ALBANY – A proposal by the Cuomo administration will hike the cost of license plates.
The state DMV has advanced six designs for new license plates and asked the public to vote on them. One design shows the new bridge named for Governor Andrew Cuomo’s father, Mario.
Under the proposed License Replacement Program, in April 2020, New Yorkers who renew their auto registrations will have to pay an additional $25 license plate replacement fee if their plates are 10 years old or older, regardless of whether they are in good or bad conditions. Those who want to keep their same plate number will be required to pay an additional $20 to do so.
State Senator Susan Serino (R, Hyde Park) is not pleased with the plan.
“This is a money grab plain and simple,” she said. “Here in the Hudson Valley we pay enough in erroneous fees to the DMV – like the $50 registration fee we have been forced to pay for years to the MTA – and our residents are tired of it.”
Serino said the poll to vote on a new license plate design “is a sad attempt to distract from the fact that this is just one more way for New York State to cash in on the backs of hard-working New Yorkers.”
The senator said following a legislative session that ended earlier this summer “where one party control brought with it the passage of new taxes and fees on everything from internet purchases to paper bags, this proposal only adds insult to injury.”
Senator David Carlucci (D, Nanuet) also criticized the proposal. “Hardworking New Yorkers should not be burdened with this unnecessary cash grab by the State. A required fee to replace old license plates is arbitrary and does not in any way benefit drivers,” he said.
