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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa authorizes Gadsden flag special registration plates with fees funding shooting sports grants and school security
Last action · March 4, 2026: Subcommittee recommends passage.
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate File 2409 authorizes the Department of Transportation to design and issue Gadsden flag special motor vehicle registration plates for a $50 special fee and a $50 annual renewal fee, with personalized options available. The collected fees are deposited into the road use tax fund and subsequently transferred to the state general fund to be split equally as appropriations for school infrastructure grants and shooting range development grants.
Motor vehicle owners purchasing the special plates pay an additional $50 initial and annual fee, which directly funds shooting sports range improvements through the natural resource commission and security infrastructure updates for school districts through the department of homeland security and emergency management.
- The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag featuring a yellow snake and the motto 'Don't Tread on Me', frequently used as a symbol of liberty. context
- Special registration plates in Iowa allow vehicle owners to support specific causes or display unique designs while paying additional fees that are allocated by statute. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
motor vehicle owners
Motor vehicle owners may apply for Gadsden flag special registration plates by paying specialized initial and annual fees and surrendering their current plates.
school districts
School districts are eligible to receive grant funding distributed by the department of homeland security and emergency management for school safety and infrastructure.
shooting range applicants
Applicants for shooting sports grants can receive funding for creating or improving ranges provided they allow students and school sports shooting teams to use their facilities.
Key Facts
- The Department of Transportation is authorized to issue Gadsden flag special registration plates for motor vehicles, autocylces, motor trucks, motor homes, multipurpose vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, and travel trailers.
- The Gadsden flag plate features a black background, yellow letters and numbers, a yellow rattlesnake coiled on grass, and the phrase 'Don't Tread on Me' at the bottom.
- The initial special fee for letter-number designated Gadsden flag plates is fifty dollars, with an annual special renewal fee of fifty dollars.
- Personalized Gadsden flag plates are limited to five numerals, letters, or combinations, and require an additional annual fee of five dollars.
Show all 11 facts
- Fees collected by the director are deposited monthly in the road use tax fund and subsequently transferred to the state general fund.
- Fifty percent of the appropriated moneys are allocated to the natural resource commission for shooting sports development grants.
- The natural resource commission cannot award a shooting sports grant unless the applicant allows public or private school students to use the range or facility.
- Fifty percent of the appropriated moneys are allocated to the department of homeland security and emergency management for school infrastructure and security grants.
- Moneys appropriated under the bill do not revert to the general fund of the state at the end of a fiscal year.
- The Department of Transportation is prohibited from conditioning the issuance of Gadsden flag plates on receiving a minimum number of plate orders.
- Gadsden flag plates are exempt from general requirements to display the issuing county's name and to match the color and design of regular registration plates.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Gadsden flag registration plate cost?
Where do the fees collected from the special plates go?
Do applicants need to wait for a minimum number of orders before these plates are produced?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
11 actions- Mar 4, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Mar 3, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 03/04/2026 12:30PM Room 217 Conference Room.
- Feb 26, 2026SenateSubcommittee: Schultz, Dotzler, and Reichman. S.J. 418 .
- Feb 24, 2026SenateCommitteeReferred to Ways and Means. S.J. 376 .
- Feb 19, 2026SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 2409 . S.J. 342 .
- Feb 19, 2026SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 342 .
Show 5 earlier actions
- Feb 19, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 329 .
- Feb 17, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
- Feb 16, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 02/17/2026 3:30PM Room 315.
- Feb 16, 2026SenateSubcommittee: Webster, Costello, and Townsend. S.J. 296 .
- Feb 16, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Transportation. S.J. 292 .
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Predecessor Bill Reference
The bill explicitly notes it is a successor to SF 2343.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance45How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy30Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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