TALLAHASSEE - It began as a way to limit the number of specialty license tags Florida issues each year.
But by the time the House voted 116-2 Friday to send the bill to Gov. Jeb Bush, a dozen new specialty tags had been born. That brings the total to an even 100.
Restricting the number of tags comes later.
The bill (SB 2020) requires the state to drop any tag that doesn't sell at least 1,000 a year. Last year, 34 sold fewer than 1,000; some tags had fewer than a dozen buyers.
The state will start keeping track Jan. 1.
Eckerd College and Clearwater Christian College would be among the institutions that would lose tags if sales don't increase.
Florida created the first specialty tag in 1986 to honor the seven astronauts who died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded and one for each of the then-nine state universities.
Since then, lawmakers have authorized dozens more. Police complain they often are unable to determine which state the tag came from.
Specialty tags can be purchased for an extra fee ranging from $15 to $25. The fees are distributed to a group or charity designated by lawmakers.
Groups seeking new tags must pay as much as $60,000 to defray costs of developing them.
Lucy Morgan: 