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Cash-strapped state to raise driver's license, state ID fees

LANSING (AP) - The cost to drive, especially if you have a bad driving record, is going up this week.

Higher fees for driver's licenses and state ID cards, as well as more expensive penalties for bad drivers, take effect tomorrow.

The fee increases are expected to generate at least $134 million for the state and to help lawmakers and Gov. Jennifer Granholm avoid raising taxes to balance the $37.9 billion state budget.

But some critics have said the fee increases ultimately are tax increases because all residents will have to pay more to get a driver's license or a state ID card.

"It's ridiculous," said Albert McDonald, 71, as he waited at a downtown Detroit secretary of state's office. "Most of the poor people have to come here to get their driver's license. It's a necessity for them."

The higher fees will raise the cost of a state driver's license from $13 to $25. Renewals will increase from $13 to $18. Chauffeur's original and renewal licenses will go from $21 to $35.

The law also calls for an increase in dealer license fees from $10 to $75, while salvage vehicle licenses will go from $100 to $160.

The state can impose a $7 late fee for vehicle owners who renew their car registration after their birthday.

State Rep. Leon Drolet, a Republican from Macomb County's Clinton Township, said the fee increases are intended to provide more revenue when the economy is slow. But he's unhappy they won't go away when economy rebounds.

"It's a permanent solution to a part-time problem," Drolet said. "The economy is going to come back, but these fees are never going to go back down."

Granholm and lawmakers say the fee increases helped them avoid raising taxes, as many other states had to do. Neighboring Ohio, for instance, raised its sales tax by a penny to help balance its $48.8 billion two-year budget, they said.

"From a purely economic standpoint, raising taxes across board would have been a hindrance to the economy," said Sen. Jud Gilbert (R - Algonac). "This was a far better course to take."

Real estate agent Deborah Johnson, 47, of Oakland County's Lathrup Village, doesn't like the fee increases. She said the state needs to rethink its spending.

"I just think it's mismanagement of the monies they're collecting already," she said while waiting for service at a secretary of state's office in Detroit.

"It's just like in my family budget. I've got to cut back and make some huge sacrifices or legitimately increase revenues. Increasing fees is not a legitimate way to increase revenue."

Besides the fee increases, higher fines on bad drivers also were approved earlier this year by lawmakers and signed into law by Granholm.