There’s a Facebook uproar over popular WLOX anchor’s Florida license plate. Is it legal?
WLOX-TV news co-anchor Dave Elliott lives in Mississippi but drives a car with a Florida license plate.
Elliott posted a picture Monday of his specialty Florida plate, “Protect Wild Dolphins,” on Facebook, saying a “deep throat” at the Harrison County courthouse let him know a woman has complained about it several times.
Why post a photo of his out-of-state plate? “I was trying to make fun of the woman who was complaining,” Elliott told the Sun Herald. He later said he posted on Facebook to find out what people thought, which he often does.
Most people who commented on Elliott’s post sympathized with him and a few even joined him in making fun of the woman who complained.
Mississippi license plates and annual renewal tags are notoriously expensive. But a resident who claims homestead exemption in Mississippi for a break on their property taxes, as county records show Elliott does, is generally required by law to buy a Mississippi vehicle license plate.
Otherwise, the person faces losing their homestead exemption, the law says. The homestead exemption saves Elliott almost $3,000 a year, county tax records show.
MS car plates tied to homestead exemption
County attorney Tim Holleman says he hasn’t researched whether the homestead law on license plates applies in Elliott’s case.
Holleman also confesses that he is probably the “deep throat” to whom Elliott referred on Facebook. Holleman called Elliott after receiving a complaint about the Florida plate and before Elliott posted on Facebook.
Holleman says Elliott can have a Florida plate because Elliott said his wife has a business in Florida, the car belongs to his wife’s business and the car does not stay in Mississippi for 30 consecutive days.
Elliott told the Sun Herald the car is registered to him, but his wife drove it to and from Florida before she got a new car with Mississippi plates. He’s driving the Prius now.
Elliott took a lighthearted approach to his Florida license plate in the Facebook post, focusing on the woman who complained.
In the post, Elliott asked three questions: “1-Why hate someone (me) so much? 2-How unhappy must she be? 3- What does she have against wild dolphins?”
Numerous people who commented on the post called the unidentified woman a “Karen,” online slang for white women who like to gripe and use their privilege to try and get their way.
Why Florida vs. Mississippi license plate?
Elliott says in the post that he has a “mostly legitimate reason” for buying a Florida plate and is all for protecting dolphins. The specialty license plate includes a $25 annual fee that contributes to wild dolphin research.
The annual renewal fee on the license plate runs $35.60 a year, but Elliott opted for the two-year plate available in Florida. His initial registration fee was $225.
The annual license and tag fees in Mississippi can run into the hundreds of dollars, depending on the car’s make, model and year. Elliott said the car is a Toyota Prius but he does not remember the model year.
In the comments, the longtime WLOX newscaster says that he has a second home in Florida, but he plans to buy a Mississippi license plate later this year. The photo of his Florida license plate shows it is good through November 2022.
Elliott told the Sun Herald that his wife is selling her hair salon in Florida and he sold their home in September in Destin. He said he’s in the process of buying a Mississippi license plate.
In the comments, an Ocean Springs attorney asked, “So why did you not buy a Mississippi tag when you, I presume, are a Mississippi resident?”
Elliott’s response: “Not that I have to explain. Wife has business there and a Florida drivers license. Tax reasons.”
Elliott told the Sun Herald: “This wasn’t a money move. This wasn’t a pay-for-a-cheaper-car-tag thing. It was a business move.”
Elliott did not understand the fuss over his Florida license plate.
He told a Sun Herald reporter: “Why would you waste your time on such a non-story and why would you take me on? Because you’re going to lose that one in the court of public opinion.”
This story was originally published October 26, 2021 at 5:05 PM.
