House approves St. Johns license plate honoring King
By Steve Patterson
For the St. Augustine Record
On March 24, 2010
A specialty license plate to finance St. Johns River research and access was approved unanimously by the Florida House Tuesday as a measure honoring the late Sen. Jim King.
"Jim King was a friend of many of the people in the House a well as the Senate," said Rep. Lake Ray, R-Jacksonville, who sponsored the bill.
King, a Jacksonville Republican, was a longtime river advocate who pushed for the new plate through the last day of last year's session.He died of cancer in July.
As a tribute, King's name was written onto a boat being paddled across the river in the plate's design.
Drivers who want the plate would pay an extra $25 per year fee that would raise money for the nonprofit St. Johns River Alliance. The group would be required to use the money for purposes including programs to improve public connections to the river and grants for research.
Legislation to create the plate was stalled last year by concerns about a series of other proposed license plates. Ray said King succeeded in getting the St. Johns plate split off from the others on the last day of the session, but the same couldn't be done in the House.
"He was over there with me on the last day of the session, trying to help me get it passed," Ray said.
Also Tuesday, the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee approved the bill.
"Its next stop is the floor of the Senate," Ray said. "I think it's definitely on its way."
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