Arizona Motor Vehicle Registration....A January Surprise!!

Discussion in 'Non Sun City Related Discussions' started by aggie, Dec 13, 2018.

  1. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    When figuring out your 2019 budget, make sure you keep in mind that each vehicle to be registered in Arizona will see a big increase in the cost. It appears there are efforts to get this fee reduced because the amount($32 per vehicle) is almost twice what was discussed prior to Ducey's signing of the bill. It's good to separate the gas tax money from what's needed to support the Highway Patrol but the amount seems much too steep for those owning multiple vehicles. It does give a break to golf carts.

    https://azdot.gov/media/News/news-release/2018/11/29/public-safety-fee-going-into-effect
     
  2. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

  3. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Come on, since when does logic ever play any part in the decision making process aggie...or is is JP?
     
  4. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    aggie but JP is also aware of this "fee".
     
  5. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    Ya gotta love politicians: Nope, not a tax, but a fee. Really Doug Ducey? How do you differentiate when you are reaching into my pocket for money between a tax and a fee. Seems either way, you end up with our money.

    Perhaps that was why people paid tribute to George Bush when he died. He was a man of integrity. He told us no new taxes and when he couldn't deliver, he had the courage of his convictions to admit he was wrong and tax us. He didn't make up some insane nonsense, he did what needed to be done and lived with the consequences. God, i long for the days when there was honor from the political class.
     
  6. 3rdGen

    3rdGen Member


    Especially for full time residents who have out of state registration or the ones who store vehicles here for seasonal use with the same out of state plates
     
  7. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    It may not do any good, but now's the time to call, write a letter or email the unfairness of this "FEE" to your local representatives. Rick Gray and Kevin Payne need to hear from everyone that will be impacted.
     
  8. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    At a meeting this morning Rick Gray said he voted NO on this $32 "non-tax" when it came forward. Kudos to him and I hope he can put pressure on others to eliminate or reduce this unfair fee. Anyone using Arizona roads or receiving benefits from the Highway Patrol services should share the costs.
     
  9. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    Received our registration renewal for our 1994 extremely low mileage vehicle. This is so bizarre that the normal registration we've finally decreased to $20 a year and now the "Safe Highways" Fee is $32 annually! There is also the addition of the smog certification every other year. What a terrible, terrible way to start off the year. The original $18 proposed under this request to legislature would not hit so many people as hard as this will. I'm sure we'll see many more expired registration vehicles on the roads.

    I'm not sure how many want to delve into the budget for AZ DPS but it's obvious this "fee" is just a method to move expenses around to Ducey's delight.
     
  10. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    But, but, but; Doug Ducey is one of those "no new tax guys" isn't he?

    God i love politics.
     
  11. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    The reason the "not-a-tax" fee was increased by Ducey from the original $18 to $32 per vehicle was because so many people had prepaid their registration out two years! They wanted the money now so if you need to renew in 2019 you're paying for all those that paid ahead. Grrrrr....:mad:
     
  12. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    It gets worse aggie; Just read on the link you provided for the SCHOA newsletter if you buy a multiple year plate, you pay each of those years when you buy it. A 5 year plate will add $160 to the price of your tab's while a 5 year plate for a golf car will add $25 ($5 per year). Wonder if you sell in those 5 years if you get a refund? Clearly the article in SCHOA was written by the governor's office to try and make it sound all innocent and pure, but no matter how you slice it...it is a new tax.
     
  13. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    SB1001 was discussed in the AZ State Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday and it was streamed live on ALIS. It will also be available to view a recording if you look up the bill's information on the AZ Legislature site. This bill would repeal the $32 per vehicle Public Safety Fee and even the senators didn't know whether to call it a tax or fee. The senators that did speak agreed that the underhanded way that the amount was increased from $18 to $32 was wrong. There is also no mechanism for controlling the amount of increase in future years as it is at the discretion of the AZ DPS. They were also unaware of the vehicles that would be exempt.

    County governments, County Supervisors and AZ DPS are strongly against the repeal of this fee because they all want their money in any way it can be pulled from AZ residents. What's so wrong is all the vehicles that would be exempt from this fee and the inequity of how the fee is charged. Rental cars rented in AZ with out of state plates are exempt. Collector cars that are registered(even if they are only driven 25 miles a year or less) are charged $32 per vehicle. Motorcycles are charged $32. I'm not positive but I believe Alternate Fuel Vehicles are exempt.....but don't they also rely on services from the AZ Highway Patrol? Non-Profits are exempt. Religious owned vehicles exempt. All our out of state winter visitors(and some permanent residents) who maintain registration in their home state are exempt. Don't all these exempt registered owners rely on Highway Patrol services??

    Anyway....the Committee was unanimous in recommending that Bill SB1001 pass to repeal this tax. It's got a long road and Ducey said he would veto. Will I get my $32 back that I just paid? Probably not but our second vehicle renews in May and hopefully there'll be some relief. Tack on a couple cents to the gas prices and let's all share the costs fairly.
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2019
  14. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    So today at 1:00 SB1001 is to be discussed in the Arizona Senate Rules Committee. Sun City's own Rick Gray is the Vice-Chairman of the Committee. I hope this bill isn't dropped from the agenda as it will be an important issue to be brought to the light of day. If voters in this district have time....please drop Rick an email(rick@voterickgray.com) urging a yes vote to repeal the "Highway Safety Fee(remember-not a tax!)".
     
  15. aggie

    aggie Well-Known Member

    So it looks like a straight repeal of the $32 Highway Safety Fee has failed but there is a chance for a House Bill which would lower the "non-tax-fee" to the original $18 which wouldn't be such a hard hit. The amount of people that used to pay 2 & 5 years for registration renewal has fallen drastically due to the multiples of $32 that must be added to the cost. If the $32 fee already paid is now reduced to $18 going forward it's unknown if there will be refunds(not likely I'm sure).
     

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