Who says state lawmakers can’t move quickly when there’s a compelling reason to speed things up?

In an effort to beat New Mexico to the bumper, so to speak, state Rep. Daneya Esgar, a Pueblo Democrat, on Tuesday amended her bill to create a Pueblo Chile specialty license plate before the state’s southern neighbor can produce its own plates recognizing Hatch chiles.

“The Pueblo chile is Colorado’s chile,” Esgar told the House. “Our local growers deserve recognition of their outstanding chiles.”

The House approved Esgar’s request to add a safety clause to House Bill 1012 in hopes Gov. John Hickenlooper can sign the bill and the state can start producing the plates before New Mexico’s planned July 1 start date for its own rolling promotion.

A visibly shaken Esgar said Hatch chile afficionados have been talking trash about Pueblo chiles, telling her, “Colorado shouldn’t be proud of their chiles because New Mexico is the chile capital of the United States.” That, she said, sealed the deal and lit a fire under the lawmaker to win the race.

The bill passed out of the House Transportation and Energy Committee earlier in February on a bipartisan 11-1 vote and got the OK last week from the House Appropriations Committee on an 8-5 vote, with the panel’s Republican members voting against it.

The Pueblo Chile Growers Association’s drive to create a Pueblo chile specialty plate launched last fall when Esgar unveiled a proposed design and started gathering petition signatures at the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival.

Under the proposed legislation, the specialty plate could be discontinued if fewer than 3,000 motorists are using the plate within five years, although drivers with the plates will be able to keep them and continue using them if that happens.

Like other specialty plates, the Pueblo Chile plate will be available for a one-time $50 surcharge, and vehicle owners will be able to customize it – create their own vanity plates – as they can with other Colorado plates.

According to legislative research staff, nearly 20 percent of Colorado vehicle owners use specialty plates, including those displaying alumni, military and other group affiliations. There are 46 group license plates on state roads – a Pioneer plate, a Breast Cancer Awareness plate and a Rocky Mountain National Park plate among them.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com