Attention NJ Motorcyclists-Unfair Increase in Motorcycle Registration Fees
Many of you may have heard that there is a proposal on the table to increase the base fee for motorcycle registration in NJ from $10 to $65. Yeah, you read it right, 650% increase. Only for motorcycle registration, not cars. It's stuffed in the back of a 20 page piece of legislation. Furthermore, to add insult to injury, they have closed the state-run free MSF programs. Years ago, they started an incentive whereby $5 was collected from every motorcycle endorsement (license) to pay for the state's motorcycle education fund. This fund has been misappropriated, the motorcycle programs canceled, yet the $5 is still being charged.
Not that there's anything wrong with attending the private-run programs, like Rider Ed. They do a good job, but the $5 we all pay was to fund a free program through the state, and that money is no longer there. WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE REGISTRATION INCREASE. (the money for the state education is unfortunately gone) We can fight this, probably successfully. Go to: ABATE of the Garden State - A New Jersey Motorcycle Alliance Print out one of the letters and sign it, and MAIL IT, yes with a stamp, email will NOT cut it, to: Steven E. Robertson Director, Legal and Regulatory Affairs New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission 225 East State Street P.O. Box 162 Trenton, NJ 08666-0162 My letter is going in the mail tomorrow. DO IT NOW. We CAN make a difference. If this passes, my registration, for example, will go from ~$31 per year to well over a hundred bucks. Not acceptable. They are singling out motorcyclists by sticking this piece of legislation towards the end of a 20 page document, hoping it will just go through with the rest of the stuff. Don't let it happen. While you're at it, email a copy to your legislator as well. |
I agree with your letter except for one fact that is wrong.
The $5 fee was put there a decade ago by motorcyclists in NJ to REDUCE the cost of rider education classes (not RENJ alone but all providers) This was, in the past working, the class cost was $50 less PER STUDENT. The class was $225 and students wer paying $175! At some point the clerk who made a lot more of his job than what his actual title was decided to start something that snowballed into the state running a supposedly 'free' program for a small number of students at approximately $700+ per student! Yes, the $5 is still being misappropriated and there are no students receiving the REDUCED (not free) tuition. Should the $5 fee be removed, no, it should go back to it's intended use. Yes, write the letter, tell them ALL people who take a MSF certified class in NJ should receive the reduced tuition that was originally intended. It may not be $50 anymore but something is better than nothing. |
Where did you get the info that it supposedly cost the state $700 per student to run the free state programs in Sea Girt and Egg Harbor? That is incorrect information.
You are correct that some of that $5 was also to offset the costs of the privately run programs. But whatever, the situation at hand right now is the unfair increase in REGISTRATION fees that we are now facing. |
Licence renewals per year times $5 divided by # of studens trained. The number was higher at first but has gone down since more people were trained in subsequent years.
