Rep Alan Williams Sponsors Bill To Repeal Vehicle Fee Increases

State Representative Alan Williams (D-Tallahassee) announced today that he will co-sponsor a bill to repeal fee increases approved during the 2009 legislative session.

House Bill 99, which Representative Williams will co-sponsor for the 2010 session, reverts vehicle registration, title fees and drivers license costs back to what they were before higher fees took effect September 1.

“I voted against these fee hikes because they are a tax on anyone who drives,” said Representative Williams. “These fee hikes will burden families and small businesses the hardest, and they are the wrong way to raise revenue during a recession.”

The fee increases for renewing vehicle registration varies by the weight of the vehicle, and in some cases the costs have increased as much as 66 percent. The initial registration fee for a vehicle has gone up 125 percent, jumping from $100 to $225. Simultaneously, the cost of renewing a driver license has doubled to $48.

“Florida House Democrats like myself voted unanimously against these fee hikes even as Republicans argued that driving is a privilege, not a right. Well. Try telling that to somebody who has to get to work to feed their family,” added Representative Williams.

Representative Williams signed onto House Bill 99 last week in order to repeal the new vehicle fee hikes in favor of a more modest series of cost hikes. His co-sponsorship of the legislation is a continuation of his efforts to alert Floridians statewide about the tag fee increases. In recent weeks, he has received numerous calls from constituents throughout Florida who were unable to renew their tags or licenses within the short timeframe before the higher fees took effect.

“I am proud to co-sponsor this sensible consumer legislation and I urge all my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, in the Florida Legislature to join me in backing House Bill 99,” said Representative Williams. “This is an opportunity for government to do right by the people of the state of Florida.”

For a full listing of the fee increases that would be repealed under House Bill 99, please follow the following link below to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle site: http://www.flhsmv.gov/DHSMVFees.htm.