Lawmakers settled for half a loaf–some say less–amid competing attempts during the 2010 legislative session to soothe public sentiments over last year’s hike in late fees on vehicle registrations.
The 2009 session’s “Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery” bill, dubbed FASTER by supporters including Gov. Bill Ritter and most legislative Democrats, tacked on a mandatory late fee for those who miss the deadline to register their vehicles. The bill also raised the basic vehicle registration fee about $40 on a typical passenger car in order to raise $250 million a year for the state’s transportation needs. An outcry over the late fees when they kicked in last summer spurred a number of bills by Republicans–who vocally opposed FASTER–as well as ruling Democrats in the 2010 session. One measure ultimately prevailed.
House Bill 1212, which went into effect in April, requires that the Department of Revenue consult with county clerks to create a list of valid circumstance for waiving the late fees, which can be as much as $100 for those who wait several months beyond the expiration date to renew their vehicles. Prior to HB1212, and prior to FASTER, county clerks could exercise discretion over whether or not to impose a late fee, historically less than $10 for most counties. Under FASTER the mandatory statewide late fee did not include provisions for extenuating circumstances. HB1212 seeks to remedy the lack of waiver provisions.
Democratic Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, who had a hand in the passage of FASTER and was this year’s sponsor of HB1212, said today that the intent of the bill was to make the late fees uniform throughout the state and to allow for waivers under limited circumstances that are also uniform.
“One of the biggest problems we’ve had in the past was with how unevenly the late fees were enforced,” said Rice. “Now it’s a standard set of criteria that will be applied state wide.” Rice went on to say that, “For most people, and it’s a fact of life, when you’re late-you’re late and there’s a penalty for that. For the vast majority of people they are simply just late and will probably not have their late fees waived.”
Fellow House member and newcomer, Brain DelGrosso, a Republican from Loveland, said he tried to address the issue with a bill of his own. It would have given discretion over late fee waivers back to the clerks while leaving the fee hike itself intact. However, DelGrosso was told early in the legislative session that Rice’s bill would hold more sway with the Democratic leadership and that his House Bill 1173 would more than likely not make it through—which it didn’t. DelGrosso says he is somewhat heartened that some concession will be made to consider extraordinary circumstances through Rice’s bill.
“Something had to be done and HB1212 made it slightly better but it didn’t go as far as I think it should have,” said DelGrosso. “My bill didn’t let people off the hook for being late, but if there were circumstances beyond their control, they would be taken care of with no harm done to them by the state.”
Under HB1212, the criteria for granting a waiver of late fees include acts of God, weather, motor vehicle office closures, failure of Internet technology and extenuating medical circumstances. The determination of what exactly meets the criteria is up to the Department of Revenue to determine in its rules, and the department may also come up with additional criteria. Emergency rules will be put in place by the end of July once approved and then the rules will become permanent after a public hearing is held, at a date yet to be determined.
Not yet knowing what will come out of the rule-making process, Rice said he’s hesitant to say whether or not a good balance has been struck between just being late and having a great excuse.
“I am trusting the clerks and the department to do their job, but we’ll have to see what the final outcome is,” he said.