TALLAHASSEE -- Florida’s standard license plates have long featured a pair of oranges and an orange blossom.
But Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, said this week that talks are underway to update the design. A proposal likely will come in 2025, unless a bill is rolled out for the 2024 legislative session, which will start Jan. 9.
“Some of us think it might be time to look at redesigning the official non-specialty license plate for the state of Florida, as probably 49 other states have done in the last 50 years,” Hooper said during a Senate Transportation Committee meeting Wednesday. “Just food for thought.”
Florida’s specialty license plates have ballooned to more than 120 offerings, with another 30 in the pre-sale queue. But the standard design has seen few changes since a decision in 1991 to phase in a new license plate with an orange graphic design and green letters and numbers.
In 2003, a single orange --- some claimed it looked more like a peach --- was replaced with the more-vivid two oranges and orange blossom design.
The change, crafted with the help of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, also splashed the web address “MyFlorida.com” across the top, where it had before simply stated “Florida.”
The standard license plate also includes along the bottom the words “Sunshine State,” “In God We Trust” or, in some counties, the county name.