Idaho will soon have new potato-themed license plates

Idaho drivers will soon have two new license plate designs available to show off their potato pride.

On Wednesday, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 204 into law, which will create two new retro-style license plate designs honoring Idaho potatoes starting July 1.

Idaho’s standard license plates already display the words “famous potatoes.” The Idaho Potato Commission does not receive funding for those plates unless it is a specialty “baked potato” license plate, which is available to Idaho drivers for an additional fee.

This legislation will create a total of three license plate designs available to Idaho drivers who want to showcase their potato patriotism, with the black license plate’s proceeds going toward the Idaho Potato Commission and the state highway account.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Doug Pickett, R-Oakley, whose family raises potatoes in Cassia County. It passed unanimously on the House side, and nearly unanimously on the Senate side, with a dissenting vote from Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian.

Potato plates have long been present

Idaho has had multiple license plates supporting the potato industry over the years, with designs dating back to 1928 and continuing through the ’40s and ’50s, said Sam Eaton, the vice president of government affairs for the Idaho Potato Commission.

Even Utah’s black-and-white license plate has gained popularity, Eaton told the Idaho Capital Sun, which led him to believe a similar design focused on Idaho potatoes would be well received.

One of the new designs will be black with white letters, and the other would be white with teal letters. Both designs will have the words “Idaho” at the top and “World Famous Potatoes” along the bottom.

The black license plate will cost $70 plus regular registration fees for the initial issuance of the plate.

“This is going to be a specialty plate, so it’ll be more expensive,” Eaton said.

The Idaho Potato Commission will receive $25, and the state highway account will receive $45 in proceeds from each initial purchase of the black plate. Renewing the black license plate will cost $50, with $15 going to the commission and $35 going to the state highway account.

“We are doing research for new, better varieties that are more heat and disease tolerant,” Eaton said. “We promote potatoes and are pretty successful at it all over the world, so the funding that will come from the plates will go to the commission so we can continue to do those things.”

The white and teal design is not a specialty plate, so there will be no additional fee on top of the regular registration fee. This will be the least expensive plate available for Idaho drivers.

Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.