Senator Saland and Dutchess County Clerk Brad Kendall Launch Petition to Fight the New License Plate Requirement

Over the next two years, beginning in April 2010, motorists will be forced to purchase new license plates when registering their vehicles, costing them $25. If you elect to keep your old plate numbers, expect to pay another $20.  The new plates are in addition to the increase in driver license and registration fees that took effect September 1, 2009. 

Senator Saland(R,I,C- Poughkeepsie) and Brad Kendall, Dutchess County Clerk, have joined together to announce their efforts to collect signatures from the public opposing the plan to pay for a new license plate.  The Governor and the Democrat-controlled Legislature supported these increases to support a bloated budget that increased spending and raised taxes and fees by $8.5 billion.

“Taxpayers are tapped out and angry.  Families are struggling to make ends meet and businesses are cutting jobs.   I fought this money grabbing budget in April and will continue to fight it,” said Senator Saland.  “This fiasco of a budget illustrates how out of touch our State’s leaders are with reality.  This plan has nothing to do with the need for new license plates, but rather it was driven by the Democrats insatiable thirst for revenue. People living outside the city of New York are reliant on their cars and between the fee increases and the escalating gas prices, motorists can’t afford to keep feeding the spending habits of the Governor and his Democrat allies,” concluded Saland.

County Clerks across the State are hearing directly from the people and have begun collecting thousands of signatures in opposition to the license plate replacement plan.  " Some people are already paying more to register and title their car than they paid for it. These additional fees are an unconscionable burden on working people in Dutchess County," said Brad Kendall.

Saland and Kendall stress that it is important to send a loud and clear message to those who keep raising our taxes and fees.  To voice your opposition to the new license plate requirement and fee increase, please sign on to www.saland.nysenate.gov and click on “join the fight” or register your signature at your county DMV office.  For those without access to a computer, please call Senator Saland’s office to add your name and address to the petition at (845) 463-0840.