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Venus Flytrap, 'My Pet is Family,' and other license plates in limbo with bill stuck in NC Senate committee

House Bill 435 includes license plates for the Venus Flytrap, "My Pet is Family," "Electric Vehicle," NC Association of Firefighters, and the NC Special Olympics.

NORTH CAROLINA, USA — A Venus Flytrap license plate proposed in North Carolina has been making its way through the state legislature but has been stalled for weeks, leading conservation activists to plead for the public's help.

The colorful license plate features a cartoon depiction of the famous carnivorous plant, with the text "Home of the Venus Flytrap - North Carolina."

You might be surprised to learn that Venus Flytraps are native only to coastal swamps in North Carolina and South Carolina within a 60-mile radius of Wilmington, NC.

The license plate was proposed in House Bill 435 in March 2021, which was passed unanimously by the House and has been sitting in the Senate Committee On Rules and Operations since May 12.

Besides the Venus Flytrap license plate, House Bill 435 also includes special plates stating "My Pet is Family," "Electric Vehicle," "North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs," and "Special Olympics NC."

"The Venus Flytrap license plate is stalled! We need your help," the Friends of Plant Conservation, Inc said in a statement to its followers. "Over 800 NC citizens like you followed the rigorous process and prepaid for a 'Home of the Venus Flytrap' plate. We need you to take action, again, to get bill HB435 out of the Rules and Operations Committee and onto the Senate floor for a vote."

A Change.org petition to support the Venus Fly Trap and other non-profit license plates has received 1,450 signatures.

The cost of the Venus Flytrap license plate would be an additional $30, and the money would go to the NC DMV, the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation, Inc., and the Friends of Plant Conservation.

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