Yes the important thing is that the monies should go back to all students taking classes in NJ. |
I sent a message to the AMA. This is the response I received:
Thank you for using the ³Contact Us² feature at www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com <http://www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com> regarding the proposed motorcycle registration fee increase from $10.00 to $65.00 by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC). As it turns out, the proposed changes are administrative in nature, not legislative. It appears the MVC already has the authority to raise fees and make changes without further legislature oversight. Imre Szauter, Government Affairs Manager for On-Road Issues pulled up an electronic version of the New Jersey Register, dated February 17, 2009, in which the proposed fee increases and changes to the commission are detailed. He has extracted the two relevant sections that address the motorcycle registration fee increase and provide them below for your review. The entire document, 28 pages in length, lists a host of changes and fee increases by the MVC. ------------- Summary Proposed new rule N.J.A.C. 13:21-5.5 increases to $ 65.00, the base fee of $ 10.00 collected for a motorcycle registration, which is currently set forth in N.J.S.A. 39:3-21. In determining the appropriate increase for this fee, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 39:2A-36.1b(1), the Commission considered the following factors: (1) this fee has not been increased since 1968; (2) the actual costs to the Commission for issuing a motorcycle registration is calculated to be $ 70.17; and (3) a regular annual adjustment of this fee based upon the cumulative annual percentage increase in the CPI year-to-year since the last increase in 1968 results in a 2008 CPI adjusted fee of approximately $ 61.04. The Commission also considered the application of an estimated cumulative annual percentage increase in the CPI to the proposed increased fee amount of $ 65.00 year-to-year going forward to 2014, the first year in which this fee would be eligible to be increased again pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:2A-36.1b(1). This resulted in a projected adjusted fee of approximately $ 75.04. The Commission considered this additional CPI calculation because although the Commission is authorized to increase this fee again in five years based upon the cumulative annual percentage increase in the CPI for the intervening years, the Commission prefers to minimize the impact of any future increase, if necessary, following this initial opportunity to accurately adjust to the fullest extent reasonable the fee currently being charged. In the final analysis in determining the appropriate current increase to the fee to be collected for issuing a motorcycle registration, the Commission recognizes that if it adhered to adjusting the fee to an amount that reflected the actual costs incurred by the Commission for this transaction, the new fee would have been substantially higher than the current fee. Therefore, the Commission set the new fee below the actual costs incurred by the Commission and the proposed new fee is set at an amount more closely aligned with the 2008 CPI adjusted amount. Economic Impact The Motor Vehicle Security and Customer Service Act, P.L. 2003, c. 13, the enabling legislation that created the Motor Vehicle Commission, mandates that the first $ 200,000,000 of certain fee and surcharge revenue collected by the Commission pursuant to 81 enumerated fee statutes shall be remitted to the Commission. This allocation is intended to constitute dedicated and stable funding for the Commission's primary base operating budget, and was to be proportionately increased or lowered if collections pursuant to the fee statutes produced more or less revenue than the sum of $ 200,000,000. Although this dedicated amount has fluctuated year-to-year since inception following enactment of the Motor Vehicle Security and Customer Service Act, it has not increased to a sufficient and reliable level that is on par with escalating operational and administrative costs incurred by the Commission, which continue to rise each year. The original Motor Vehicle Security and Customer Service Act also mandated that the Commission shall receive 100 percent of the revenues collected from any new service charge and 100 percent of the increased revenues collected from any existing service charge increased by law. However, since enactment of the Motor Vehicle Security and Customer Service Act no existing service charge or fee has been increased. Despite directing that 100 percent of the revenues derived from any fee increase shall be revenues of the Commission, the Motor Vehicle Security and Customer Service Act, as originally enacted, did not provide the Commission with the necessary concomitant authority to increase any of the fees or surcharges that it collected. Consequently, the Commission has failed to realize any additional dedicated and stable funding resulting from the Act's dedication of such increased revenues to the Commission. As such, the Commission has been forced to continue to absorb the excess administrative and operational costs incurred for certain transactions where the costs of performing the functions supporting the transaction markedly exceed the current fee or surcharge collected by the Commission. On January 13, 2008, P.L. 2007, c. 335 was signed into law amending the Motor Vehicle Security and Customer Service Act to authorize the Commission to increase certain fees and surcharges it collected pursuant to 78 statutes through its Board's promulgation of rules adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. As set forth in the Summary above, in determining the proposed increase for the fees that are the subject of this notice of proposal, the Commission considered the date of the last increase for each fee sought to be increased. All but three of the fees proposed for amendment have not been increased within the last decade. One fee, the fee for registering a motorcycle, has not been increased for 40 years. The