GOP officials voice opposition to new license plate plan
Tedisco’s opposition to license plate plan finds support with local GOP county clerks
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » Sen. Jim Tedisco recently questioned the need for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to compel the replacement of license plates that are more than 10 years old, labeling it a cash grab and the ultimate lack of transparency.
In a 40-minute press conference in his Clifton Park office on Wednesday, the senator’s remarks were focused squarely on whether the need for new plates is real or fabricated.
Tedisco, R- Glenville, was joined in expressing his opposition to the plan by Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, RBallston Spa, and six county clerks from the Capital Region and the north country; all Republicans. The clerks’ offices will handle the plate registration duties should the proposal become law.
Cuomo has proposed making drivers whose vehicles have license plates more than 10 years old or whose plates are peeling get new ones at a minimum cost of $25 per set. In presenting the idea on Aug. 19, Cuomo said it’s hard for the New York State Thruway toll system’s electronic plate readers and municipalities’ red light readers to see the plate numbers.
Tedisco has been steaming since learning of the proposal, saying it was done behind closed doors without any legislative or public input and it is unnecessary. After demanding to know the total amount of money the proposal would produce Tedisco said that he learned early Wednesday the plan will produce $75 million. Officials said the money is to go to the state’s Highway and Bridge Trust Fund to offset the costs of DOT’s Capital Plan.
In his opening statement, Tedisco described the proposal’s process and what he views as the governor’s continued obfuscation to all questions surrounding it as one that is distorted and lacking in transparency.
“The obfuscation is that you have a bogus plan, a poll, a questionnaire as to which plate you like the best,” Tedisco said referring to an online public poll for the plate’s design. “The first question should be; do you want new plates. This is a $70 million highway heist, a windfall for the state of New York. A cash grab from our constituents.”
He added that the governor was being misleading by asking the public to vote on a plate design before telling them the plan’s total cost. He likened the move to the “Wizard of Oz” telling Dorothy to disregard the man behind the curtain.
In speaking to what he sees as the governor’s distortions Tedisco pointed to an interview Cuomo is said to have had on a local radio station where he said it would cost $80,000 to $100,000 to bring the state legislature back into session. That is the estimated cost for just the first day.
“Why talk about that, the cost of bringing the legislature back into session when he can end it all right now,” Tedisco said. “It’s total distortion. He doesn’t need the legislature to come back. He’s got the power. They gave him
the power. Now he wants to give it back to us? When was the last time you saw this happen? He’s doing it because we caught him with his hand in the cookie jar.
Through research by his staff, Tedisco said it costs the state $1.15 for each set of plates. Correctional facility inmates’ labor costs for producing the plates comes to $660,000 for two years of work. Add $4 million to that amount for materials and the total cost to produce the license plates, Tedisco said, is around $5 million. Using the $75 million figure as the total to be collected he wondered what will happen to the remaining $70 million.
“Twenty- five dollars a plate is bogus; $20 to keep your number is bogus. It’s a $70 million reverse Robin Hood plan,” he said.
When he turned to the subject of peeling plates Tedisco said the state should sue the maker for producing a faulty product.
In her remarks, Walsh supported Tedisco’s position opposing the plan asking why the governor is pushing to replace many perfectly good plates.
“The reasons for doing this are changing every day,” she said. “I don’t know what they were thinking when they came up with this idea. It’ll just add to the out-migration going on. It’s death by a 1,000 cuts.”
County clerks from Rensselaer, Saratoga, Herkimer, Columbia, Warren and, Essex counties joined in opposing the plan.
Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola said he and others had seen a similar plan ten years ago during Gov. David Paterson’s administration.
“He said the plates were no longer ref lective and were peeling,” Merola said. “It turned out to be an outright lie. Bring a peeling plate to a DMV office, and we’ll replace it for free.”
The Republican” majority of the Rensselaer County Legislature plans to pass a resolution opposing charges for the new license plates on Sept. 10.
Saratoga County Clerk Craig Hayner said his staff is hearing grumbling from the public every day.
“The cat’s out of the bag now. People know the truth; that it’s all about the money, that it’s disingenuous,” he said.
In response to the comments made at the press conference, Rich Azzopardi, the governor’s senior advisor, said in an email that Tedisco was simply seeking attention.
“At this point, Tedisco is talking to himself and it’s sad - - the DMV commissioner already said he wants to work with the legislature to come up with a cost-effective system before April that adapts to changing technology to ensure that plates can be read by both cashless tolling and law enforcement. Despite grandstanding from hypocritical elected officials in search of a cheap press hit, the cost of a replacement license plate was changed from $15 to $25 by a vote of the legislature in 2009 and has been the same for the last 10 years - - before this governor took office.”
Aware of the governor’s position on Wednesday, Tedisco noted the legislation reads “up to $25” and that the situation has changed since 2009.