AUGUSTA — History buffs and others who are excited about the state being free from Massachusetts for two centuries can show it with a new license plate, if a bill approved by a unanimous vote of the state Senate on Tuesday becomes law.

The bill, LD 1273, sponsored by Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon, would allow the Maine Department of Motor Vehicles to offer a commemorative plate from January 2018 to December 2020.

Maine became a state in 1820.

“We have much to be proud of, and our bicentennial is a milestone worth celebrating,” Mason said in a news release. “The license plates will allow Mainers to express their pride in our state, while providing funding for a worthy cause.” 

The law directs the secretary of state to design the plate, which would not replace a current license plate but would be displayed by covering only the front plate on a motor vehicle.

Mason said the reason for that was so that other specialty plates, which generate revenue for special funds, including the University of Maine System, pet adoptions and cancer research, would not be undermined.

Part of the fee from the bicentennial license plates would go to the Maine State Cultural Affairs Council.

The bill now heads to the Maine House of Representatives for votes.