Includes comment by Sid Miller's spokesman.

AUSTIN — Texas drivers won't be able to display a rebel soldier on a specialty license plate proposed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board voted 5-3 Thursday to reject the plate's design, which featured a soldier carrying a Texas regiment's special flag at the Civil War battle of Antietam in 1862.

Debate centered on how the design is similar to an existing plate that raises money for BikeTexas.org, not on whether it celebrates 19th-century Texans fighting to preserve slavery.

At a brief hearing, three officers of the Southern historical group testified that their proposed plate would raise money for scholarships and placing flags on Confederate graves. The department charges a $30 fee for a specialty plate. Of that, $22 goes to a selected cause.

Robin Stallings, executive director of the Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund, or BikeTexas.org, objected. He said his group's "God Bless Texas" plate also displays on the left side a furled Texas flag.

"The plates are very similar," he told the board. "It could cause a lot of confusion." From several car lengths behind, Stallings told a reporter, "it's the same -- just a spitting image of ours."

A specialty license plate proposed by the Texas division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans was rejected by the Department of Motor Vehicles Board on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. The plate, at top on easel used at the board meeting, has a rebel soldier carrying a Texas flag in 1862. But an existing plate with the line "God Bless Texas" also displays on the left a furled Texas flag. It raises money for the Texas Bicycle Coalition Education Fund, or BikeTexas.org, which objected. (Robert T. Garrett / The Dallas Morning News)

BikeTexas' plate, sponsored by the Texas Education Agency, raises between $15,000 and $20,000 a year to help pay for bicycle safety courses for children, Stallings said.

Sales could suffer, and the cycling-safety group wants no part of "the controversy" that could be stirred by the Sons of Confederate Veterans plate, he said.

State law and DMV regulations permit the board to reject a specialty plate if the design might be offensive or too similar to an existing design and could compete with sales, said Jeremiah Kuntz, director of the agency's vehicle title and regulation division.

John McCammon of Boerne, lieutenant commander of the Texas division of Sons of Confederate Veterans, said Thursday that he was disappointed but not deterred by the denial, which "wasn't because of anything controversial."

"We'll probably resubmit using another Texas flag," he said. "There were several Texas flags used during the [Civil] War, and we can use one of those."

Confederate group's first try

It wasn't the first time the group lobbied for a specialty plate. In 2011, the department's board unanimously rejected a plate that would show the Sons of Confederate Veterans' name and the Confederate battle flag, a blue cross inlaid with white stars over a red background. The words "Sons of Confederate Veterans 1896" encircled the flag.

The group sued, but in a 5-4 decision in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the board's decision.

Related story: Is Confederate license plate free speech or a rebel yell?

The five justices in the majority, all of whom are still on the court, said Texas didn't violate the First Amendment because the messages on such license plates are "government speech," not private speech. Government can decide which programs it wants to promote or espouse, they said.

Dissenters argued that when a government opens a forum — in this case, space on its license plates —to outside groups, it can't pick and choose which messages are offensive and which are OK.

'Really neat' or inappropriate?

In a public comment period last month, 380 people — including some from out of state — said they liked the design. Of those, 177 provided comments. Eighty-eight people disliked the Confederate plate, with 17 offering negative remarks, Kuntz said.

Three officers of the state arm of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and a supporter stand outside the Transportation Department Building in Austin on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. From left to right: chief of staff Bill Boyd of College Station; commander David McMahon of San Angelo; and lieutenant commander John McCammon of San Angelo. The man wearing a black hat declined to identify himself but said he attended to support the group's push for a specialty Texas license plate. (Robert T. Garrett / The Dallas Morning News)

Most of the critics called the plate divisive.

"Do we really need an official, state-sanctioned license plate celebrating a group of people that undertook armed rebellion against the United States in order to defend a system of racial slavery," one said. "I can't imagine what it would feel like to be a black Texan and see this plate in 2018."

Scores of other commenters, though, praised the proposed plate as respectful and a welcome reminder of Texas' heritage.

"It is really neat that the state of Texas has so many varied and diverse plates to recognize and celebrate so many wonderful things that we love about our beautiful and unique state," one said.

Sid Miller's support

In March, the Texas Department of Agriculture, headed by Commissioner Sid Miller, agreed to sponsor the Sons of Confederate Veterans plate.

Miller, a Republican, said in October that he saw nothing offensive about the plate's design and that he is fine with helping raise money for the group, which has sued University of Texas president Greg Fenves for removing Confederate monuments from its flagship school's Austin campus.

Miller spokesman Mark Loeffler said earlier in the week that the commissioner is still "100 percent behind" the proposed plate.

"He still opposes removing monuments to hide history," Loeffler said.

Loeffler said that it's the group's call on how to proceed and that Miller would be open to sponsoring another design.

How they voted

In favor of the plate:

Robert "Barney" Barnwell III of Magnolia, one of two public representatives on the board

Luanne Caraway of Kyle, a tax assessor-collector who helps administer auto registration

Gary Painter of Midland, representing law enforcement

Opposed:

Board chairman Raymond Palacios Jr., an El Paso auto dealer

Brett Graham, a Denison auto dealer

General Motors financial director Kate Hardy of Trophy Club, representing the auto industry

Paul R. Scott, a Lubbock auto dealer

Guillermo "Memo" Treviño of Laredo, a public member

Absent: