Let me put it this way: stick this idea up a tail pipe. Colorado's governor needs to go back to the drawing board on this regressive funding scheme.
Or, I could put it this way: Pete Coors and John Elway wouldn't even notice two or three hundred dollars to register their Mercedes and Land Rover and Cadillac -- but two or three hundred dollars on my family's income is a big deal.
What we need in this state is a progressive income tax -- until the elite, wealthy start paying their fair share to run the state government and build/repair infrastructure -- the rest of us should just say NO! to any new fees and taxes for anything. Period.
Link: Ritter Proposal: $100 Hike in Car Registration Fee | Denver Post
Gov. Bill Ritter is working on legislation that would increase car registration fees an average of $100, raising $500 million for road and bridge repairs.
The governor said Wednesday that he was "involved in conversations" to launch the recommendation from his transportation commission — one of two revenue-generating proposals that would not require a vote of the people. ...
... Raising fees on the 5 million vehicles registered in Colorado is a step lawmakers can take this year, Ritter said.
"We need to do something now," he told the legislature's transportation caucus.
The annual vehicle registration fee, including county taxes, now averages $142, according to the state Department of Revenue. A car's age, size and weight help determine the fee.
Link: Ritter Backs Car Fee Hikes | Rocky Mountain News
Gov. Bill Ritter called on the legislature Wednesday to look at increasing auto registration fees to pay for a $500 million-a-year catch-up effort on Colorado's highway maintenance backlog.
But that "Fix It Now" proposal is only a third of the package his blue-ribbon panel on transportation funding recommended. Fees can be hiked by the legislature, but voters would have to approve a tax increase to cover the rest of the package, and Ritter said now is not the time to ask them. ...
... Ritter released the panel's report, which recommended boosting state and local spending on transportation by $1.5 billion a year to catch up on maintenance and begin whittling down languishing lists of highway-safety and road-widening projects.
The panel packaged its recommendation with four annual funding thresholds from which to pick but concentrated on $1.5 billion as the most practical.
But the governor stopped short of submitting a specific proposal. His panel had determined that an average $100 annual increase in the auto registration fee, scaled lower or higher depending on vehicle weight, would generate $500 million a year.