NH Senate passes SB 78 to reduce vehicle registration fees

[Keith and stuff]

Edit: The bill didn't pass as a stand alone bill but the text of the bill became law as part of the budget.

The NH Senate passed SB 78 to reduce vehicle registration fees. While the Democrats were in charge, they enacted the fee as a temporary increase as a creative way to balance the budget. Unfortunately for them, the fees were seen by many as a tax increase that disproportionately hurt the people in NH with the least amount of money and are very unpopular.

The fee added $30 to the $31.20 registration fee for most vehicles, weighing up to 5,000 pounds. The fee increased to $45 for vehicles between 5,001 and 10,000 pounds, to $55 between 10,000 and 26,000 pounds, and to $75 for vehicles heavier than 26,001 pounds.

If the bill becomes law, the tax cut may save NH residents over $57,000,000 every year.

http://www.nhliberty.org/bills/view/2011/SB78

The bill has NH House co-sponsors and the full support of the NH Speaker of the House and will very likely become law.

Here is an old, outdated article about the fees.

$30 vehicle surcharge remains on the books
By TIM BUCKLAND
New Hampshire Union Leader
Monday, Mar. 14, 2011
http://www.unionleader.com/article.a...a-89ca89c29e62

That surcharge, passed as a stopgap measure to fund roadway maintenance and safety, was supposed to expire June 30. But Gov. John Lynch included the fee in his proposed 2012-13 budget, prompting a harsh rebuke from House Speaker William O'Brien, who told the New Hampshire Union Leader, "This disproportionately affects working families."

...

O'Brien said the House's proposed spending plans, as a matter of course, begin as the governor's proposed budget. The surcharge, he said, definitely will be removed.

"It's definitely coming out," the speaker said. "It was put on as a temporary measure for a two-year period and was not supposed to be renewed. We're going to be able to say to the people of New Hampshire that we fulfilled our promise not to increase taxes. And this is a tax increase."

Here is the part of the article talking about the just passed Senate bill,

Meanwhile, the Senate is considering a bill, SB 78, which has sponsorship in the Senate and House and is working its way through the Senate Finance Committee, that proposes to eliminate the surcharge.

Ending the surcharge would be a significant blow to the Highway and Safety departments, which would lose $85 million and $30 million, respectively, over the next two years.

[Keith and stuff]

Senate votes to end $30 registration fee
By The Associated Press
March 24, 2011

http://www.concordmonitor.com/articl...gistration-fee

The New Hampshire Senate has voted to eliminate a $30 surcharge on motor vehicle registrations.

The 19-5 vote yesterday sends a bill to the House to end the surcharge that was set to expire anyway this summer. Gov. John Lynch counted on renewing the fee in his budget to pay for highway department spending.

[Keith and stuff]

The bill didn't pass due to some politic issues. Both the NH House and the NH Senate wanted to bill to pass but they wanted the bill worded differently. However, the massive savings to taxpayers via the ending of the "temporary motor vehicle registration surcharge" was included in the final budget, which passed both the NH House and the NH Senate and became law without a governor's signature.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/artic...ts-1438943.php

Allows temporary $30 motor vehicle registration surcharge to end. Fee raised $90 million toward highway projects.