Posted at: 11/16/2009 5:26 PM | WHEC.com
Updated at: 11/16/2009 6:20 PM
By: Jennifer Johnson

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New license plates for New York: maybe not

Were you outraged about the possibility of having to pay $25 for a new license plate next year? If so, you were not alone. More than 70,000 people signed a petition, mostly online at www.NoNewPlates.com, against the idea and it looks like it worked.

Two dozen county clerks from across the state, including Cheryl Dinolfo from Monroe County, were in Albany Monday delivering the petitions to the Governor and to lawmakers who were in favor of the fee.

Before the Monday delivery, the Governor was beginning to back-off the idea which was passed last April in the budget. He said Sunday he would drop support of the plan if state lawmakers will work with him to find other ways to generate revenue. The license plate fee would have brought in $129 million dollars.

The clerks call it a needless expense. Saratoga County Clerk Kathy Marchione said, "We will continue standing for the people in New York State because this is a bad idea. This is wrong, there's nothing wrong with the plates they have and they should be able to keep the plate they have."

The Governor said he would drop support if state lawmakers help him find other ways to come up with $129 million. It's all an effort to address the $3.2 billion dollar deficit.

Lawmakers met Monday in special session. The Governor said it does not look like they'll have any new solutions Monday or Tuesday and nothing came out of last week's special session either.

Assemblyman Brian Kolb of Canandaigua, head of the Republicans in the Assembly, is very much against this fee.

He submitted suggestions to the Governor in October that would save $3 billion dollars.  His suggestions include fixing the deficit by eliminating legislative earmarks ($100 million), eliminating funding for state government to buy up more private land ($30 million) and consolidating certain administrative agencies that have overlapping functions ($241 million).

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