NYS Unveils Proposed, Unwanted New License Plate
Posted on Tuesday, 10 of November , 2009 at 3:38 pm
COMMENTARY
ALBANY—The new “Empire Gold” license plate which New York government is trying to force upon state motorists and which will be issued to most vehicles registered in the state beginning in April, 2010, has been unveiled.
“The bold colors of the new license plate reflect New York’s force and its resilience said David Swarts, commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
“These new plates, in the official colors of the State of New York, will help maintain highway safety, reduce the number of unregistered and uninsured vehicles on our roads, and generate $129 million in General Fund revenue over two years, which will help address the State’s financial crisis.”
The new plate is gold in color with dark blue letters and numbers in the central part of the plate, separated by a small dark blue state silhouette. There is a dark blue banner across the length of the top of the plate, with “New York” printed in gold.
State leaders, in trying to justify the replacement of license plates, claim that they have lost their “reflectivity” but most law enforcement officials dispute that claim and say they can be read just fine and that the mandate to force vehicle owners to get new plates is no more than a revenue getter, a “license to steal”.
DMV will begin issuing the new plates for registration renewals that expire in May 2010. Customers renewing their vehicle registrations in person in a DMV office, over the phone, by mail or through the Internet, will receive their new Empire Gold plates in the mail. Customers completing an original over-the-counter registration transaction will receive their plates immediately. The replacement will take place as part of scheduled vehicle registration and renewal and will take two years to complete. There are currently 12 million registered vehicles in New York State.
A plate fee of $25 will be added to the registration renewal fee. Single plate registrations (e.g. motorcycles) will be charged a plate fee of $12.50. Motorists registered in the Passenger (PAS), Commercial (COM), Motorcycle (MOT) or Trailer (TRL) registration classes will have the option to keep their current plate number/letter combination. Those with vehicles registered in other classes may also have this option.
The registration renewal invitation will tell motorists if this option is available. Those choosing to keep their current plate number/letter combination on the new Empire Gold plate will be required to pay a $20 fee. Those motorists holding a personalized plate will automatically be re-issued the same number/letter combination on their new plate. Because they currently pay an annual personalized plate fee, they will not be required to pay the $20 fee.
Most plates with the New York skyline banner across the top of the plate will begin to be replaced by the new Empire Gold plate in April. Custom picture plates will be replaced at a later date. The DMV will also be electronically sharing updated plate number information with EZ-Pass so that motorists who participate in that program will not have to do so.
Additional information on the new license plates can be found by visiting the Department of Motor Vehicles website at www.nysdmv.com.
Image of the new Empire Gold Plate – PDF document.
An estimated 50,000 New York residents have already signed the online petitions initiated by the state’s county clerks in opposition to Albany’s license plate mandate, asking Gov. David Paterson and the state Legislature to repeal the new fee. So far, Paterson and the Legislature have turned a deaf ear and are ignoring the wishes of the People.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2009/10/29/license_plates/
http://www.nonewlicenseplates.com/
Category: Consumers, Government, New York State, Opinion, Police
- Add this post to
- Del.icio.us -
- Meneame -
- Digg
COPYRIGHT 2009 - NORTH COUNTRY GAZETTE All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of the publisher.
