NY Drivers Will Pay More for Plates

It's another fee adopted in this year's state budget and it will affect every New Yorker who owns a vehicle.

By April, 2010, new license plates will go out. And when you renew your registration or get a new vehicle you'll be required to get them. And it will cost you more too. The new plates will increase from $15 to $25.

There's no word how different the new license plates will be from the current ones. The New York Governor's Budget Office says new plates are needed for public safety matters because many have wear and tear and new ones haven't been issued since 2001. The other reason: money. Next year alone, the budget office says the new plates are expected to bring in $130 million.

"I'm not aware of any plates falling off cars," said Kathy Hochul (D-Erie County Clerk).

Hochul said she sees firsthand how frustrated people are by added fees and mandates like this.

"It's totally punitive against people that are having an economic tough time in a recession that you're going to ding them for new license plates," said State Senator George Maziarz (R-62nd District).

Maziarz voted against the budget that added the fee. He calls it another tax for upstate New Yorkers since fewer people down in New York City drive.

But Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples (D-141st District) did vote for the budget that included the fee.

"Why do we need this added fee?" 2 On Your Side's Josh Boose asked Peoples.

"Well, if you want to know why we need it, you might to ask the governor why he proposed it?" She replied. "There are a lot of things we put in there that we did take out. Like the tax on going to the gym and the bowling alley and the tax on soda pop. So we took out a lot of things and cut a lot of things and in order to take that out we would have had to take out additional, so, government is a balancing act."

"Are there going to be more things like this, where more fees are piled on?" Boose asked.

"I will tell you, I will not support more fees or taxes in this budget or next year's budget," said Peoples.

The license plates aren't the only changes. Hochul says basic license and registration fees will increase by 25-percent beginning September 1, 2009. That will raise the cost of a basic driver's license in New York from $50 to $62.50. Hochul says those fees too, were a product of this year's budget.