Car-registration fees will start climbing to an average of $41 more per vehicle after Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday signed into law an omnibus transportation bill aimed at fixing 125 of the state’s crumbling bridges.
The new law, which takes effect in July, is expected to generate about $250 million a year, just half of what transportation experts have said is the annual minimum the state needs to maintain its infrastructure. Ritter, standing before a troubled Thornton overpass on Monday afternoon, called the law a start and said Colorado will rely on federal stimulus money to fill in other gaps, such as road repairs.
“This isn’t a silver bullet,” he said. “But it does establish a clear pathway.”
The state is in line to receive about $404 million from the federal government in the next few weeks for road and infrastructure projects.
Under the law, dubbed FASTER, typical Colorado drivers will start seeing higher registration fees July 1, when costs will climb about $32 per vehicle.
By 2011, that additional fee will be $36.50, and it will eventually top out at $41 in the third year.
Sport utility vehicles and heavy trucks weighing more than 5,000 pounds will see a steeper increase to about $51 per vehicle by 2012.
The heaviest commercial and farm vehicles will pay an additional $66 to $71 a year, depending on weight.
The law also authorizes tolling on existing roads, boosts car-rental fees by $2 a day and charges more for freight trucks passing through Colorado.
The signing follows the bill’s quick, but tortured progress through the legislature, where it continues to draw fire from Republicans for raising drivers’ costs during an economic downturn. It passed the House on a narrow 34-31 vote.
Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, is the only statehouse Republican who supported the measure.
Westminster retiree Joe Stepniak voiced his frustrations from the back of the crowd Monday as he attempted to yell over Ritter’s speech.
“He’s stealing money out of my daughter’s mouth! It’s a tax,” Stepniak shouted. He said voters should decide whether to raise registration costs.
Rural communities, including those in the Progressive 15 alliance of northeastern counties, also have expressed frustration that the bill dedicates new revenue to mass-transit projects at the expense of funding rural road projects.
The group, once supporters of the bill, on Monday rescinded its support in a sharply worded letter by executive director Cathy Shull, saying the group had been “thrown under the bus.”
Advocates say it will save between 5,000 and 8,000 construction and related jobs.
“This legislation helps us in Colorado protect jobs, create jobs and get our economy moving again,” Ritter said.
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
