AUGUSTA, Maine — Mainers could be saying goodbye to the chickadee license plate and replacing it with a 1901 Maine state flag plate. This proposal is before the Legislature this session.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said the current chickadee plates are 23 years old, and some are starting to look their age. But, she added, it's not just about how the plates look.
"Next time you're in a parking lot, look at the plates around you. Chances are there's someone in your row who has a plate that looks like this," Bellows said.
The Secretary of State's office could be cracking down on these plates. Bellows said that after about 10 years, the reflective coating on the plates wears off, and then the numbers can start to wear too which causes other issues.
"There is confusion sometimes when someone with an old plate like this blows through a toll, and the reader can't catch it. Then we are trying to work with the tolling authority to identify who that individual is," she said.
Bellows added that trying to help the Maine Turnpike Authority read these plates takes up time employees in both offices could be spending on other things. Not only that, but not all Mainers are law-abiding citizens who register their cars every year.
"The last time we did a refresh when we moved from the lobster plate of my childhood to the chickadee plate, the state raised more than $300,000 in revenue from people who were forced to register because they needed that new plate," Bellow said.
It will be up to the Legislature to decide if a new plate is warranted. If they do, one of the frontrunners to replace the chickadee plate is one featuring the 1901 Maine flag.