Environmentally conscious Maryland motorists who think all the money they shell out for commemorative Treasure the Chesapeake license plates goes to the Bay should think again.
Of the $20 extra that drivers pay for the Treasure the Chesapeake Bay licenses plates ? over and beyond the $128 for regular license plates ? only $10 goes to Bay restoration efforts. The rest is pocketed by the Maryland Motor Vehicle Association.
MVA spokesman Buel Young said the administration sees no profit from the purchase of the license plates, which are made at state prison facilities.
“That strictly covers the cost of [making the plate],” Young said.
The Chesapeake Bay Trust, a private, nonprofit grant-making organization established by the state government in 1985, gets $10 from the plates, plus a $5 a year renewal fee.
The trust distributes grants to Bay-related programs across the state, including civic and community groups, schools and public agencies.
Grant money goes to large organizations like The Chesapeake Bay Foundation or smaller groups like Boy Scout troops or local stewards of the Bay and its tributaries.
Officials with the Chesapeake Bay Trust said the money from the license plates is their main source of revenue.
“It?s an amazing source of revenue,” said David O?Neil, the executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. O?Neil said the plates currently make up about 85 percent of the trust?s total revenue.
About 90 cents on the dollar goes directly to grants, and the rest of the money goes to administrative costs for the trust, said spokeswoman Molly Mullins.
Last year, the trust earned about $820,000 from the sale of the Treasure the Chesapeake plates.
In total, the plates have garnered abut $13 million in funding for Chesapeake Bay restoration projects and grants since the plates first became available in 1991.
