Bill to Raise Vehicle Fees Detoured

In the face of mounting opposition, Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) said Thursday that he will shelve for this year legislation to raise as much as $175 million for hard-pressed local governments by boosting motor vehicle license fees.

Campbell said he hopes to revive his bill next year with a less controversial source of revenue.

“What we have to do is go back to the drawing board and find a funding source that will be acceptable to the majority of the members of the Legislature” and the governor, he said.

Under the bill, revenue from the increase in fees would be distributed to the state’s 58 counties and 27 small cities, many in Los Angeles County.

These cities levy little or no property tax and looked to the Campbell bill as a way of easing their fiscal pinch. They included such cities as Industry, Rolling Hills Estates and Westlake Village.

The state now assesses a 2% fee on 85% of the value of a vehicle for the first two years after purchase. Fees gradually decline as vehicles age. Campbell’s bill would have frozen the fees at 85% for the first three years after purchase.

With the strong backing of Los Angeles County, which stood to gain $44 million a year, the bill was approved by the Senate in July by a 27-8 vote, the minimum two-thirds necessary.

But Campbell said that Deukmejian signaled his opposition to the measure because it could be perceived as a tax boost.