Assemblyman takes issue with license fee increase
Paul Clinton
Assemblyman John Campbell has teamed up with a leading taxpayer group
to roll back Gov. Gray Davis’ tripling of the vehicle license fee.
Campbell and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. have pledged to
fight the Davis administration’s decision, on Friday, to trigger a
clause in a 1998 bill that resulted in a $4-billion tax increase.
Campbell, on Thursday, released an opinion he had obtained from
the state’s nonpartisan legislative counsel deeming the hike illegal.
Campbell, who represents Newport Beach, asked for the opinion in an
April 4 letter.
“I can’t believe the governor and his subordinates dismissed
legislative counsel’s opinion and still raised the car tax,” Campbell
said. “By triggering this tax, they are only adding more uncertainty
to budget negotiations and to Wall Street.”
Attorneys with Howard Jarvis have promised to challenge the move
in court.
In the opinion, the legislature’s legal arm said the vehicle tax
could only be raised under three conditions. State Controller Steve
Westly must authorize the move, which can only come if the state
“runs out of cash,” Campbell said. Also, Westly must re-evaluate the
state’s fiscal situation each month to determine what rate to use in
setting the vehicle fee.
In 1998, the legislature passed a law that changed the way the
state collects fees from registration of cars, trucks and other
vehicles.
Prior to that time, the state collected 2% of the assessed value
of the vehicle, revenue that was, in turn, handed over to local
governments. The 1998 bill lowered the registration fees to 0.67% of
the assessed value, resulting in a rebate to drivers. Included in
that bill was a trigger clause that allows the governor to return the
fee to its pre-1998 level.
In Orange County, where the average vehicle is valued at $30,000,
drivers now paying about $200 will see their fee rise to $600.
Drivers registering their vehicles in October will be the first to
pay the increased fee.
On Thursday, Department of Finance Director Steve Peace sent a
letter to the Department of Motor Vehicles informing the agency that
the trigger had been pulled.
Since then, Campbell’s office has been flooded with e-mails and
calls protesting the move.
* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He
may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at
paul.clinton@latimes.com.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.