Mahoney says fee increases no joke to motorists
HARRISBURG — Unable to laugh it off as an April Fools’ Day joke, state Rep. Timothy S. Mahoney, D-South Union Township, on Tuesday lamented the implementation of a slew of steep fee increases for motorists, which he opposed out of concern for cash-strapped constituents in his district.
Mahoney said he voted three times against the transportation legislation that became Act 89 of 2013 because it was projected to hit drivers with a minimum 28-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax increase, along with raising more than 100 driver-related fees.
“Some of those hikes go into effect (Monday), and they represent a doubling or more of the cost of many routine items,” Mahoney said, citing duplicate driver’s licenses and identifications ($13.50 to $27.50), certificates of title ($22.50 to $50) and certified records ($10 to $30) as examples.
Mahoney said another round of fee increases will hit July 1, affecting such things as inspection stickers ($2 to $5), personal vanity plates ($20 to $76) and ambulance and taxi registration ($54 to $77).
Starting in 2015, fees for regular driver’s licenses and annual vehicle registrations will go up each year for four years, then will be indexed for inflation, Mahoney noted.
“In November, I called these ‘humongous tax increases’ and reminded everyone of Governor Tom Corbett’s 2010 campaign pledge that taxes and fees were one in the same, and that he would never raise either of them. As people in western Pennsylvania prepare to dig deeper into their pockets to help foot what amounts to a $2.3 billion tax hike — with a big chunk of that money going to subsidize urban mass transit systems they’ll never use — I issue the same reminder.”
Mahoney said it is somewhat appropriate that the first of the fee increases went into effect April 1 because, if anything, the joke’s been on those who believed Corbett when he said in televised debate that he would never raise motor vehicle fees.