In June 2009, Governor Kulongoski signed the Oregon Fallen Public Safety Officer License Plate bill allowing for the development and sale of a special license plate honoring Oregon’s fallen firefighters and law enforcement personnel.

Proceeds from the sale of the plates will pay for families and honor guard escorts to attend national memorial services at either the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland or the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C.

Efforts for the special plate were started by Mary Nunnenkamp and her son Brett to honor the memory of husband and father, Randy Nunnenkamp, a Washington County Sheriff Detective who was killed while off-duty in 2006. The Police Memorial Trust fund is the acting fiscal agent for donations needed to raise the remaining $8,000 before the plate can be produced.

Oregon law does not allow taxpayer dollars to be used in development of specialized license plates. After initial production funds are raised, there is still a requirement to sell a minimum of 1,000 plates the first year, and to sell or renew 500 plates each following year for the plate to be continued. Once the program is in place, a three-person committee consisting of a law enforcement representative, fire service representative, and the bill’s originator Mary Nunnenkamp, will administer the fund as a subcommittee of the Police Memorial Trust Fund.

Interested in purchasing a Oregon Fallen Public Safety Officer license plate? You'll need to wait a couple months - the plate is estimated to be available in August 2010.  Information and further details explaining how to purchase the plate will be provided on the Oregon DMV webpage at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/index.shtml. 

For more information, click here to visit the Facebook page for the Fallen Public Safety Officer License Plate.

May 14, 2010