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.
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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.
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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
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your computer. Thank you. American Motorcyclist Association, Inc.