NEWS
DOT pushes for fee hike
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by Keegan Kyle
Friday, November 17, 2006
Under a current budget proposal by the state Department of Transportation, Wisconsin residents could see a $25 increase for annual vehicle registration and a $10 increase for driver's licenses and identification cards.
In its 2007-09 biennial budget request, DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi said, "After detailed review and analysis, we have concluded that available revenues are inadequate to meet current needs."
According to the proposal, revenue growth has not kept pace with rising fuel and utility costs. The department is also concerned with future project expenditures, including the federally mandated Real ID program.
Real ID was passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush in 2005 to create national standards for the issuance of state driver's licenses and ID cards. States are currently required to comply by May 2008, and the DOT estimated implementing the program on time will cost taxpayers $20.7 million.
Peg Schmitt, DOT director of public affairs, said the proposed $10 increase for driver's licenses and ID cards is directly related to implementing the federal government's Real ID program.
The department's budget proposal also hopes to counteract anticipated expenditures by increasing vehicle registration fees. Passenger vehicle registration, which currently costs state residents $55, would rise by 45.5 percent to $80. Large truck fees would also increase by a similar margin.
Matt Canter, spokesperson for Gov. Jim Doyle, said the governor supports a $10 registration fee increase at this time but will look at the department's recommendations in greater detail before submitting his biennial budget to lawmakers this January.
In 2004, Doyle did not approve a request by the DOT to increase the Wisconsin's registration fee by $15. But this time, the Real ID mandate places additional pressure on the budget, Canter said. "That's just something we're going to have to deal with," he added.
According to the DOT, the proposed vehicle registration fee increase to $80 would still remain the lowest fee of Wisconsin's neighboring states. The cost of obtaining driver's licenses and ID cards would be comparable to other Midwest states after the $10 increase.
"This was not an easy decision," Busalacchi said. "But one that we feel had to be made to maintain the vitality and safety of our transportation system."
Several major expenditures cited as justifications for the proposal include $182 million to the I-94 construction project from Milwaukee to Illinois, $67 million to the State Trunk Highway system and $27 million to provide inflationary increases for local-aid programs.
Currently, the department's budget proposal is really only that — a proposal, Schmitt said.
After receiving department budget summaries and recommendations, Doyle may include the fee increase in his biennial budget to the Legislature this January. State lawmakers will then rewrite the budget and hand it back to Doyle for approval. The budget may be further modified with the governor's veto powers.
If approved, the DOT's requests would impact the entire state, Schmitt said.
"[T]he freeway system is a critical link to the movement of goods throughout the state," she added.
