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CLT UPDATE
Thursday, March 13, 2014
State's cash cow again paraded out for ritual
sacrifice
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Massachusetts drivers face higher costs this
summer to have their vehicles inspected each year, to register their
vehicles every other year, and to cover road testing costs.
To generate $55 million needed to meet state
spending demands, the state Board of Transportation on Wednesday
proposed the slate of higher Registry of Motor Vehicles fees, which
come on the heels of last year’s 3 cent per gallon increase in the
gas tax and a law tying future gas tax hikes to inflation.
A public hearing process is required before the
Registry fees are increased.
Under the plan, the road test fee for individuals
seeking their first license would increase from $20 to $35.
Non-commercial registration fees would go up from
$50 to $60. The typical $40 additional fee for specialty plates will
remain the same.
The annual motor vehicle inspection fee would
increase from $29 to $35 with $1 of that $6 increase going toward
the service stations that perform the inspections....
The fee increases are projected to raise between
$55 million and $62 million in gross revenue, and MassDOT said
excess funds would go toward improved customer service, road and
bridge projects and moving employees from the debt-funded capital
budget onto the operating budget.
The RMV plans to hold public hearings in May and
would need to file its new fees by June 6 in order for them to go
into effect by July 1.
State House News Service
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Mass. drivers face higher fees under new state plan
Celia J. Blue, the new registrar of motor
vehicles, announced the fee increases at a meeting of the board of
the state Department of Transportation. Board members unanimously
approved the new fees, which will raise the cost of registration for
noncommercial vehicles from $50 to $60 and the cost of vehicle
inspections from $29 to $35. The price of taking a road test will
also increase, from $20 to $35....
A 10 percent fee increase was outlined in a
transit finance proposal put forth by Governor Deval Patrick last
year, and the transportation law passed last August recommended that
transportation officials look to Registry fee increases to find
extra revenue.
Still, the fee hikes are not yet set in stone. In
coming months, there will be public hearings and a public comment
period, after which transportation officials will register the fee
changes with the secretary of state’s office.
Transportation Secretary Richard A. Davey said
officials are wary of raising the cost of driver’s licenses because
they want to minimize the impact on low-income residents....
Alan Macdonald, another board member, said he
agreed with the new fee policy. “To me, this is a valuable way to
get to where we’ve wanted to be over the last decade,” he said.
Davey said the agency’s strategy is to wait five
years before again raising Registry fees, but that’s not a guarantee
because it is an election year and a new governor would probably
appoint a new agency head.
The Boston Globe
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Vehicle fee hikes go into effect July 1
“Revenues are up $5 billion over the last
five years and the registry is a cash generator for the
commonwealth,” said state Sen. Robert Hedlund, (R-Weymouth), a
member of the Joint Committee on Transportation.
“This money,
that will be taken off the backs of
motorists, is being used to
paper over the MBTA deficit by an administration that can’t get
its hands around a sensible transportation spending plan.”
The Boston Herald
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Vehicle fees will increase July 1
WFXT Fox News 25
Interview with Barbara Anderson
Last evening's (5 pm) news
The Big Story: RMV fees like car inspection, registration,
to increase
CLICK TO WATCH
Barbara holds up a copy of the state
Constitution
"No subsidy, charge, tax,
impost, or duties, ought to be established,
fixed, laid, or levied, under any pretext
whatsoever, without the consent of the people,
or their representatives in the legislature."
The Massachusetts Constitution
Part the First, Article XXIII
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Here they go again, more RMV fee hikes
― the high priests of Bacon Hill are
parading out the state's sacrificial cash-cow for another blooding.
Even before these latest proposed fee hikes,
Massachusetts was on track to collect almost $600 million in fees
from the RMV; about ten times what it costs to operate. But that
isn't enough. More Is Never Enough (MINE) and never will be.
The high priests are already planning for the
next sacrificial blooding. According to the Boston Globe, "Davey
said the agency’s strategy is to wait five years before again
raising Registry fees."
Note the Divide and Conquer strategy in
action: This time they plan to raise the fees on
just vehicle registrations, inspections, and first-time road
tests ― but not titles, driver's
licenses and renewals, or commercial registrations. ("Davey said
officials did not want to do that because [commercial registration]
fees were increased several years ago.") Want to bet what they'll be
targeting to hike in 2019, if not sooner?
