GRAND ISLAND- A statewide aluminum shortage may mean specific residents may not be able to retain their same license plate numbers come January.

Hall County Commissioner Gary Quandt invited State Senator Curt Friesen to the Hall County Commissioner Meeting to address the problem which will affect a total of 13 counties. Senator Friesen is the chair of the Transportation and Telecommunication Committee.

Quandt voiced concerns from constituents who prefer to keep their current license plate numbers upon the switch. Senator Friesen called the issue "unforeseen."

“It’s unfortunate that these counties have this problem. I recognize that. But there’s really nothing legislatively that can be done, even if they wanted to,” he said. “I just don’t see a path unless we really want to pony up a lot of dollars to try to fix this, but I don’t see it happening.”

Quandt made a motion to send a letter describing the situation and the concerns to Governor Ricketts, but was not backed by any other commissioners and died.

Friesen refuted the idea that people could get a personalized license plate, costing $40, with their current license plate number on it.

“You can order personalized license plates but you cannot choose the same number you would have gotten otherwise,” he said. “Because if you could do that, I could suddenly choose to have a personalized plate with your number on it and that’s not possible.”

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