Owners of the “Vermont Strong” license plates developed to raise money for recovery from Tropical Storm Irene will have two more years before they need to take the plates off the front of their vehicles.
Under new legislation signed by Gov. Peter Shumlin Thursday, the plates can legally serve as Vermont vehicles’ front license plates through the end of June 2016, according to Motor Vehicles Commissioner Robert Ide.
Under Vermont law, most vehicles must have a rear license plate and a front license plate (other states allow vehicles to go without a front plate). When the Vermont Strong plates were introduced, the state had to make an exception to that rule that would allow Vermont drivers to replace their standard front license plate with the Vermont Strong one.
That exception was set to expire in the end of June this year, but a new bill that banned the use of handheld cell phones while driving included an extension that allows drivers to keep using the Vermont Strong plates through the end of June, 2016.
