Actually they made the lettering flat specifically for automated plate readers that had a harder time with the raised lettering of the old plates. A fact I believe 4409 put out a while back. 

You are just being paranoid.  A wonderful guy like Andy Biggs would never propose and pass legislation that harmed and looted his voters.  . .. .. Would he?

Man they need better ink on that bar code, it just fades away in this AZ sun;-) 

I'm as suspicious of government as the next guy, but with OCR on the scameras, why have bar codes? The snoopy bureaucrat can already track people with OCR technology on the plate number itself. I'm guessing the bar codes are for internal inventory control at DMV. As an aside, I asked a DMV chick about a month ago why they got away from the cooler stamped & raised characters on the plates. She told me the machinery for making those plates was more than 50 years old and generated significant "pollution." They changed over to the flat painted plates for "environmental" reasons. Please don't take any of my comments to mean that I endorse "licensing" of either drivers or vehicles, because I most definitely do not. Eric New

Just last year the Gov't made Lic Plate Frames illegal... I guess this is why.