Florida Introduces 'Margaritaville' License Plates with Proceeds Going to Hurricane Victims

On Tuesday, presales for Florida's new specialty license plate featuring "Margaritaville" commenced.

A bill signed into law earlier this year will allow the sale of the license plates, inspired by singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet's iconic song "Margaritaville".

"Margaritaville is just what Florida is all about. Jimmy Buffett is the icon of Florida. No one represents the open sun, beaches, music more than Jimmy Buffett and Margaritaville," said bill sponsor Republican state Sen. Gayle Harrell.

Specialty license plates include an additional $25 fee to regular automobile registration fees. Fees from the sale of the "Margaritaville" plate will be donated to Singing for Change (SFC Charitable Foundation, Inc.), an organization founded by Buffet in 1995 "provide grants to nonprofit organizations in communities impacted by natural or manmade disasters for recovery, rebuilding, and future sustainability in those communities and to promote and inspire local grassroots leadership that will work to improve the quality of life in those communities and others in this state."

Buffet, who died in September of last year due to skin cancer, is hailed as an icon in the state of Florida, with state legislature even designating Aug. 30 to be "Jimmy Buffet Day". Furthermore, sections of the A1A Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties have been renamed to "Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway."

Though the final design is currently undecided, the bill requires the plate to display the words Florida at the top and Margaritaville at the bottom.

The plates will be produced depending on how much demand for them exists. According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department (FLHSMV), the department needs to receive 3,000 orders for the plates before they can start manufacturing them.

"Organizations will have two years to reach the 3,000-voucher requirement," said FLHSMV spokesperson Molly Best in an email to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.