Commission also researched the costs associated with administering the transactions underlying the fees being amended by this notice of proposal. As set forth in the analysis for each fee in the Summary above, the proposed new fees accurately reflect to the extent reasonable the actual costs incurred by the Commission. In certain instances, due to the substantially higher fee that would need to be charged, the proposed new fees remain considerably less than the calculated actual costs to the Commission. The Summary above also contains an analysis of the application of the cumulative annual percentage increase in the CPI to each fee based upon the year in which the fee was last increased, and based upon a year-to-year estimated CPI increase up until 2014. In some instances, as noted, where a substantially higher fee would need to be charged, the Commission proposed a new fee considerably lower than the actual costs to the Commission opting instead for a new fee that is more aligned with, but less than, the adjusted CPI fee results. The proposed amendments will have an economic impact upon those members of the general public and business community who seek to purchase uncertified or certified copies of a Driver History Abstract, a Notice of Scheduled Suspension, an Order of Suspension or Notice of Restoration, a Violation Record, Mail Lists, a Registration or Driver Application, Boat Registration Application, a Final Decision of the Chief Administrator and upon members of the public or business community who request file searches of the Motor Vehicle Commission Records. The Commission notes however that the fees for these records have not been increased in over a decade. High volume on-line information users approved by the Chief Administrator to participate in programs that provide for the electronic transmittal of driver history, registration and title and title history records will be economically impacted as a result of the increased fees for these records. Repeat errant drivers that are required to attend a Commission driver improvement program or probationary driver program will also be subjected to an economic impact resulting from the proposed increase in the fee for attendance at these programs. These attendance fees also have not been increased for more than decade. The proposed amendments and one of the new rules will also have an economic impact on individuals or businesses applying for vehicle or vessel certificates of ownership, or who seek other vehicle or vessel certificate of ownership-related services, or individuals or businesses applying for salvage certificates of title. Again here though, the Commission notes that these fees have not been increased for over a decade. Motorcycle registrants will also be economically impacted by the proposed increased fee to be collected for the issuance of a motorcycle registration. The Commission notes that the last increase of this fee [page=870] occurred 40 years ago. The proposed amendments will also have an economic impact on applicants for a commercial driver license examination permit. The Commission notes that the fee for this permit has not been increased since enactment of the New Jersey Commercial Driver License Act in 1990 (P.L. 1990, c. 103) and that the actual costs to the Commission for administering the issuance of a CDL examination permit, including scheduling and providing unlimited testing opportunities for CDL permit holders, is calculated to be $ 436.65. ---------- While the above information is not good news for motorcyclists in the Garden State, there is still time for residents to comment on the proposed increase. From the February 19 release: ³The public has until April 18, 2009 to submit comments to the Motor Vehicle Commission with regard to this proposal. Comments should be directed to: Steven E. Robertson, Director, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Motor Vehicle Commission, 225 East State Street, P.O. Box 162, Trenton, New Jersey 08666-0162.² Thanks again for contacting us. Sincerely, Marie Esselstein Government Affairs Assistant American Motorcyclist Association 13515 Yarmouth Dr. Pickerington, OH 43147 (800) AMA-JOIN (614) 856-1900, ext. 1224 The information contained in this message may be confidential. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reliance upon, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication, or the information contained in it, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you. American Motorcyclist Association, Inc. |
Well. We shouldnt waste time sending letters. it seems very fair for the MVC to raise the registration rates, espcially if its costing them money.
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this thread is silly, close it.
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I just registered both mine & my fiance's cars...she has an 02 Elantra & I have an 03 Accord, both 4 cyl, & 4 doors. Her reg renewal was $73 & mines was $46...WTF??? How the hell do they determine the costs of this shit???? :wtf::wtf:
BTW: bikes are now $65.00 Read it & weep http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/About/fees.htm |
$10 last year and $65 this year is a 550% increase. Still sucks.
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It was not $10, and hasnt been for years. Rising costs are a fact of life.. If you are going to protest something like this, then at least getting the facts straight would be a good start. None of my motorcycle registrations over the last several years have ever cost $10. Registration has been 31.50 for quite some time.
Now, a (roughly) 2x increase to $65 may be out of line, but who knows when the last increase really was? The misappropriation of funds for the safety course sucks too as only a few lucky people get to take advantage of it. |
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/registered his bike just in time to avoid the increase this year :D |
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This is another Corzine hair brain scheme to pay for his bullshit social programs. |
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