Ohio unveils new license plate design

COLUMBUS — For the first time since 2013, Ohio has a new standard license plate design.Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine unveiled the new design, dubbed "Sunrise in Ohio," on Thursday at a news conference in Columbus. The DeWines said they played a hands-on role with choosing the design, produced by a state Department of Public Safety employee, which they said was modeled after the state's official seal. That process involved looking back at each of the previous 75 standard license plate designs, the governor said."Fran and I wanted something that reflects the beauty of Ohio," Gov. DeWine said."We went through a lot of different variations of this before we got exactly what we wanted," Fran DeWine said.The colorful design is heavily reminiscent of the pastoral "Beautiful Ohio" license plate adapted in 2010 under former Gov. Ted Strickland. It replaces the more understated "Ohio Pride" plate that has been the norm since 2013 under then-Gov. John Kasich. The new plate, like the state seal, features a rising sun and a wheat field. Its backdrop is a city skyline, with the dominant image a country landscape, which includes a child swinging from an oak tree with a dog nearby.It also features the Wright Flyer, the Wright Brothers' prototype airplane with a banner trailing it with the slogan declaring the state "The Birthplace of Aviation." Social media users on Thursday quickly pointed out the banner is facing the wrong way, since a structure that appears to be the flyer's tail is actually the vehicle's elevator, positioned in front and used to control its pitch. In addition, the new plate incorporates the new state logo, unveiled as part of the "Ohio: Find it Here" marketing campaign in late 2018.The new plate will go into circulation on Dec. 29, said Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Registrar Charlie Norman. That also is when the old plate will go out of production, but since there are 12 million copies currently in circulation, Ohioans will continue to see it for awhile. Norman said there still are 1.4 million active "Beautiful Ohio" plates on the roads. There is a similar number of lingering plates on the roads featuring the "Sunburst" design developed under former Gov. Bob Taft, who left office in 2007.Greg Wyatt, visual communications manager at the Ohio Department of Public Safety, designed the plate. The DeWines said they chose it in April. Production of the new plate began earlier this month at the Lebanon Correctional Facility, a state prison, Norman said.State officials estimate there will be about 40,000 leftover "Ohio Pride" plates when the new design goes into effect. They will be recycled.