Bill would almost double vehicle registration fees

Have you ever heard of Michigan House Bill 5897?

I didn't think so.

Rep. George Cushingberry Jr., D-Detroit, introduced the bill in late February which would, over the course of five years, nearly double the vehicle registration fees you're paying.

Lawmakers believe the jacked up fees could pump up to $600 million into the transportation fund, which has been devastated by steadily shrinking gas tax revenues.

Here's the layout: if your registration fee is $100, you'll pay 10 percent more in 2010 bringing your tax to $110.

Registration fees jump 30 percent in 2012, so you'll pay $130.

In 2013 it increases by 50 percent to $150.

Then it would increase by 70 percent in 2014 to $170.

In 2015 the fee jumps by a whopping 90 percent; which means you'll be paying $190.

I checked with the Michigan Secretary of State to see what their position was on the tax increase.

"We're against it," spokeswoman Kelly Chesney said.

"According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Michigan has the sixth highest vehicle registration fees in the country; that's high enough."

Southfield resident Jim Whiteford is skittish about the increase.

"I'd like a few questions answered first," Whiteford said.

"Have they considered any other means of saving money instead of raising taxes? How about consolidating school districts to save money?

"Or let's lower the state sales tax from 6 percent to 5 1/2 percent while raising the tax on diesel so they pay the same per gallon tax as those who purchase gasoline."

But wait, there's more.

Classic car owners sporting historic designation plates -- only available on vehicles 26 years old or older -- pay $30 for the plates, which are good for 10 years.

HB 5897 jumps that fee to $30 annually.

Classic cars with authentic plates -- those matching the model year of the vehicle -- pay a one-time $35 registration fee, which is good until the vehicle is sold or scrapped.

That jumps to $30 annually beginning in 2012.

Additionally, the fee for transferring a title is $8; that would rise to $30 as of this year.

Classic car owner Ed Sova votes thumbs down on the new plate fees.

"It would have the opposite effect that the Legislature expects," said Sova of Troy.

"Hobby cars would no longer be registered but would exist as 'trailer queens' and not driven on Michigan streets. Or the owners might register them in another state which is not as dysfunctional."

In a letter to Cushingberry, Sova suggested that if the lawmaker wanted to do something "useful" that he "propose a massive cutback in the Legislature expense for office space, staffing and various operation expenses."

The bill sits unmoved in the House Transportation Committee. Call me cynical, but I'll bet it stays there until after the November elections.

Commuting tgreenwood@detnews.com">tgreenwood@detnews.com (313) 222-2023