AUGUSTA – Less than six weeks after its first stint in the Maine House of Representatives, Democratic representatives voted Tuesday to enact L.D. 405, a bill to allow motor vehicle registration fee increases of 50-67 percent—or $3 million.
The House accepted the Transportation Committee’s divided ought-to-pass report on March 14 and the Senate concurred on April 4. Today’s House vote – 89-57 mostly along party lines – puts the fate of the bill in the Senate.
House Republicans said Democrats are asking Mainers to pick up the tab for the rapidly growing government of their dreams.
“Just yesterday, Democrats rejected millions of dollars’ worth of measures to slow the growth of government,” said House Republican Leader Kenneth Fredette (R-Newport). “Today, they’re voting to allow fee increases. When will it ever be enough?”
Democrats are pushing motor vehicle fee increases on the same day the Taxation Committee is taking up the first parts of a massive middle class tax hike package.
“Mainers already take a big hit every time they go to the town office or the BMV,” said Assistant House Republican Leader Alexander Willette (R-Mapleton). “The last thing they need is more fees piled on their already stretched household budgets.”
Fredette said that it’s not so much the amount of money at question as it is the principle of the matter. “How can we say ‘no’ to savings initiatives while turning around and asking Mainers to reach into their wallets once again?”
No Comments
People of Maine, stop voting for democrats! Are you not tired of being taxed into oblivion? Bigger, more onerous government is NOT the answer!
Has anyone noticed that when ever a tax hike is proposed, or an additional restriction is proposed, nine times out of ten it’s always a Democrat doing the proposing. People at the ballot box are either totally misinformed, or just plain ignorant when they make that X next to a Democrat. There are a few exceptions, and there are some good Democrats. But their population is dwindling.And yes there are some lousy Republicans out there also. People really need to study a candidates position on the current issues, and also if it’s a re-election look into their past voting record before just checking the box next to a person’s name based strictly on party affiliation.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever bought tickets to a concert, play, or sporting event using Ticket Master or other such group. Did you notice that you were charge a “service fee” of a couple bucks per ticket?
You willingly paid this because it was easier to use the ticket service than it was for you to shlep down to the box office and buy your ducats at face value.
Some towns in Maine allow you to register your car without going to the DMV office too. This service means you only need to stop at one office to get those new tags for your license plate. Clerks in some towns spend over a couple hundred hours providing you this service, which means the folks at the DMV don’t have to. So the state allows these towns to charge those who choose to register their vehicle in one stop to charge a service fee, just like Ticket Master does.
Again, no one is forced to save time and travel by registering their vehicle in one stop; you can always avoid the service fee by visiting the DMV too.