If you just can't get enough of the Saints' miracle season, then Rep. Rickey Hardy, D-Lafayette, has just the thing for you. If you just can't get enough of the Saints' miracle season, then Rep. Rickey Hardy, D-Lafayette, has just the thing for you. When the state Legislature convenes its regular session later this month, Hardy will be pushing a bill to create the first prestige license plate in honor of the New Orleans Saints.
While the likelihood of a Saints license plate was originally in the news last month, we finally have a piece of legislation to consult for further details. According to Hardy's House Bill 55, the plate would be known as the "Who Dat Nation" license plate. It also calls for a specific design: "The plate shall bear the likeness of the La. Superdome centered on the left side of the license plate and shall display the words Who Dat Nation' centered on the bottom of the license plate."
The price of the license plate would pale in comparison to actually scoring tickets, costing a Louisiana driver $3.50 in handling fees. Mike Hasten, The Advertiser's Capitol bureau chief, reported last month that Sen. A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell, is expected to file a competing bill as well that takes into account licensing deals with the Saints and National Football League. A review of the bills filed for the upcoming session did not reveal Crowe's version - at least not yet - but a story in The Times-Picayune Tuesday morning suggested that the cost could be around $50 for two years, and the proceeds would go to a charity that has not yet been named.
There are already dozens of prestige plates that drivers can buy, covering everything from the Special Olympics and coastal conservation to military families and your favorite college. Lawmakers have been grumbling increasingly in recent years about all the different plates that get adopted into state law, but it's doubtful that this coming round of debates will carry the same tone - not after February's Super Bowl - that is, unless, Crowe and Hardy decide to face off over which plate would be better.