PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Islanders may soon have a chance to show their allegiance to Red Sox nation right on their license plates.

Rep. Brian P. Kennedy, D-Hopkinton, has again submitted legislation to authorize the state Division of Motor Vehicles to issue license plates that bear the official Boston Red Sox logo insignia, with a portion of the registration going to Rhode Island charities.

Kennedy says he has received a commitment from the Red Sox Foundation, the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox, that it will donate its half of the plate proceeds to Rhode Island-based charitable organizations, rather than the Jimmy Fund, the fundraising arm of Boston's Dana Farber Cancer Institute that it traditionally supports.

In previous years, concerns that the charitable portion of the Red Sox plate revenue was going out of state had prevented passage of the bill in the assembly.

Other vanity plates, such as 2009's New England Patriots plates, were approved by the assembly because their proceeds went, in part, to the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, which sponsors youth education efforts in the Ocean State.

The Red Sox plates would cost $40 in addition to the usual DMV registration fee. The state would retain $20, with the other $20 donated to the Red Sox Foundation.

The bill also sets a $10 surcharge for subsequent registration renewals, according to Kennedy's proposal, which has been held for further study by the House Committee on Municipal Government, following a hearing last week.