Posted on 12/27/2017 12:57:36 PM PST by SandRat
PHOENIX — Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita says it isn't the purpose behind her legislation.
But the Scottsdale Republican is proposing to eliminate one of the things police can use as an excuse to stop and question motorists: those metallic tags affixed to license plates that show whether a vehicle's registration is expired.
What is behind it, she said, is money.
"If we get rid of it, we could realize a savings of $1.8 million,'' Ugenti-Rita said. That includes not just printing up the tiny labels but, in many cases, the cost of mailing them out.
The stickers are the most visible indicator of current registration. That is particularly true in a state like Arizona where a motorist can keep the same license plate a decade or more — literally until it's no longer readable according to the state Department of Transportation.
"Is that enough to justify incurring costs that otherwise we, as a state, don't need to?'' Ugenti-Rita asked.
More to the point, she said nothing in HB 2054 eliminates the legal requirement for motorists to keep their vehicle registrations current — or the civil fines that can be imposed on those who do not.
The question, then, becomes enforcement. But Ugenti-Rita said it's not like those tags are the only way for officers to determine if a car being followed is registered.
"They could run their license plate,'' she said. "If it came up the person had expired registration, they could decide if they wanted to pull over that individual or not.''
And Ugenti-Rita said it's not like what she's proposing is so radical.
"It's kind of no difference than insurance,'' she said.
Arizona requires motorists to carry so-called "15-30-10'' minimum liability coverage: $15,000 to cover the injuries to any single individual, $30,000 for all injuries in any accident, and $10,000 to cover property damage, normally repairs to another vehicle.
"We don't have a car insurance sticker,'' Ugenti-Rita pointed out.
"If you're pulled over, you're asked for your registration and (proof of) car insurance,'' she continued. "You supply it to the officer.''
That proof to show current registration on demand would remain under her legislation.
Under her plan, ADOT would issue a registration card electronically, emailing it to the owners who, in turn, would be required to print it out and keep it in the vehicle.
And those who don't have Internet access or a printer? They could request the card be mailed to them.
So if registration remains a requirement, with or without her bill, Ugenti-Rita said that leaves only a single issue: that $1.8 million estimated cost.
The savings to the state stem from the fact that the registration fees are set by statute and would not be changed by HB 2054. The only thing that changes is the state's obligation — and cost — to produce them.
"This sticker doesn't really yield enough benefit to continue to kind of justify having it,'' she said.
Nor is Ugenti-Rita concerned that she is eliminating the ability of an officer to use the fact a vehicle has an expired sticker as justification for a traffic stop. She said the sole purpose of that tag is solely to verify current registration.
"If it's being used for other purposes, (I'm) not sure that's an excuse to keep it when the state could realize a significant amount of cost savings,'' she said.
The absence of those tags could have implications beyond law enforcement.
Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott, said the visibility of those tags makes compliance with the legal requirement to register the vehicle — and send in the fees — much more likely.
"Some people would probably skirt around it and not do it and then take their chances on not getting stopped,'' said Campbell who chairs the House Transportation Committee and who has been behind multiple efforts to increase the amount of dollars going into the Highway User Revenue Fund that pays for new road construction and repairs to existing ones.
Neither the Department of Public Safety nor ADOT would comment about the proposal.
The idea is not unique.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation stopped issuing such annual stickers last year. And PennDOT reports that New Jersey and Connecticut have been without the tabs for years.
a vehicle’s registration be racis!................
What’s next? Requiring convenience stores in poor, downtrodden neighborhoods to take down their plexiglass barriers? Next thing you know, they’ll require them to leave the store unlocked at night...
You're not getting a registration sticker without being insured, so yes, actually, Ms. Ugenti-Rita, you do have a car insurance sticker. It's called the registration sticker that you're trying to get rid of.
The tags are an anachronism in an age where more and more police cars have readers installed that check every license plate they see anyway.
Expired Registrations Matter!!!
You can register a vehicle in Virginia without insurance. You have to pay an additional fee, but insurance is not required.
I agree.
Years ago, I had my sticker stolen off my car in Connecticut while it was in a full service car wash. They are no longer needed.
I think it’s a great idea.
I’ve actually been ticketed for no tabs (in seattle) even though I had the registration and tabs in my glove box but had forgotten to actually put them on.
Exactly. In a very real way, the plate IS the tabs.
Meh, deadbeats are going to be deadbeats no matter where they are. They do the same in Arizona as they do in New Mexico. They get insurance long enough to register the car to get the tags, then cancel the insurance, move (usually renters), and skip paying registration fees until they either need a new car, or get pulled over.
Philly:
Outrage as Philly pushes through ban on bulletproof glass in crime-plagued neighborhood shops
Time to get into the 21st Century.
I listen to the locals all the time on my scanner doing rolling verifications of current registration and insurance.
The tags are left over from a hundred years ago.
I’m almost certain it is the same in California. Just provide a bond in case you are in an accident.
I am not that old to remember that our State Prisons punched out new metal license plates each year.
The current stickers arrived on the scene when adhesives that would not deteriorate within a year became available.
I would be suspicious of anyone driving with expired registration stickers. What else have they failed to do? Like buy insurance? What about the condition of their brakes or tires?
For those people who do not like getting a ticket for driving with expired registrations, there is a simple solution. Renew the registration before it expires. This is not rocket science.
No problem.
Just install a thick bulletproof steel booth with a cam.
Problem solved; no glass.
I’d go along with this. Ever since the government decided, on its own, that driving is a “privelidge”, it’s been a scam.
Registering the same vehicle over and over and over is bureaucratic insanity, it’s robbery, and it’s way costly. It needs to be done away with.
Vehicle owners should only be required to register their vehicles once for as long as they own it, or if they change addresses.
I regularly forget to put the new stickers on my license plates - sometimes for months or years. Last year I got pulled over on one of my motorcycles because the license plate displayed a 2011 sticker. The registration was up to date - I had merely neglected to put the new sticker on... ...TWICE (Virginia allows 2-year registrations).
As soon as the deputy ran my plate and realized my registration was not expired, he let me go on my way.
I've also had stickers stolen from license plates on at least two occasions.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.