Miami Herald Logo

Florida slams on brakes, delays action on license plate makeover | Miami Herald

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Site Information
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Herald Store
    • RSS Feeds
    • Special Sections
    • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Media Kit
    • Mobile
    • Mobile Apps & eReaders
    • Newsletters
    • Social
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • YouTube

    • Sections
    • News
    • South Florida
    • Miami-Dade
    • Broward
    • Florida Keys
    • Florida
    • Politics
    • Weird News
    • Weather
    • National & World
    • Colombia
    • National
    • World
    • Americas
    • Cuba
    • Guantánamo
    • Haiti
    • Venezuela
    • Local Issues
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • In Depth
    • Issues & Ideas
    • Traffic
    • Sections
    • Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Pro & College
    • Miami Dolphins
    • Miami Heat
    • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Panthers
    • College Sports
    • University of Miami
    • Florida International
    • University of Florida
    • Florida State University
    • More Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Auto Racing
    • Fighting
    • Golf
    • Horse Racing
    • Outdoors
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Youth Sports
    • Other Sports
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The Florida Influencer Series
    • Sections
    • Business
    • Business Monday
    • Banking
    • International Business
    • National Business
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate News
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Tourism & Cruises
    • Workplace
    • Business Plan Challenge
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Cindy Krischer Goodman
    • The Starting Gate
    • Work/Life Balancing Act
    • Movers
    • Sections
    • Living
    • Advice
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Pets
    • Recipes
    • Travel
    • Wine
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Dave Barry
    • Ana Veciana-Suarez
    • Flashback Miami
    • More Living
    • LGBTQ South Florida
    • Palette Magazine
    • Indulge Magazine
    • South Florida Album
    • Broward Album
    • Sections
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Horoscopes
    • Movies
    • Music & Nightlife
    • People
    • Performing Arts
    • Restaurants
    • TV
    • Visual Arts
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Jose Lambiet
    • Lesley Abravanel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Miami.com
    • Contests & Promotions
    • Sections
    • All Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Op-Ed
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Jim Morin
    • Letters to the Editor
    • From Our Inbox
    • Speak Up
    • Submit a Letter
    • Meet the Editorial Board
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Blog Directory
    • Columnist Directory
    • Andres Oppenheimer
    • Carl Hiaasen
    • Leonard Pitts Jr.
    • Fabiola Santiago
    • Obituaries
    • Obituaries in the News
    • Place an Obituary

    • Place an ad
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Apartments
    • Auctions/Sales
    • Automotive
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Employment
    • Garage Sales
    • Legals
    • Merchandise
    • Obituaries
    • Pets
    • Public Notices
    • Real Estate
    • Services
  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Real Estate
  • Mobile & Apps

  • el Nuevo Herald
  • Miami.com
  • Indulge

Politics

Florida slams on brakes, delays action on license plate makeover

By Steve Bousquet

    ORDER REPRINT →

October 24, 2012 06:00 AM

Florida hit the brakes Tuesday and delayed a redesign of its license plates, sparing Gov. Rick Scott a clash with county tax collectors.

Scott’s highway safety chief, Julie Jones, wants the state to switch from a plate with raised letters to a flat tag, saying the current tag is hard to read by cameras at toll booths and red-light intersections. She came to the Cabinet meeting prepared to ask for $24 million next year to get the project moving.

Jones proposed more outsourcing by hiring a private vendor to distribute tags to motorists who make online and mail requests to tax collectors. But the idea set off a firestorm among the elected officials who pride themselves on the quality of service they give customers.

Tax collectors, led by Doug Belden in Hillsborough County and Diane Nelson in Pinellas, sent letters to Cabinet members and lobbied their aides, warning that a change in the tag delivery system would end up costing motorists more money.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

With opposition simmering, Jones asked her bosses — Scott and the three elected Cabinet members — for a delay.

"I need to be more specific with them before we continue the dialogue," Jones said. "I did not anticipate the level of resistance that I got."

Belden noted that 18 months ago, a top aide to Jones, Clayton Boyd Walden, began trading emails with Julie Strand Burke, an official of 3M Corp., on a possible tag redesign and changes to distribution.

That sparked accusations of backstage maneuvering by the state to steer the redesign to 3M, which Jones said was untrue.

"There’s nothing nefarious here," Jones said, adding that a redesign of tags would be competitively bid in public as state law requires.

As Jones sought Scott’s approval for a new tag design, some tax collectors were lobbying Scott’s top aide for a delay. Among those who met with Scott chief of staff Adam Hollingsworth was Duval County Tax Collector Mike Corrigan, who said the current system works well, with tax collectors handling transactions on behalf of the state.

"There is no proof at this point that a different delivery model is going to be better for citizens," Corrigan said.

Jones said she’ll re-submit the tag redesign at a future Cabinet meeting, and Attorney General Pam Bondi said she made the right move.

"We’re not ready," Bondi said. "A lot more needs to be discussed. ... We need to be sure that it’s the right route for consumers."

Said Jones: "I had to hit the pause button. The drama had overtaken what good could come out of this."

Herald/Times staff writer Tia Mitchell contributed to this report.

  Comments  

Videos

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants statewide grand jury into school security across state

Who is Amy Klobuchar? | 2020 presidential candidate

View More Video

Trending Stories

Haiti is once again on edge, and humanitarian aid groups debate whether to go or cancel

February 14, 2019 07:24 PM

He was robbed while mowing a lawn. He talked. Then 40 bullets were fired into his house

February 14, 2019 08:45 AM

Here’s Jimmy Johnson’s multi-step guide as the Dolphins begin their rebuilding program

February 14, 2019 03:05 PM

Hearts are heavy, attendance is light at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

February 14, 2019 09:05 AM

A new ‘freedom caravan’ of primarily Cuban migrants is trying to reach U.S.

February 14, 2019 04:04 PM

Read Next

Education

Following pitch for ‘equal opportunity scholarships,’ Gov. DeSantis visits Miami school

By Colleen Wright

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 15, 2019 02:17 PM

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has asked for an education bill that would create a new program to relieve the waiting list for voucher-like scholarships for low-income students.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE POLITICS

Top aide of Jeffrey Epstein prosecutor Acosta: We acted with integrity

Politics

Top aide of Jeffrey Epstein prosecutor Acosta: We acted with integrity

February 15, 2019 12:17 PM
PAC plans new effort to put a black candidate on the 2020 Democratic ticket

Politics

PAC plans new effort to put a black candidate on the 2020 Democratic ticket

February 15, 2019 12:02 PM
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell can’t get GOP support for a Venezuela humanitarian aid plan

Politics

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell can’t get GOP support for a Venezuela humanitarian aid plan

February 15, 2019 12:25 PM
McConnell’s opposition to Green New Deal comes as he backs coal

Politics

McConnell’s opposition to Green New Deal comes as he backs coal

February 15, 2019 02:10 PM

Nation & World

66 killed in Nigerian state before presidential election

February 15, 2019 01:33 PM
Congressional Democrats bring fight to restore Voting Rights Act to North Carolina

Politics

Congressional Democrats bring fight to restore Voting Rights Act to North Carolina

February 15, 2019 11:39 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Miami Herald App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Public Insight Network
  • Reader Panel
Advertising
  • Place a Classified
  • Media Kit
  • Commercial Printing
  • Public Notices
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story