Tennessee license plate (Tennessee Department Of Revenue) • MuckRock

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Communications

From: Jason Koebler

07/27/2023

Subject: Tennessee Public Records Act Request: Tennessee license plate (Tennessee Department Of Revenue)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Tennessee Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

News stories show that numbers and letters are reversed on Tennessee License plates that show "In God We Trust":

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/2022/05/10/numbers-and-letters-reversed-tennessees-god-we-trust-plates/9647970002/
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2017/05/22/haslam-signs-bill-creating-in-god-we-trust-license-plates/336808001/
https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/15806lb/ok_this_is_terrible/

Therefore, I request the following:

- Statistics about the number of license plates issued with "In God We Trust" vs without, starting from 2017 until the time this request is processed
- Presentations, emails (including attachments), memos, charts, internal reasoning or other messages about the numbering convention. Search from 2017 until the time this request is processed.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Kent Hoover, a citizen of Tennessee, in coordination with Jason Koebler.

From: Tennessee Department Of Revenue

07/28/2023

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Tennessee Public Records Act Request: Tennessee license plate (Tennessee Department Of Revenue)

Good afternoon:

Please find attached a spreadsheet for active registrations for standard (class 1000) versus In God We Trust license plates (class 1001) for years 2018 through 2023. The “In God We Trust” license plate option was first authorized under state law in 2017, and plates began being distributed in 2018.

We provided active registrations versus issued plates so the numbers would be comparable from year to year. We issued a new plate design in 2022, as you are aware.

As the Knoxville News article states, different letter and number configurations are used for each type of license plate the Department of Revenue issues. This is not unique to the blue standard plate. We have a unique number and letter configuration for each type of plate offered. This is to prevent duplicate issuance of sequences.

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