We regret to inform you that the Krewe of Nyx is at it again

New Orleans's favorite self-proclaimed "Superkrewe" is back in the news on a rainy afternoon in late May. The soon to be 7 year old Krewe of Nyx (number 15 in the 2017 parade rankings) has drummed up more than its share of minor controversies.  Its captain was involved in a detail scheme with the Delgado police.  Last year they got into more legal trouble over the question of who invented the T-Shirt or something. They made a big press event out of being on a fountain.  And now they've gone all the way to Baton Rouge in order to solve the budget crisis create their own vanity license plate.

Sponsored by Sen. Jean-Paul "JP" Morrell, D-New Orleans, Senate Bill 209 proposes to create "a special prestige motor vehicle license plate to be known as the 'Krewe of NYX' plate," priced at $25 each plus administrative fees for the state. Available only to current members of the krewe, the bill would require there to be at least 1,000 applicants before the license plate could be created and issued.

Full proceeds of the $25 "annual royalty fee" would be "collected by the (Department of Public Safety and Corrections) and forwarded to the Krewe of NYX," the bill states.

The portion of the bill referring to the Nyx license plate appeared to be tacked on to Morrell's original bill that proposed to up the fee for the "Animal Friendly" specialty license plate from $25 to $35. That fee goes to the state for animal population control.

Unlike the "Animal Friendly" plates, the Nyx plates don't even raise money for anything nice. They just send the money right back to the Krewe which, given all of the above, is kind of a shady proposition. 

Also, do they really think 1,000 people will buy these? According to the latest numbers, Nyx boasts 2,951 riders. But these are license plates, not throws. (Actually they should have asked about branded brake tags. That would have immediately become the most coveted throw in Carnival.) I guess if they get enough of their number on board with the propaganda campaign, it'll happen.

It looks like they've got some work to do on that front, though. Some of the Senators seemed confused as to just what a "NYX" even is. What's worse, when pressed for an explanation, Morrell didn't exactly describe them as a "Superkrewe."

Morrell then received a couple of good-natured jabs from fellow senators.

"Is this the New York Stock Exchange you're wanting to create a license plate for?" quipped Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Shreveport. "I just think you're getting very pro-business here."

"Well, I am sure the ladies of Nyx would love to have the kind of money that the New York Stock Exchange trades on a daily basis," Morrell replied. "But they're home-grown, they're - well, I would say a 'little krewe'...but they're not really a little krewe."