DENVER—A proposed $25 hike in car registration fees passed its first test at the state Capitol on Monday but the plan to raise more money for highway and bridge maintenance still faces an uphill climb.
The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted 3-2 to back the fee hike along with two other increases—a hike in ownership taxes for some slightly older cars and a $6-a-day fee on all rental cars—and send it to the appropriations committee. The vote was party line with all Democrats voting for the measure (Senate Bill 244) and all Republicans voting against it.
The bill is being pushed by road contractors, asphalt makers, the trucking industry as well as some business groups like the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce as lawmakers rush to finish business by the close of their session next week. It’s also supported by the state transportation department and mayors and town managers from Northglenn, Commerce City, Broomfield and Frisco who testified in support of the bill Monday.
The only opponents in the room were representatives of rental car companies and Farmers Insurance, who said Coloradans renting cars while theirs is in the shop will be hit with the $6 fee, not just tourists. Together with current taxes, they estimate the total tax on rental cars in Denver would be about 33 percent.
Lawmakers are also concerned about what average Coloradans think about adding new taxes and fees. Gov. Bill Ritter floated a $100 registration fee earlier this year but backed off after failing to find enough support.
Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, who supports the bill, acknowledged that some lawmakers are afraid they’ll be voted out of office if they vote for it and said there probably wouldn’t be enough votes to pass the bill unless business groups promise to support lawmakers who vote for it. He asked Steve Holt, a representative of MOVE Colorado, a coalition that backs the bill, if the group would promise not to endorse lawmakers who oppose the bill. Holt said the group has never issued endorsements and then Romer withdrew the question and apologized.
Sen. Dave Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, responded that the real issue was lawmakers who have voted to spend money on projects that took funding away from transportation. He said the lack of transportation dollars is a “crisis” but he said lawmakers should come back for a special session to find the money in the state’s existing budget.
Romer said the state will end up spending more money in the future if it doesn’t repair roads before road beds deteriorates and must be completely replaced.
“Every day we tread water, we are losing a million dollars a day easily,” he said.
Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, who isn’t on the committee, said he wouldn’t support the bill and thought it could detract attention away from initiatives at the center of the Democratic agenda, such as changes in car insurance, in the closing days of the session.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, who owns a civil engineering fund that does some work on road construction projects. Tapia said his firm doesn’t do any bridge construction and or road overlays, which would be the bulk of the work paid for by the bill.
