LIHU‘E — In this day and age of volatile gas prices and a downward-spiraling economy, drivers may be increasingly more inclined to accept that driving is a privilege rather than a right. Governor Linda Lingle recently announced a new tax
LIHU‘E — In this day and age of volatile gas prices and a downward-spiraling economy, drivers may be increasingly more inclined to accept that driving is a privilege rather than a right.
Governor Linda Lingle recently announced a new tax of $1.05 per barrel of oil, which will bring an estimated $22 million to the state’s coffers. Drivers in Hawai‘i will pay about 2.5 cents more per gallon.
The AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report says that Hawai‘i has the highest-priced gasoline in the country, at $3.58 per gallon.
If AAA officials drove around Kaua‘i they would soon find out it costs a little more here, about $3.65 a gallon.
But that may go even higher in order to help those who don’t have the privilege of driving. County Council members are planning to propose a tax of six-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline to support adding Sunday services for The Kaua‘i Bus.
So what’s next?
When Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. presented his proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 on March 15, he said the administration would be soon requesting the council to introduce bills to increase driver’s license fees and implement a county motor-vehicle-registration fee.
The council Budget and Finance Committee unanimously approved Wednesday those two bills, plus an increase in the cost of securing duplicate motor vehicle certificates of title to $5 from the previous $3.
The new county registration fee will cost drivers $12 a year. This fee already exists in every other county in the state, and is estimated to bring the county about $919,000 per year in revenues.
The driver’s license fee increase is a little more complicated.
Instruction permits will increase to $10 from $4.
Regular licenses currently expire in six years. Drivers aged 25 to 71 will be issued licenses expiring in eight years. Those between 16 and 24 will be issued licenses expiring every four years, and drivers over 72 will carry licenses good for two years.
The licenses will have different costs, depending on how long they last. Each year that the license is valid will add $4 to the final price. An eight-year license will cost $32, a four-year license will cost $16, and a two-year license will cost $8.
Duplicate licenses and duplicate instruction permits will cost $7, an increase of $2 from the current fee.
A reinstatement fee for suspended licenses will be $30, up from $20.
The testing fees will also increase. Road tests for category one, two and three will cost $10, and for category four will cost $50.
Written exams would cost $2, twice as much as what they currently cost. Oral exams for types one, two and three will cost $10.
Drivers applying for licenses will also pay an examination fee of $6. But if they can prove having paid the county the instruction fee, this feel will be exempted. This fee is currently $4.
Meanwhile, a 12-month The Kaua‘i Bus pass costs $180, about twice as much as a compact-car annual registration fee.
