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Back in 1999, Tim Eyman proposed a law change to Washington legislators that passed with flying colors when put to a vote of the people. You might remember it – it reduced the annual cost of license tab renewals to a flat rate of $30. And the beauty of it was that that fee applied to all makes and models of automobiles. Before 1999, some were paying hundreds of dollars every year just to license their vehicles in Washington state, while others paid a much more reasonable fee.
Since the law changed, the legislature has been trying to recoup revenue the state lost by imposing new and different fees that relate to license tab renewals, but do not directly pertain to the cost of those renewals. For instance, smaller fees can sometimes be tacked on for everything from where a driver gets tabs renewed to being overdue for new ones.
This year when motorists in Washington go to renew their license tabs, they will be faced with yet another fee – this one pertaining to license plates themselves. Washington State Patrol troopers apparently made a recommendation to legislators in 2007 stating that plates wear down after several years and lose their reflective coating, making them harder to read. So the State Legislature passed a new law requiring drivers to get new license plates every seven years.
Even though new plates cost only $7 to make, according to the Department of Licensing, the cost to drivers is $24. Where will the extra $17 be spent, you ask? It's targeted to go toward state construction projects and road improvements. Not a bad idea if we could be assured that the construction projects and road improvements were earmarked for the same county in which the fees were collected. That way Spokane County drivers would know that they were helping to fill local potholes and possibly fund the North/South freeway project, rather than paying for improvements to ferry docks and ramps.
For me, the fee's not the only frustrating part, though – trying to memorize my new license plate number is. My license tabs actually renewed last year and at that time I was surprised to find out that my plates would be replaced at no additional charge to me. The kicker was that if I wanted to keep my existing plates – with the numbers and letters it had taken me the better part of a year to memorize just in case I needed to recite them – I could do so only if I paid the DOL an additional $20. My guess is that not enough motorists took the DOL up on their offer to pay to keep old plates, so now we'll have to pay for the new ones.
The good news is the Registration fee is still $30. The bad news is that by the time you add in the weight-based fee, filing fee, license service fee, subagent fee, license plate number retention fee, personalized plates fee and now the replacement plates fee, your total bill could be back in the hundreds. Confused? Don't worry, the DOL plans to send revised renewal notices describing the fees in detail. Happy motoring in the New Year.
We'd like to know your thoughts and comments on the new license plate replacement fee – or any of the other fees related to plates and tab renewals, so email us and we'll post them on Spokane.net. If you don't have time to write, then feel free to vote in our PulsePoll.
From the Editor
Editor@Spokane.net
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Poll Results ...
Question:
"Would you be willing to pay the Department of Licensing an additional $20 to keep your current license plate number?"
Results:
Yes -- 10.5%
No -- 84.2%
Undecided -- 5.3%
Send us your comments ...
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