Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on February 24, 2010

Click here to view bill details.

This not the time to raise fees and or taxes on the people of Michigan, how can they be so out of touch with the people in this state? People are loosing there jobs, homes and a lot of families are moving out of Michigan. Not to mention the jobs leaving the state. Pass this bill and see what passes at election time. Here is an idea how about making your job a part time position and a pay cut and surrender and sell the state on vehicles. That would help Michigan.

 Hey Grorge

Are you BRAIN dead????? don't you know what happening around the USA we DON"T need raising taxes on anything at this time you need to stop spending. And a good way to start is for all you LEGISLATOR to go to part time and the state would save MILLION of dollar.

I might support a proposal like this if I thought for even a minute it would bring me decent and safer roads to drive in Michigan.  But history tells me it won't.  Instead, this bill only translates to paying more for vehicle registration while enduring the same old sub-par driving conditions.  

(By decent and safer roads, I mean roads in good repair, with aggressive traffic law enforcement to curb behaviors that create hazardous situations.  Those behaviors include speeding, obstructing the flow of traffic, tailgating, abrupt turns and lane changes that "cut off" other drivers, failure to yield right-of-way, running stop signs and lights, etc..  They do not include failure to wear a seatbelt, which endangers only the idiot who decides to not buckle up.)

 No, no and no again.  We do not need to be diminishing more of the discretionary income of those in this state who are experiencing the worst of the economic down-turn.  The more we give to the corporate government the less we have in purchasing power to help start businesses humming again and employing more people.

Too much.

 When you read the bill the actual increase on personal cars built after 1984 is 150% by 2014...So much for boosting Michigan's economy. This kind of increase may actually help cause more unemployment because a family that has more than one car due to number of jobs in different directions, and activities may not be able to afford to license more than one vehicle. Thus loss of transportation and loss of job.

We do need to improve our roads and highways, no doubt about it but I don't think that this is the way to that goal.

There are also too many ambiguities in the Antique car licensing language; Who is going to certify that my 1914 Cadillac is safe for Michigan's roads and by what standard? Will I have to add Airbags, 4 wheel antilock brakes additional lighting and other safety devices thus ruining the authenticity and value of the vehicle? Also what will the cost of this certification be and will it be annually? If you are going to do that to the historic plated cars why not do that to every vehicle registered in Michigan today? There are plenty of cars on bald tires, worn out brakes, lights broken or not working etc all over the state. Talk about something that would generate revinue, mechanic and auto parts jobs require a dot inspection on all cars and light trucks in the state.

Why are you leaving motorhomes out of this bill? The people that own them (myself included) generally have more disposable income, and are able to afford some increase in their plate fees. Still not the 150% that this bill calls for but in these times everyone should bore the burden. I would even include Boats,atvs and orvs in this bill. There are hundreds of these being dragged down our roads and highways everyday. Yes we pay a one time registration fee on the trailer but that probably doesn't come close to covering the cost per mile in road maintenance that these create. I know they aren't heavy but every tire on the road creates wear and tear...

Thanks

I have spent all 62 of my years in this state and where once I was proud of my residence here, I now feel more embarrassment than pride. We live in a state where mediocrity is fostered and encouraged in just about every arena. No where is this more evident than in our state governmental bodies. Strict laws are enacted, and then not enforced. Bills are introduced to help fund  replenishment of some shortfall, and then the money is diverted to other causes. The legislature continually tries to introduce new bills aimed at increasing revenues, driving businesses and residents alike to resorting to covert means to circumvent these new laws with the end result being an actual decrease in expected revenues.

 A perfect example of legislation that could backfire is HB 5897. It proposes to levy even more exorbitant vehicle registration taxes on Michigan motorists at a time when they are already overburdened with current vehicle expenses which include outrageous fuel prices, higher insurance rates and registration taxes based upon the age of the vehicle. As if this was not enough, 5897 even wants to wring more dollars out of the antique vehicle hobbyists. I know legislators perpetually shy away from any regulations regarding oil companies, but what would be wrong with taxing the excess profits they rake in every time the fuel prices climb? Now that would be a house bill we could live with. 150% increase in profits? Bingo! Share the wealth Exxon, BP, and so on.

 Remember the institution of permanent license plates for trailers? While $75.00 for a permanent license for a utility, travel or boat trailer was somewhat of a bargain, any trucking company will tell you that the $300.00 permanent fee for semi-trailers was prohibitive. One or two trailers were no problem. Three or four hundred trailers, on the other hand, meant a one time expenditure of over a million dollars all at one time, for renewals of all their trailers. Ever notice how many Maine and Tennessee license plates appear on trailers in Michigan, even though they belong to Michigan based firms? That's because they are registered there for less money. Big revenues expected from the trailer increases probably led to an actual decline.

We need an intelligent legislature.... badly!

 I contend that this bill should have never gone to the transportation eview since these vehicles are not used for general transportation.  There are license restrictions from using vehicles with some of these licenses for basic transportation and be only used for transportation to an from and in events.  This is not basic transportation and as such should not be ruled on by this committee.  The action taken so far violates the basic rules and should be illegal.  It indicates a basic misunderstanding of the use of these items.  It also indicates the goal of the poitical machine acting on this.

Increasing the tax is not the solution.

You know, there are states where the vehicle registration tax has been called in question by citizens and, by trial, their won the right to receive part of the registration tax value back. Some sums really reflect pure abuse, for a fact. One has to look around too when he dictated these regulations. There are people out there who barely have the money to change some K&N filters to their cars. Others work hard to buy a second-hand vehicle. What would it be like to add up to this the registration tax as well, at a higher level and cost than the public actually expects? Not quite a solution for the times we live right now.

This tough to see especially with our hurting economy. Hopefully we will see improvements in the near future. Michigan coverage