$20 fee to keep number is decried
As new system shapes up, Sen. Tedisco says charges are too high for state’s drivers
When it’s time to get new license plates, New Yorkers have a choice: accept a new number or pony up $20 to keep the original.
This practice is coming under renewed scrutiny as the result of bipartisan backlash against a new policy from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that would require license plates to be replaced after 10 years. When the new system takes effect in April, those New Yorkers affected would be required to pay $45 for new plates with the same number — $25 for the new plates and $20 to retain the number.
While Cuomo, who has the power to unilaterally reduce both fees, has expressed a willingness to work with the state Legislature to lower the replacement cost, he has been mum on the fee for keeping a plate number.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles maintains that the cost of keeping same plate numbers is “set by statute.”
But the state’s vehicle and traffic law only establishes what the fee cannot “exceed.”
State DMV spokeswoman Lisa Koumjian added that most plates are mass produced in alphanumerical order. “Keeping the same plate number requires a separate setting of the equipment to print that specific combination,” Koumjian said.
The $20 fee to keep a license plate number was first imposed nearly two decades ago when the state transitioned from plates with six characters to plates with seven. It has since remained constant through multiple administrations.
State Sen. James Tedisco, a Glenville Republican who has been a vocal critic of the planned replacement policy, is urging Cuomo to eliminate both fees.
In a letter this month to the governor, Tedisco wrote, “Given the already high cost taxpayers must pay to drive and register a car in New York an additional $45 is too high a burden for taxpayers.”
The governor has repeatedly accused lawmakers of being hypocritical for their criticisms, noting that they could change the law dealing with the fees — although he has erroneously claimed the current license plate fees are set by law.
Cuomo has also stressed that the mandatory replacement policy is to assist the state’s license plate-reading machines. A press release from his office said that older plates are difficult or impossible to scan as the result of damage, oxidation and peeling. But New Yorkers can currently get peeling plates replaced for free.
Multiple states have mandatory replacement policies, including Alabama, where new plates can exceed $24, and Idaho, where the bill is just $7.50.
In a statement Thursday from state DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder that echoed Cuomo’s claims, the administration expressed a willingness to tweak the replacement policy before it’s rolled out in April, saying the DMV would be open to legislative suggestions on plans to determine if a license plate needs to be replaced after 10 years.
The controversial replacement policy was tucked into a press release announcing new plate designs, which people can vote on through Labor Day.
The vote will be binding, according to the state DMV.