Clerks Ask: What’s The Deal With the New Plates?
After submitting a petition with 100,000 signatures of people opposed to a new fee on license plates, county clerks want to know whether the state will, in fact, dump the new fee, which is scheduled to start April 1.
Gov. David Paterson has pledged to drop the fee if the $129 million in revenue from the fee can be found somewhere else. The fee would increase from $15 to $25 for the purchase of new license plates, which would be required when a car’s registration expires.
Legislative leaders vowed to dump the fee, but no action was taken as part of the budget-reduction plan approved last week.
St. Lawrence Clerk Patty Ritchie, who heads the state Association of County Clerks, wrote a letter this morning to legislative leaders asking them if the fee will be revoked.
Paterson’s office said recently that the production of the new plates is continuing.
Here’s the clerks’ letter:
December 9, 2009
Hon. David Paterson, Governor
Hon. John Sampson, Senate Democratic Conference Leader
Hon. Malcolm Smith, President of the Senate
Hon. Pedro Espada, Senate Majority Leader
Hon. Dean Skelos, Senate Minority Leader
Hon. Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the Assembly
Hon. Brian Kolb, Assembly Minority Leader
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
Dear Honorable Sirs:
By resolution unanimously adopted at a meeting of the New York State Association of County Clerks, the Association determined to write to you to request clarification regarding the status of the license plate reissue plan that was included in the 2009-2010 state budget.
It is our understanding that, despite public promises to do so, the Legislature did not act during the recent extraordinary session to repeal this unnecessary mandate.
In our role as agents for the state DMV, responsible for more than half of the motor vehicle-related transactions in the state, County Clerks are on the front line. We heard first hand the concerns of taxpayers and consumers who are opposed to the reissue plan with the added expense and burden it creates during these uncertain and difficult economic times.
In response, County Clerks voted unanimously to reject the license reissue plan, contending it creates an undue hardship on New Yorkers. A bipartisan group of Clerks went further and organized public opposition to the plan, gathering names of more than 100,000 New Yorkers who were similarly opposed.
On Nov. 15, the eve of our presentation of that petition to your offices, the leaders of the Assembly majority and minority issued a public statement announcing their intention to repeal the plate reissue mandate. At the height of our petition effort, a group of 11 majority state senators signed a letter that urged repeal of the mandate during the recently concluded extraordinary session. Numerous other lawmakers have made public statements that made clear the overwhelming legislative support for repeal.
The governor also has publicly stated support for repeal, and indicated that the purpose of the license plate reissue was primarily to raise revenue for the state, and not for public safety or other reasons.
All of these actions and statements have created a belief among the public that the license plate reissue plan is dead. But without affirmative action by the Legislature, it remains on the books as the law of New York State, and the state has commenced production of the new plates, at considerable expense to state taxpayers.
Therefore, we respectfully request clarification as to the status of the reissue plan. Clearly, New Yorkers have spoken their minds, and New York’s County Clerks remain committed to a repeal of this unnecessary mandate, and it is our position that the new plate requirement should not be delayed or reimplemented in the next state budget.
As we indicated last month, we are prepared to meet with you to discuss the issues that surround the repeal, and share our ideas on ways that County Clerks can assist in identifying savings for the state budget through improved efficiency and expanded responsibilities.
We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to bring needed relief to New Yorkers from this unneeded mandate and expense.
Sincerely,
Patricia A. Ritchie
St.Lawrence County Clerk
President, New York State Association of County Clerks
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actually the fees on the idea of new plates is probably
a good.one…first of all plates get damaged and scraped
next..you would be able to tell a more recent plate
from an older one for purposes of law enforcement..next
as in florida the state should be selling theme plates
with teams and other themes to voluntariliy collect revenues
on special order plates..and finally the white plates currently in use are the ugliest plates in the nation
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