New York drivers will start paying for new license plates next year — whether they want to or not.
Beginning in April, car and tractor-trailer owners alike will have to shell out $25 for spruced-up license plates, by dictate of state leaders dreaming up new ways to wring out revenue as a budget chasm looms.
The new plates, featuring a bold new gold hue and a highly reflective surface, will make the roads safer and “reflect New York’s force and its resilience,” according to the state’s commissioner of motor vehicles.
They will also generate $260 million in revenue and create more than 100 jobs — at the prison where inmates make the plates for up to 42 cents an hour.
Despite such benefits, some New Yorkers say the mandatory fee is an unfair tax on drivers. And, they wonder, what is wrong with the current plates?
“You really don’t need reflective material on your license plate with all the new cars — they’ve got plenty of reflectors and running lights on the side,” said George Williams, one of several upstate county clerks who are organizing petitions against the fee.
Drivers in New York have been besieged this year by a potpourri of fees, including a $50 surcharge tacked onto registration renewals.
The new $25 plate fee, which will be phased in as drivers begin renewing their two-year vehicle registrations in April, is up from $5.50 in 2001, the last time the state went through a full plate replacement program.
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Officials said the new plates, seen at right, dubbed Empire Bold, would help safeguard the streets, as well as the state’s pocketbook. “Not every plate is worn down, but many of them are after years of usage,” said Matt Anderson, a spokesman for the governor’s budget office. “If a cop sees old plates, they know the person hasn’t re-registered and also that they don’t have new auto insurance.”
But some officials in upstate New York, which lacks the mass transit options of New York City, say they are being forced to shoulder a disproportionate share of the state’s money problems.
“It was the last straw, to be honest with you,” said Patricia Ritchie, president of the New York State Association of County Clerks and the founder of a Web site, NoNewPlates.com.