The State House News Service noted: "The RMV
plans to hold public hearings in May and would need to file its new
fees by June 6 in order for them to go into effect by July 1."
The Boston Globe put it more accurately:
"In coming months, there will be public hearings and a public
comment period, after which transportation officials will register
the fee changes with the secretary of state’s office."
The pre-ordained result of the dog-and-pony-show
"hearings" reminds me of the old wild west tale of justice: "We're
gonna give you a fair trial, followed by a first class hanging."
CLT went to court in 1989; sued the Dukakis
administration over its unilateral fee increases. In 1992 we settled
out-of-court with the new Weld administration, which agreed to
review all fees to insure that they did not exceed the cost of
providing the administrative service. Gov. Weld removed the fees
entirely from license and registration renewals
― which years later were eventually
restored.
In 1999, CLT ― with a
big assist from the (Lawrence)
Eagle-Tribune ― forced then-Senate President Thomas Birmingham
to
drop his plan to hike RMV fees.
We'll be pushing back
against these new fee increases as well on the constitutional
grounds that it violates Article 23 of the state Constitution.
If the Legislature can give
away to the RMV/DOT 'the people's or their representatives in the
legislature's' constitutional power to 'establish, fix, lay or levy'
a 'subsidy, charge, tax, impost, or duty' ― 'under any pretext
whatsoever' ― what's to stop legislators from giving away more of
their constitutional taxing power to the Department of Revenue, or
the Department of Human Services, or any other department, division
or agency of state government?
But we won't be going back
to court.
This time CLT simply
can't afford the legal costs of another such endeavor, even if
we could prevail.
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Chip Ford |
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State House News Service
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Mass. drivers face higher fees under new state plan
By Andy Metzger
Massachusetts drivers face higher costs this summer to have their
vehicles inspected each year, to register their vehicles every other
year, and to cover road testing costs.
To generate $55 million needed to meet state spending demands, the
state Board of Transportation on Wednesday proposed the slate of
higher Registry of Motor Vehicles fees, which come on the heels of
last year’s 3 cent per gallon increase in the gas tax and a law
tying future gas tax hikes to inflation.
A public hearing process is required before the Registry fees are
increased.
Under the plan, the road test fee for individuals seeking their
first license would increase from $20 to $35.
Non-commercial registration fees would go up from $50 to $60. The
typical $40 additional fee for specialty plates will remain the
same.
The annual motor vehicle inspection fee would increase from $29 to
$35 with $1 of that $6 increase going toward the service stations
that perform the inspections.
“We have targeted three fees for simplicity’s sake,” Secretary of
Transportation Richard Davey said at a MassDOT Board meeting. He
said, “We all knew that reform alone was not enough to fix a broken
transportation system.”
Registrar of Motor Vehicles Celia Blue said the fees will still keep
Massachusetts below the fees levels of most other states, and said
inspection fees had last been raised in 1999.
Service stations currently receive $22.50, the bulk of the charge on
vehicle inspections, as the Department of Environmental Protection,
and the Department of Transportation share $4.49, and $2 is paid to
the inspection vendor Parsons. With the increase, an additional $5
would go to MassDOT.
In selecting those three out of numerous other fees the RMV could
raise, transportation officials held flat fees paid for commercial
registration, the cost of driver’s license renewals or title fees.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials also opted
against increases in tolls, which are a more limited funding source,
as a means for balancing its budget.
The MBTA is planning on an average 5 percent fare increase going
into effect in July, as well.
A tax bill that passed in 2013, steering more money toward
transportation, required MassDOT to develop 48 percent of its own
revenue in fiscal year 2015, up from 47 percent in the current
fiscal year. The law calls for MassDOT’s own-source revenues to rise
in subsequent years as well.
The fee increases are projected to raise between $55 million and $62
million in gross revenue, and MassDOT said excess funds would go
toward improved customer service, road and bridge projects and
moving employees from the debt-funded capital budget onto the
operating budget.
The RMV plans to hold public hearings in May and would need to file
its new fees by June 6 in order for them to go into effect by July
1.
