(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds has given the green light to a new “blackout” license plate design. “Evidently it’s popular,” Reynolds said. “I have not even seen one on a car.” The “blackout” design has been on the road for a few years. More than 800 Iowans have purchased the specialty license plate for the Dordt College Defenders. It has a black background. The letters and numbers are white.

Legislators tucked language creating a new “blackout” license plate — without the reference to Dordt College — in a “multi-subject” bill the governor approved this week. You may recall that in August of 2017, Reynolds spearheaded a public vote on three designs for NEW “standard-issue” state license plates. The chosen design and color scheme have sparked complaints.

“We’re so many limited in what we can do because there are so many requirements,” Reynolds says. “Sure, we’d like all sorts of different things on them. We just don’t have the luxury of doing that.” Iowans who don’t want the standard-issue license plate can pay extra for specialty plates for their vehicles.

The D-O-T plans to start taking orders for the new “blackout” plates on July 1st.