HB549 Summary

• Defines "retired professional firefighter" as retired members of paid or part-paid fire departments who engaged in fire fighting or first aid, including chiefs, assistant chiefs, wardens, engineers, captains, and firemen.

• Authorizes retired professional firefighters to apply for distinctive license plates designed by the state association of professional firefighters in coordination with the Mobile Retired Firefighters and Paramedics Association and Tuscaloosa Retired Firefighters Association.

• Requires the Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission to submit a list of eligible retired firefighters to county license officials by December 1 each year, and applicants must present proof of retirement from a fire department on that list.

• Allows retired firefighters to obtain distinctive plates by paying regular license fees but exempts them from paying the $3 fee; plates are for personally owned private passenger vehicles only.

• Makes false obtaining or certification of a distinctive retired professional firefighter license plate a Class C misdemeanor, and establishes that plates shall be issued beginning January 1, 2012.