Two Republican state senators in Oklahoma proposed a bill that would create specialty license plates that showcase the president’s campaign slogans, a move that could violate federal campaign finance laws.
Sens. Nathan Dahm (R) and Marty Quinn (R) penned the legislation, which would make state license plates that say “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) and “Keep America Great” available for purchase.
Currently, 98 styles are available for purchase for registered vehicles in the state, with more than half the proceeds going to a related cause, often nonpolitical charities.
Proceeds from the “MAGA” and “Keep America Great” license plates won’t go directly to the president’s reelection bid, but instead they’ll be split between two veterans groups: the Warriors for Freedom Foundation and the Folds of Honor Foundation. Trump will, however, have a say in the design.
“The license plates shall be designed in consultation with the corporation or entity designated by Donald J. Trump for such purposes,” the bill reads.
According to the Washington Post, the two senators have not submitted the bill to the Federal Elections Commission for an advisory opinion, considering it may be using state resources to distribute campaign materials for the president.
Though the money collected from the sale of the plates would not go toward Trump’s reelection efforts, some argue that it still goes against the federal campaign finance laws if the state uses taxpayer dollars to make them, according to the newspaper.
“These are political slogans,” said Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School told The Post. “This has the look and feel of using state resources to support a political candidate, which seems improper . . . and possibly illegal.”
The bill is just one piece of uniquely pro-Trump legislation state lawmakers will mull when the statehouse convenes in February. In November, the same two senators submitted a bill that would rename a section of Route 66 the “President Donald Trump Highway.”