samanthajane13
11-11-2009, 02:54 PM
Blue and gold plates will return
By Matthew Spina
News Staff Reporter
Updated: November 10, 2009, 11:58 PM
Fashion designs cycle back every 25 years or so.
So do license plate designs.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles announced Tuesday that New York's new plates will offer blue letters on a gold background, the state's official colors and the color scheme offered on plates for about 10 years, until 1984.
DMV Commissioner David Swarts, a former Erie County clerk, said the state will produce around 12 million sets of the new plates at Auburn Correctional Facility. The first will go out in April as New York's motorists renew the auto registrations that expire in May.
The "Empire Gold" program attempts to both replace worn out plates and dun New Yorkers so they can support their cash-strapped government. The State Legislature and Gov. David A. Paterson expect the program will generate $129 million for the general fund over two years.
The hit to the wallet: $25 for each auto and another $20 for motorists who want to keep the same plate number. Motorists with so-called vanity plates will be spared the extra $20 fee because they already pay it. Motorcyclists will pay $12.50 for their single plate.
Swarts said the DMV will alert the Thruway Authority's E-ZPass program of tag holders' new numbers.
The Erie County Legislature has approved a statement criticizing the new plates as a revenue grab by Albany. Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul, also opposed, has set up a petition for people to sign at www.erie.gov
"In upstate New York, we are harder hit than they are downstate," Hochul said. "Downstate you have more public transportation. Our motorists are hit with some of the highest gasoline prices in the country. Plus we have Thruway tolls."
She said she has argued all those points with Paterson and his officials.
"Their position is, "We are very much looking at this. We hear you loud and clear,' " she said.
Swarts said that county clerks who process registrations keep 12.7 percent of the fees for their governments, so Erie County will take a slice of the fees that motorists must pay.
"We don't get that if people register through the mail," Hochul said. "And most of the registrations will be done through the mail."
State officials say that plates become less reflective and harder to read as they age.
The legibility and reflectivity of the current plates, first issued in 2001, were guaranteed for up to five years, the DMV said. But those plates, with a banner that includes an image of Niagara Falls, will have been in use for about 10 years by the time they are fully phased out.
The DMV also says that as new plates are issued, motorists driving with suspended or revoked registrations become easier to spot.
"Nearly 300 police agencies in New York State are currently deploying approximately 500 computerized license plate readers that enable authorities to quickly identify vehicles that have been stolen or used in a crime," said Denise E. O'Donnell, commissioner of the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. "These new plates will ensure that the LPRs are as effective as possible."
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/857235.html
Just one more bail-out for Down-state NY. DAMMIT!!!
By Matthew Spina
News Staff Reporter
Updated: November 10, 2009, 11:58 PM
Fashion designs cycle back every 25 years or so.
So do license plate designs.
The state Department of Motor Vehicles announced Tuesday that New York's new plates will offer blue letters on a gold background, the state's official colors and the color scheme offered on plates for about 10 years, until 1984.
DMV Commissioner David Swarts, a former Erie County clerk, said the state will produce around 12 million sets of the new plates at Auburn Correctional Facility. The first will go out in April as New York's motorists renew the auto registrations that expire in May.
The "Empire Gold" program attempts to both replace worn out plates and dun New Yorkers so they can support their cash-strapped government. The State Legislature and Gov. David A. Paterson expect the program will generate $129 million for the general fund over two years.
The hit to the wallet: $25 for each auto and another $20 for motorists who want to keep the same plate number. Motorists with so-called vanity plates will be spared the extra $20 fee because they already pay it. Motorcyclists will pay $12.50 for their single plate.
Swarts said the DMV will alert the Thruway Authority's E-ZPass program of tag holders' new numbers.
The Erie County Legislature has approved a statement criticizing the new plates as a revenue grab by Albany. Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul, also opposed, has set up a petition for people to sign at www.erie.gov
"In upstate New York, we are harder hit than they are downstate," Hochul said. "Downstate you have more public transportation. Our motorists are hit with some of the highest gasoline prices in the country. Plus we have Thruway tolls."
She said she has argued all those points with Paterson and his officials.
"Their position is, "We are very much looking at this. We hear you loud and clear,' " she said.
Swarts said that county clerks who process registrations keep 12.7 percent of the fees for their governments, so Erie County will take a slice of the fees that motorists must pay.
"We don't get that if people register through the mail," Hochul said. "And most of the registrations will be done through the mail."
State officials say that plates become less reflective and harder to read as they age.
The legibility and reflectivity of the current plates, first issued in 2001, were guaranteed for up to five years, the DMV said. But those plates, with a banner that includes an image of Niagara Falls, will have been in use for about 10 years by the time they are fully phased out.
The DMV also says that as new plates are issued, motorists driving with suspended or revoked registrations become easier to spot.
"Nearly 300 police agencies in New York State are currently deploying approximately 500 computerized license plate readers that enable authorities to quickly identify vehicles that have been stolen or used in a crime," said Denise E. O'Donnell, commissioner of the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. "These new plates will ensure that the LPRs are as effective as possible."
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/857235.html
Just one more bail-out for Down-state NY. DAMMIT!!!