Press Center

November 12, 2009

 

New Gold License Plates are "GOLD" to Foley

Have you seen the new gold license plates? It will cost the average family an extra $50 to register their two cars starting this April because you will be required to purchase them. This comes on top of a whole list of new DMV fees.

Cars are a necessity, especially on Long Island and they’ve become a big money-grab for New York City politicians who run the State Senate. The new license plate fees alone will generate $129 million in new revenue from vehicle owners at a time when families are cutting their family budgets wherever possible.

These are the politicians that run the New York State Legislature:

Governor David Paterson ( Harlem)
Malcolm Smith, Senate Temporary President ( St. Albans)
Pedro Espada, Senate Majority Leader ( Bronx)
Jeff Klein, Senate Deputy Majority Leader ( Bronx)
Senator Martin Dilan, Senior Asst Majority Leader & Transportation Chair ( Brooklyn)
Carl Kruger, Chair, Senate Finance Committee ( Brooklyn)
John Sampson, Senate Democrat Conference Leader ( Brooklyn)
Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the Assembly ( Manhattan)

Do you see a trend? Foley Watch would take a guess that more constituents in Senator Foley’s district alone own more cars than the constituents in most, if not all of the districts of the politicians listed above.

Readers may think that Senator Foley is powerless over his New York City bosses. However, his one vote could have stopped all the increases.

When will Senator Foley stand up for suburban taxpayers?

(In addition to the license plate fees, here’s the list of all the other DMV Senator Foley voted for.)
List of DMV fee hikes
September 1, 2009 By NEWSDAY STAFF lidesk@newsday.com
A look at major DMV fee increases that took effect Tuesday:

Average vehicle registration fee went from $44 for two years to $105 for drivers living in the MTA region.

Driver's license renewal fees went from $50 for an eight-year renewal to $80.50 in the MTA region.

Trailer registration now costs $42.50 on average, up from $34.

Taxi registration fees, on average, went from $48 to $60.

Average bus registration fees rose from $73 to $91.25.

Motorcycle registration is now $17.50, up from $14.

All-terrain vehicle registration increased from $10 to $12.50.

Average motorboat registrations rose from $40 to $50.

NYC metro residents to pay higher DMV fees

September 1, 2009 By The Associated Press

VOTERS WON'T FORGET FOLEY

Voters took a stand against out-of-control taxes last week and it would be hard to argue that Brian Foley isn’t in their sites for next November because of his MTA Payroll Tax, elimination of the STAR Rebate Check, massive DMV fee increases, the new and unnecessary license plate money grab, new saltwater sportsmen licensing fees - all part of the $8 billion tax increase package he voted for during his first year in the Senate.

Today, Brian was summoned back to Albany to fix what Governor Paterson says is a $3.2 billion deficit. He has proposed $1.8 billion in cuts which includes $686 million in cuts to education.

School districts and taxpayers should be very concerned since Senator Foley’s MTA Payroll Tax doesn’t require the state to reimburse schools for their portion of the bailout package. They just might see that “reimbursement” going into the state’s general fund. And who do you think is going to pick up that cost? You!

It’s time for Senator Foley to say enough is enough. In fact it would be nice if Senator Foley stood up and said anything at all. The Democrats in the Senate have only argued that the deficit isn’t as bad as the Governor says it is and have yet to put up a plan as to where to save money.

If the rumors are true that Senator Foley left Brookhaven Town Hall because he didn’t want to be so out front anymore, then he’s doing a good job hiding in Albany while his constituents are picking up the tab for his tax increases at home.

IS IT YES OR NO?

While Foley Watch feels there's more urgent issues to be talking about in this state besides same-sex marriage, Senator Foley has sat silent on the issue for an entire year. Even hours before a possible vote, he's still "undecided" according to Newsday. It's too bad he didn't put as much thought into how his elimination of the STAR Rebate Check and his MTA Payroll Tax would cost small businesses, non-profits, schools and taxpayers.