92 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 31

proper officer as hereinafter provided. Said Commissioner,
shall also, without expense to the applicant, issue and de-
liver to such owner two duplicate metal plates or markers
bearing the letters "Md. " and the number or mark assigned
to such motor vehicle as aforesaid, the figures thereon to be
not less than four inches high, and each stroke to be not
less than one-half inch in width. Such plates or markers
shall be of a distinctly different color or shade each year,
to be designated and selected by the Commissioner of
Motor Vehicles, and there shall be at all times a marked
contrast between the color of the number plates and that
of the numerals or letters thereon. In the case of motor-
cycles, one number plate or marker shall be furnished, the
letters and figures thereon to be at least one inch high and
one-eighth of an inch in width. The certificate provided
for in this section and the right to use the number plate
or marker aforesaid shall expire at midnight on March
31st of each and every year; provided, however, that
between the 15th day of March and the 31st day of March
next following (both inclusive) in each and every year
it shall be lawful to carry a registration certificate and
to display the number plate or marker of either the cur-
rent or the next ensuing year.

Provided, however, that it shall be lawful to carry the
registration certificates and to display and use the number
plates or markers issued for the year 1936 until midnight
of March 31st, 1937, and any number plates or markers
issued after December 15, 1936, and prior to March 31,
1937, may be used and displayed until March 31, 1938.

Any person who fails to carry the certificate of regis-
tration provided for by this section, and any person who
obtains a registration marker and a certificate of registra-
tion by misrepresentation, or changes the name, number or
any identifying information appearing on any certificate of
registration, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and
shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than
one dollar ($1. 00) nor more than one hundred dollars
($100. 00) for the first offense. The provisions of this sec-
tion shall apply both to the operator and also to the owner
who causes ^his motor vehicle to be operated without the
certificate as herein provided for.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall
take effect June 1, 1936.

Approved May 13, 1936.