BY GARY FINEOUT
Even though Florida now has more than 100 specialized license tags, the Republican-controlled Legislature may soon add one more: a colorful license plate that features the words ''I Believe'' set among a resplendent sunrise and the image of a cross in front of stained-glass window.
Florida already has tags that feature manatees, the Challenger space shuttle, panthers, and football teams. In 1999, lawmakers approved a controversial ''Choose Life'' tag that was seen by some critics as promoting a religious anti-abortion message and was initially challenged in the courts.
time to give something to motorists who care about their faith, not their favorite football team.
''They may not be into the manatee, they may not be into Challenger,'' Bullard said. ``That segment, which is a large segment of the population, can now get a tag that they like and can express their beliefs.''
Sen. Mike Fasano, a New Port Richey Republican who is sponsoring a measure that would create four different plates -- including the ''I Believe'' tag as well as a lighthouse tag and a ''In God We Trust'' plate -- said he saw no problem with letting motorists decide if they want to pay the extra $25 to buy a special tag.
''That's that the option of every driver who owns a vehicle,'' Fasano said. ``They can decide if they want to have a license plate with a cross in front of a stained-glass window. It's not different from choosing a Choose Life license plate or a manatee license pate or a Florida State University or University of Florida license plate.''
Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said the possibility of a state-sanctioned tag with a cross should prompt to Florida lawmakers to rethink the whole ''crazy'' system of license plates.
'Maybe at this point the Legislature should begin rethinking whether a message on a state-manufactured plate, whether `I support panthers' or 'I'm a Christian,' might be better on a bumper sticker,'' Simon said.
Those who propose a specialty license tag in Florida must pay a $60,000 fee and conduct a survey that would show that people want to buy the tag. The organization backing the ''I Believe'' license plate turned in a survey that state officials have questioned. The bills now moving in the House and Senate, however, would require organizers to resubmit a new survey before the state will start selling the tags.
The extra money earned from the sale of the ''I Believe'' license plate would go to an Orlando based nonprofit called Faith in Teaching that says on its website that money from the plates would be used for grants to ''continue faith-based education for the youth of Florida.'' The group did not return a call seeking comment.
Simon, however, questioned the idea of having the state collect money that could wind up in the hands of churches.
''I don't think the state should be a collection agency,'' Simon said.
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