, floor votes, changes in procedure, legal questions and more over the past six years. We are so happy to finally reach this point, knowing in the next year or so, Choose Life Wisconsin will begin distributing much-needed funds to Wisconsin’s Pregnancy Resource Centers - our front-line partners,” said Sande.

Choose Life Wisconsin, Inc., is an independently registered Wisconsin not-for-profit corporation. The IRS has recognized Choose Life Wisconsin as a 501(c)(3) organization. Choose Life Wisconsin’s mission is to spread a positive, pro-life message and help Wisconsin’s vital Pregnancy Resource Centers flourish by funding them from the proceeds of the sale of the Choose Life plate.

The proposed Choose Life Wisconsin license plate features classic Wisconsin colors—red, white and black. The graphic on the left side of the proposed design is an ink-print of a baby’s foot, like those on birth certificates. Under the plate number is “Choose Life” in red.

Currently, the Specialty License Plate unit of the Department of Motor Vehicles is working with Choose Life Wisconsin to finalize design details. State law requires that the plate be available for purchase within twelve months of the sponsoring group being approved.

The first time someone purchases the plate, the cost will be the regular registration fee, plus a $15 issuance fee, and $25 taxdeductible donation which the state will send to Choose Life Wisconsin, Inc. After the first year, the cost is the regular registration fee and the $25 tax-deductible donation (unless the applicant wants a personalized plate, which is an additional $15). Choose Life Wisconsin will then distribute the funds to Wisconsin’s Pregnancy Resource Centers.

“This is a dream that at points, quite honestly, we weren’t sure would ever come true. But thankfully it has. Wisconsin citizens will soon be able to proclaim their pro-life beliefs on their license plates and by doing so help fund on-the-ground organizations that are on the front lines of the pro-life cause,” said Appling.