[StBernard] Lawmakers question license price hike

[Westley Annis]

Lawmakers question license price hike
By MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press writer
Published: Mar 16, 2010 - UPDATED: 4:10 p.m.

Battered by criticism in their districts, lawmakers Tuesday questioned the
legality of a $15 hike in the cost of a Louisiana driver's license,
threatened to overturn it and called it inappropriate in the current tight
economy.

A new or renewed basic license now costs $36.50 for four years, up from
$21.50, under the price hike ordered by the Louisiana State Police last
week. The charge to drivers is nearly the highest in the South, second only
to the $48 cost of a driver's license in Florida.

"We had a budget problem, and we talked about, 'We're going to tighten our
budgets like hardworking American families.' And state police, rather than
cutting its budget by $13 million, decided, 'We're going to impose a tax or
a fee on driver's licenses,'" said Sen. Joe McPherson, chairman of the
Senate Transportation Committee.

At least two lawmakers have proposed bills to reverse the price increase.
They will come up for consideration in the legislative session that begins
in two weeks. Gov. Bobby Jindal's budget proposal for next year includes the
license cost increase, so scrapping the price hike would force lawmakers to
make other cuts to rebalance the budget.

Col. Mike Edmonson, head of the Department of Public Safety that oversees
the state motor vehicles office, said the cost increase covers a federal
mandate requiring the state to participate in a national driver's license
registry. The registry allows police officers around the country to pull
criminal and traffic records for drivers in every state.

Edmonson said the system helps protect against identity theft and fraud. The
$13 million raised by the license increase will pay for databases that feed
into the registry, he said.

"I can certainly tell you that every dollar of this fee is being used for
the maintenance of those databases," Edmonson told a joint meeting of the
House and Senate transportation committees.

He said drivers will get a benefit for the money: improved security for
their licenses.

Edmonson said state lawmakers authorized an increase in the price of a
driver's license in 1993. Until last week, he said the department had only
bumped up the cost for commercial truck drivers. The latest hike comes as
budget cuts are eating into agency spending.

McPherson, D-Woodworth, and other lawmakers are asking Attorney General
Buddy Caldwell's office to say whether the new increase is legal.

McPherson said the 1993 law cited by Edmonson doesn't specifically mention
the driver's license increase.

McPherson also noted that in 1995, a constitutional amendment changed the
way fee increases must be approved. He said that change may invalidate the
recent driver's license increase, which didn't follow the new requirements.

Rep. Nita Hutter, R-Chalmette, head of the House Transportation Committee,
complained that Edmonson didn't notify lawmakers at a February hearing about
the planned boost to license costs.

Other lawmakers said the timing was inappropriate because of the economic
climate, even though the cost increase equates to less than two cents per
day for someone who obtains a license.

"There are many people who have already lost their jobs, and there are many
people who are already struggling," said Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport.
She added, "I just don't see how I can go back to my district and say, 'I
know you all can afford this.'"

On the Net: House Bill 275 can be found at www.legis.state.la.us