Griffo, Scozzafava, Aubertine, Russell united against license plate proposal
The north country's four state legislators have all said they're against forcing residents to replace their license plates - and charging them $25 in the process.
Gov. David A. Paterson said last weekend that he was willing to drop the license plate proposal, which was included in the 2009-10 budget, if the Legislature can find an alternate way to raise the $129 million the plan would have generated. The state is facing an estimated $3 billion deficit for this fiscal year.
Mr. Paterson's partial concession was a victory for St. Lawrence County Clerk Patricia A. Ritchie, who collected an estimated 10,000 signatures on a petition opposing the measure. Mrs. Ritchie is president of the state Association of County Clerks.
State Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome, pointed specifically to the license plate fee when explaining why he voted against this year's budget.
"Higher drivers license fees, a new $25 fee to replace all the license plates in the state, fees on cell phones, higher taxes on beer and wine sales, an increase in fees for a hunting license, more taxes to light and heat your home – all of these will cost people who cannot afford it hundreds of dollars every year,” the senator said in April. “The average working man and woman is being taxed to death to maintain the political status quo in Albany. It is disgraceful.”
Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava, R-Gouverneur, called the license plate plan "nothing more than another onerous tax on already struggling north country residents."
"I see the repeal of this fee as a mandate on the Albany politicians from the everyday residents of this state. No longer will residents sit idly by as they are being taxed beyond their means," she said Monday in a statement. "People were united in a worthwhile grassroots effort, evident by their successful efforts to repeal this burdensome license plate fee."
Mrs. Scozzafava, who voted against the budget, also praised Mrs. Ritchie for launching the petition.
State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, said Friday that he was always opposed to the proposal, despite his vote for the budget.
Mrs. Russell, who also voted for the budget, said Monday she was "pleased" that advocates in the north country have worked to kill the fee.
“I have been a vocal advocate against any measures that disproportionately affect north country families and have proposed strategies such as shrinking the overall size of government, changing the way we purchase items such as computers and software to save money, and giving mandate relief to local governments and school districts, so that we do not merely shift the tax burden for programs from the state to property tax payers," the assemblywoman said in a statement.
Mrs. Russell also used the occasion to reiterate her opposition to the "floor tax" on wine and liquor inventory, saying she wanted the issue to be "reconsidered." Wholesalers, retailers and distributors were required to pay a one-time surcharge on their beer and wine stock this summer after the state upped its excise tax through the budget.
Mrs. Russell's bill to repeal the floor tax passed the Assembly. A companion bill, sponsored by Mr. Griffo, was never considered by the Senate.
“I will continue to try to persuade my colleagues in the Legislature to get away from these hidden taxes on our working families and insist that we live within our means," the assemblywoman said.
In their statements, the four north country lawmakers did not offer an alternative means of capturing the revenue the plate proposal would have generated.
