By the end of today, Florida drivers could have a new design option for their license plate: an image of a surfer inspired by the 60s surf flick, The Endless Summer. The state legislature is expected to OK a bill authorizing the new plate. Sounds pretty rad, right?
But some longtime surfers were surprised to learn that proceeds from the license plate (for which drivers will pay an extra $25) will benefit a non-profit called Surfing's Evolution and Preservation Corporation -- an entity that does not even have so much as a website -- rather than an organization like the better-known
Surfrider Foundation, which has 90 chapters around the world (including 11 in
Florida).
A bill analysis prepared for the senate reveals that Ron Jon Surf Shop -- a private company in Cocoa Beach -- is behind Surfing's Evolution and Preservation Corporation.
The document also reveals that it costs the state $60,000 to create new
plates, and so the non-profit had to front that fee to the state in an
application fee, and then can keep each $25 as it dribbles in, plate by
plate. Popular plates can be profitable; sales of specialty plates generated more than $37 million in revenues last year alone.
The bill analysis specifies that the non-profit can
first recoup all the money it spent to establish the plate, then fund
administrative costs. Beyond that, monies may be used to fund "the
proposed Surfing's Evolution & Preservation Experience project;
provide funds for the provision of lifeguards or the building of
artificial reefs" and give money to other organizations that promote
the sport or teach coastal ecology. No one at Ron Jon was available to
comment Friday afternoon.
Surfrider's regional manager, Ericka D'Avanzo said that any profits
would probably go towards building a pilot artificial reef in Cocoa
Beach, and that due to
numerous questions directed her way, some lawmakers may have mistakenly believed
that the plate would have a more direct impact on environmental
education. She noted that
Surfrider members in other states had looked into establishing a license plate, but found that in
Florida it would take a long time to recoup such costs and therefore wasn't the
best use of donors' money and energy. "There are so many other important issues
that require our attention and resources than a license plate," she said. The
most pressing issue, she said, was to fight oil drilling in Florida.
Since
the state already has more than 100 different license plate designs,
there is currently a seven-year moratorium on new plates. D'Avanzo said
that, in her opinion, the sea turtle plate is the best choice for environmentalists. "They truly use it for solid projects, spending less
than 6% on admin/overhead costs versus the 25% of other plates that goes to
admin."
