12/5/06-It could cost truckers and other residents in Wisconsin more to register their vehicles if a state Department of Transportation budget proposal is adopted.
The agency is eyeing up to a 65 percent increase in truck and other vehicle registration fees in its 2007-2009 biennial budget request. Higher driver’s license costs also are being considered.
Gov. Jim Doyle and the state’s Legislature would need to approve the changes before they could take effect.
Revenue from the higher registration fees, which is estimated at $208 million for two years, would go for work on Interstate 94 from Milwaukee to the Illinois border, The Associated Press reported. Funds also would be made available for maintaining the current highway system and local aid programs.
The driver’s license increase would be earmarked for costs associated with new federal requirements designed to make the cards more secure.
Frank Busalacchi, director of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, cited higher fuel prices that have driven up the costs of many goods and services for the increased fee proposals, The AP reported.
Trucks weighing between 6,001 pounds and 8,000 pounds would have their registration fees increase from $77.50 to $112. Fees for trucks weighing between 4,501 pounds and 6,000 pounds would rise from $61.50 to $89. Smaller trucks would face an $80 fee, up from $48.50.
Car registration fees would climb from $55 to $80. Driver’s license fees would increase from $24 to $34.

8/29/06-The Committee on Transportation Needs and Financing has recommended that the state boost transportation spending by 40 percent a year to cover longtime funding shortages. No solutions to come up with the needed revenue were offered.
The panel unanimously endorsed a draft report that said the state needs another $698.2 million annually for roads and mass transit programs.
“Cost inflation resulting from increased world-wide demand for energy and construction materials (are) seriously eroding the purchasing power of our highway construction budget,” committee co-chairman Rep. Mark Gottlieb said in a written statement. “In the last three years alone, highway construction costs have increased by 31 percent.”
Gottlieb, R-Port Washington, said potential solutions likely will be discussed this fall. Road funding needs also are expected to draw considerable attention during state budget talks in the next legislative session.
Increasing the funding as proposed by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau and endorsed by the committee would bring the annual transportation budget to $2.41 billion – up from $1.71 billion, The Associated Press reported. Nearly 80 percent of the added revenue would be earmarked for highway construction.
While the panel prepares for discussions on how to generate revenue they will explore ways to reduce the cost of road work, including privatizing state highway maintenance and repair and allowing businesses to operate out of six of Wisconsin’s 32 rest areas, The AP reported.
The remaining 26 rest areas are not eligible for commercial activity due to federal restrictions for sites located on the interstate or a highway designated to be an interstate.