Coloradans who are tardy registering their boat trailers will face a $10 late fee instead of paying as much as $100.
Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law Thursday a measure rolling back the late fee for trailers and other nonmotorized vehicles under 2,000 pounds. It takes effect July 1.
“This new law also recognizes that trailers and other small nonmotorized vehicles have limited use and impose less damage on the state’s roads and bridges,” Ritter said in a statement.
The bill affects nonmotorized vehicles such as camper trailers, multi-purpose trailers, trailer coaches, utility trailers and rental trailers.
House Bill 1211 was one of 30 measures the governor signed Thursday.
Ritter has until June 11 to sign, veto or let become law without his signature the legislation passed by the 2010 General Assembly. The legislature adjourned May 12, after passing 458 bills.
Mandatory late-vehicle fines are part of a 2009 law dubbed FASTER that increased vehicle-registration fees for three straight years to help raise money for roads and bridges. The average increase the first year was $32; it’s $41 in 2011, the third and final year.
The bill also imposed mandatory late fees starting at $25 a month and capped at $100.
Previously, the late fee was $10 and was imposed at the discretion of county clerks. Jefferson and Weld counties, for example, didn’t charge a late fee. Arapahoe, Denver and El Paso did.
County clerks, which handle most vehicle registrations, heard an earful after the increases.
“When you have a snowmobile trailer or some utility trailer that you bought a few years back from the neighbor and you only use a couple of times a year, well, people thought the $100 late fee was excessive,” said Rep. Max Tyler, D-Lakewood, who sponsored the trailer-fee reduction bill.
The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora.
Ritter hasn’t taken action yet on Senate Bill 198, which would reduce the late fee to $10 for all nonmotorized vehicles weighing between 2,000 and 16,000 pounds. That bill is sponsored by two rural Democrats, Sen. Bruce Whitehead of Hesperus and Rep. Wes McKinley of Walsh.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
Revenue collected from late fees
A bill signed into law Thursday reduces the late fee to $10 for trailers and other nonmotorized vehicles weighing less than 2,000 pounds. The change is effective July 1. Late fees for other vehicles continue to be $25 a month, capped at $100.
$25,198,575 — Amount Coloradans have paid in late fees from July 1, 2009, when late fees were increased and made mandatory, through April
$4,933,440 — Amount paid to counties, which collect the first $10 of every late fee
$20,265,135 — Amount paid to state, which gets the bulk of late fees
4,255,691 — Number of vehicles registered from July 1, 2009, through April, including buses, cars and motorcycles
11.3 — Percentage of vehicles that were registered late
20,265 — Number of trailers weighing less than 2,000 pounds that were registered
Source: Colorado Department of Transportation
