Indiana charity leaders are urging lawmakers not to eliminate the specialty license plates more than 100 groups use to raise money, the Associated Press and state-news Web site The Statehouse File write.

Organizations representing an array of causes and institutions testified Wednesday as a legislative committee held its first hearing on the proliferation of designated plates. Some conservative legislators have sought changes in the program after the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles approved a plate for a charity that supports gay and lesbian teens.

A bill to ban the Indiana Youth Group’s plate failed earlier this year, but the motor-vehicle agency later stripped the group’s plate privileges because it traded low-digit numbers for contributions, a practice the charity maintains is common.

Anne Teigen of the National Conference of State Legislatures testified via video that several states are considering restricting or eliminating specialty plates as groups involved in contentious issues such as abortion and gay rights take part in the programs.