Lawmakers Going After Your Vehicle Late Fees
By Political Reporter Marshall Zelingerm.zelinger@krdo.comFollowme on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mzelinger
COLORADO SPRINGS – Some of your lawmakers are trying to save you money the next time you go to the Department of Motor Vehicles. There are four bills that will be under consideration at the State Capitol, to reduce the recently hiked late fee for car registration. Lawmakers added a new fee to your car registration last summer, but also added a higher late fee. What used to be a flat $10 late fee is now $25/mo, but no more than $100 total.
“Outrage. I mean people are very upset. I take, personally, eight or ten calls per day,” said El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink.
Since June, drivers who have registered their cars, trailers, hitchers, or any other non-motorized vehicle late have faced the new fee. If you’re more than four months late, you automatically owe $100.
“Through the first seven months last year, June 1st through December 31st, the state got $1.4-something million out of the citizens of El Paso County in late fees alone, money they never had before,” said Balink.
In El Paso County, 36,178 people registered a vehicle late between June and December. The county gets to keep $10 of each late fee ($361,780), as it always did. The remainder of the fee goes to the state highway fund.
“More money’s being taken away, but no additional service,” said Balink.
In Pueblo County, 12,171 people registered a vehicle late between June and December. That brought in $121,710 for Pueblo County and $527,415 for the state highway fund.
“There’s just about as many people who come in late now as before. This has not been a deterrent,” said Rep. Kent Lambert (R-Colorado Springs).
Lambert is one of 16 Republicans sponsoring one of four bills to reduce the late fees. The bill he’s sponsoring with a number of lawmakers, including Sen. Keith King (R-Colorado Springs) and Sen. Dave Schultheis (R-Colorado Springs) would reduce the late fee back to the $10 flat fee.
A second bill, sponsored by Sen. Al White (R-Hayden) would do the same. White is the only Republican who voted in favor of the legislation that increased car registration fees and late fees last year.
A third bill by Sen. Bill Cadman (R-Colorado Springs) would reduce the late fee for non-motorized vehicles (trailers, hitches) back to a $10 flat fee.
A fourth bill, sponsored by Rep. Carole Murray (R-Castle Rock) would reduce the late fees for heavy machinery, like construction equipment.
NEWSCHANNEL 13has heard a lot of viewer feedback about the increase in registration fees.NEWSCHANNEL 13 asked Lambert why lawmakers are going after the late fee instead of the overall registration fee.
“They’re two different issues, I think we, in the long run, will be going after both of them. In this session I’m not sure what’s possible,” said Lambert. “The first thing we want to do is erase the most unfair part of this law and that’s the fines.”