The Boston Globe
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Vehicle fee hikes go into effect July 1
By Martine Powers
Starting July 1, the cost of registering a car and getting an annual
vehicle inspection will increase by 20 percent, hikes approved by
state transportation officials Wednesday.
Celia J. Blue, the new registrar of motor vehicles, announced the
fee increases at a meeting of the board of the state Department of
Transportation. Board members unanimously approved the new fees,
which will raise the cost of registration for noncommercial vehicles
from $50 to $60 and the cost of vehicle inspections from $29 to $35.
The price of taking a road test will also increase, from $20 to $35.
Prices for certificates of title, driver’s licenses, and learner’s
permits will remain the same.
The fee increases are part of efforts by transportation officials to
close a $53 million budget shortfall that arose after the agency
began to end the practice of paying employee salaries on credit.
Officials estimate that the new fees will raise $55 million to $63
million. None of the major Registry fees have been raised since
2008; the vehicle inspection fee has remained the same since 1999.
A 10 percent fee increase was outlined in a transit finance proposal
put forth by Governor Deval Patrick last year, and the
transportation law passed last August recommended that
transportation officials look to Registry fee increases to find
extra revenue.
Still, the fee hikes are not yet set in stone. In coming months,
there will be public hearings and a public comment period, after
which transportation officials will register the fee changes with
the secretary of state’s office.
Transportation Secretary Richard A. Davey said officials are wary of
raising the cost of driver’s licenses because they want to minimize
the impact on low-income residents.
Dominic Blue, a member of the board of directors, called the fee
hikes “quite substantial” and wondered whether the burden placed on
drivers could have been distributed more evenly by raising prices
for commercial vehicle registration. Davey said officials did not
want to do that because those fees were increased several years ago.
Alan Macdonald, another board member, said he agreed with the new
fee policy. “To me, this is a valuable way to get to where we’ve
wanted to be over the last decade,” he said.
Davey said the agency’s strategy is to wait five years before again
raising Registry fees, but that’s not a guarantee because it is an
election year and a new governor would probably appoint a new agency
head.
Public transit is also set to become more expensive. In coming
weeks, T officials will announce fare increases that will raise
prices for subway, bus, and commuter rail by an average of 5
percent.
Though the fare increases were not on Wednesday’s agenda, the board
meeting drew protesters from the Youth Affordabili(T) Coalition, who
want a subsidized youth pass for bus and subway service.
About a half-dozen high school students told the board that they
struggle to afford bus and subway fares. In some cases it is their
most significant hurdle in keeping a job. They asked for a pass that
would cost students $10 per month or an expansion of the current
student transit passes, which can only be used during certain
weekday hours, to be valid on nights and weekends, as well.
“Figure out a way to protect students,” said Lee Matsueda, political
director for the transit advocacy group Alternatives for Community
and Environment. “We want to make sure that we invest in the very
riders who are the lifeblood of this system.”
T General Manager Beverly A. Scott said the T did not have plans for
changes in youth fare rates in time for price increases scheduled to
take effect this summer. She said she plans to engage in serious
talks about a youth and university pass that could be premiered in
2015.
The Boston Herald
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Vehicle fees will increase July 1
By O’ryan Johnson
The state Transportation Department’s board of dir
ectors has backed
a 20-percent increase in vehicle registration and inspection fees to
generate an additional $55 million to $63 million, which one
lawmaker said is being used to “paper over” debt at the MBTA.
“Revenues are up $5 billion over the last five years and the
registry is a cash generator for the commonwealth,” said state Sen.
Robert Hedlund, (R-Weymouth), a member of the Joint Committee on
Transportation.
“This money, that will be taken off the backs of
motorists, is being used to paper over the MBTA deficit by an
administration that can’t get its hands around a sensible
transportation spending plan.”
Under the plan — which will go into effect July 1
after public
hearings — registration fees will jump from $50 to $60 and
inspection stickers from $29 to $35. The road test fee for licensing
will go from $20 to $35.
The MassDOT board approved the hikes yesterday.
“We have targeted three fees for simplicity’s sake,” Secretary of
Transportation Richard Davey said. “We all knew that reform alone
was not enough to fix a broken transportation system.”
Herald wire services contributed to this report.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪
PO Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead, MA 01945
▪ 508-915-3665
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