Press Room

Adventure Plate Campaign Suspended Due to State Moratorium on New Speciality Plates

Update: February 24, 2022

We want to thank everyone who weighed in with the legislature’s transportation committee in the last few weeks. Regrettably, the bill to exempt already approved specialty plates from the moratorium failed to pass. While good-intentioned from the onset, the license plate program, they felt, was in need of stricter rules and guidelines. The Adventure plate was, unfortunately, a casualty in their decision.

We are obviously disappointed to have to shut down the campaign when we were so close – 80% – towards our goal. We really appreciate your support and continued interest. Admittedly, this has been a long and complicated process, and we had hoped and expected it would go more smoothly.

At this point, we are giving everyone who pre-ordered an Adventure plate two options:

1) Do nothing and know that Maine Outdoor Brands will use your $25 license plate deposit to promote our state’s local outdoor brands and get more people into careers in the outdoor industry. For example, MOB offers scholarships for students and underrepresented outdoor entrepreneurs, as well as providing a wide range of activities and programming to support the state’s outdoor economy. We’d encourage you to check out our 2021 annual report to learn more.

— or —

2) Request a refund. Of course, we hope you’ll leave it to MOB to invest your $25 in programs to strengthen Maine’s outdoor recreation economy, but we will honor all requests to return the deposit.
Email adventureplate@maineoutdoorbrands.com to request by March 20, 2022.

For those who’ve ever attempted to climb a mountain and been turned back by the weather within site of the summit, you can appreciate our frustration and disappointment.

Thank you for sticking with us. As we like to say, “Onward!”

Update: January 31, 2022

A hearing has been scheduled on Tuesday, February 8 in the Transportation Committee for L.D. 1833, to exempt specialty plates already in the pipeline from the moratorium. This bill will allow the Adventure Plate campaign to move forward. Reaching out to the committee with the message below is still imperative. MOB will be testifying at the hearing, and if you are a MOB member or someone who reserved a plate and are also interested in doing this, please reach out to adventureplate@maineoutdoorbrands.com.

Update: January 20, 2022

With the help of Sen. Cathy Breen, we have been successful in getting an emergency bill introduced, L.D. 1833, to exempt specialty plates already in the pipeline from the moratorium. We are grateful for Senator Breen’s efforts as this would allow MOB to proceed – should LD 1833 be voted into law. And that’s where we could really use your help.

L.D. 1833 will have a public hearing in the legislature sometime in the next couple months. Before that happens, it’s imperative that our legislators, especially members of the Transportation Committee, hear your support for the Adventure plate.

Reaching out to the Transportation Committee members is our first and immediate priority. If one of the committee members on the list at the end of this note represents your town or city, your voice is especially important. And if your legislators aren’t on the committee, the full legislature may be voting on this bill, so it’s still of tremendous importance that you contact your legislators – via phone or email – and voice your support of the Adventure plate. It’s perfectly fine to copy/paste this message into an email:

Dear [Representative/Senator name] I am a constituent of yours and one of the more than 1,500 people who pre-ordered an Adventure specialty plate through Maine Outdoor Brands. I am writing to ask you to support L.D. 1833, “Resolve, To Exempt Specialty or Recognition Registration Plates Already in the Process of Being Created from the Moratorium on the Approval of New Motor Vehicle Registration Plates”.  In 2020 Maine Outdoor Brands earned the approval of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and had secured 80% of the specialty plate orders when a moratorium was put into place. Stopping them at this point is like changing the rules of the game in the final minutes of play. And by any account, that’s simply not fair.  Maine Outdoor Brands should be exempted from the specialty plate moratorium and allowed to finalize their efforts. Proceeds from the plate will help support Maine’s outdoor recreation industry – which provides more than 40,000 jobs in our state. I hope you will support L.D. 1833 because it’s the right thing to do. Thank you.

Your name
Your town/city

This type of grassroots outreach can be extremely effective in helping to achieve the desired outcome on a bill. Thank you for taking a moment to make your voice heard. With a concerted effort and a little luck, we could someday soon see Adventure plates on cars across Maine.

Many thanks for your continued support of this effort and MOB.

Contact information for Transportation Committee members can be found at the following links:

Rep. Danny Martin – chair (D-Sinclair)

Sen. Bill Diamond – chair (D-Cumberland)

Sen. Ben Chipman (D-Portland) ** Already has signed on as a co-sponsor to L.D. 1833

Sen. Brad Farrin (R-Somerset)

Rep. Mark Bryant (D-Windham)

Rep. Richard Cebra (R-Naples)

Rep. Thomas Martin (R-Greene)

Rep. Kevin O’Connell (D-Brewer)

Rep Wayne Parry (R-Arundel)

Rep. Michael Perkins (R-Oakland)

Rep. Bruce White (D-Waterville)

Rep. Dustin White (R-Mars Hill)

Rep. Lynne Williams (D-Bar Harbor)
Update: January 7, 2022

MOB was invited to give public comment at the license plate working group’s January 7th meeting. While the group was sympathetic to our situation, we learned they do not have the authority to allow specialty plates already in the process of being created a path to move forward. They advised we work with the legislature to find a solution.

Update: December 6, 2021

MOB submitted testimony to the working group currently reviewing the specialty plate program. The working group convened under LD 1618, “Resolve, To Place a Temporary Moratorium on the Approval of Any New Motor Vehicle Registration Plates and Initiate a Registration Plate Working Group.” The group will study the proliferation of specialty plates, identify and document roles and functions of the specialty plates, explore and document challenges in the plate manufacturing process, and explore the challenges of storing and securing plate inventory in municipalities and other divisions of the State and branch offices within the Bureau of Moter Vehicles.

You can view our written comments here:

MOB Letter to License Plate Working Group Dec 6.

Update: November 12, 2021

Despite receiving state approval and collecting more than 1,500 signatures, the Adventure Plate campaign is now on hold. Last month, the Secretary of State’s office paused the campaign, due to a recently enacted two-year moratorium on all new specialty plates.

While the decision was unexpected, we are coordinating with state legislators to find a viable path forward. We have endorsed Senator Cathy Breen’s proposal—titled “LR 2146”—to exempt specialty license plates already in the creation process from the moratorium. The proposed bill is awaiting official introduction. We will have a better sense of timing and next steps at the end of this month.

We thank all our supporters for their continued patience and support, as we navigate the legislative process. While a full refund is available for those no longer interested in the Adventure Plate (please e-mail adventureplate@maineoutdoorbrands.com to request), we urge you to stick with us. In the same way that not every camping trip goes off without a hitch, we’re hopeful this situation will resolve itself.