Parks, Vehicles Registration, and "Opt-outs" oh my!

Last week, there was a joint meeting of the House Great Lakes & the Environment Committee (chaired by Rep. Rebecca Warren) and the Senate Natural Resources Committee (chaired by Sen. Patty Birkholz).  During the hearing, the Committees took testimony on HB 4677 (Warren), HB 4678 (Meekof), SB 388 (Birkholz), and SB 389 (Birkholz).  These bill would prohibit the Secretary of State from renewing or issuing vehicle registration plates without either collecting a $10 "Parks Passport Fee" or getting a statement that says the owner of the car won't use any state park, public boating site, or forest recreation area during the year.  Members can find an analysis of the bills by the Senate Fiscal Agency here: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2009-2010/billanalysis/Senate/pdf/2009-SFA-0388-S.pdf

These bills are modeled after a similiar program run in the state of Montana, where apprroximately 70% of vehicle owners participate in this program.

I testified that there's a problem with the way this "voluntary program" is structured.  This would be the only "opt-out" program found in the Michigan Vehicle Code.  All other voluntary programs (university license plates, Ducks Unlimited license plates, Lighthouse license plates, etc) are "opt-in."  If you want a plate, you actually purchase the plate with a $10 service fee and a $25 donation.  It is not automatically assumed that you will want these plates and they don't put the burden of "opting-out" on your shoulders.

Because the burden of "opting-out", I suggested to the Committees that this wasn't truly a fee but a tax on vehicles.  Under our Constitution, any tax (with exception of sales and use tax) can only be used for transportation purposes.  If the bills are changed to be more of an "opt-in", like the other fundraising license plates, then it's not a tax and can be used for the parks.

I didn't get the impression that the members of the Committee agreed with me and while they didn't report the bills this week, the chairs have expressed interest in having the bills move forward before the end of May.  Stay tuned for more information. Contact: Dave Worthams