SACRAMENTO — State lawmakers began moving toward a deal this week to close California's deficit with the help of steeper car fees that would cost many drivers hundreds of dollars annually, according to people involved in budget talks.
Under the plan, GOP lawmakers -- most of whom have signed anti-tax pledges -- would vote to triple the vehicle license fee that owners pay when they register their cars every year in exchange for a ballot measure that would impose rigid limits on future state spending. Motorists' annual license fees would rise from 0.65% of the value of their vehicles to 2%. For a car or truck valued at $25,000, the increase would be $336.
The higher fees would generate $6 billion annually, helping to fill a budget gap that is projected to reach nearly $28 billion over the next year and a half.
The proposal is being championed by incoming state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). Democrats and advocates for the poor have opposed strict state spending limits, saying they would cripple government services.
Steinberg may be gambling that voters would reject the limits, as they have in the past.
"We don't comment on the specifics of negotiations," said Steinberg spokesman Jim Evans, "but this much is clear: The state is $28 billion in the red and we need new revenue."
Prospects for the plan, however, immediately began to dim after details were published on the Los Angeles Times website. Angry phone calls from constituents, advocacy groups and talk radio hosts prompted lawmakers to publicly distance themselves from the proposal.
Capitol sources who requested anonymity because of the confidential nature of budget discussions said it is now unclear whether the proposal would be presented to rank-and-file lawmakers Monday or Tuesday, as was initially planned. Passage would require two-thirds of the Legislature to vote for the measure.
It is also unclear whether Steinberg would be able to get enough Democrats to sign on to the plan, even if it attracted GOP votes.
The plan would create a political quandary for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has already proposed a flat $12 increase in annual car fees.
The last governor to triple the license fee was his predecessor, Gray Davis. Voter anger soared, and the increase played a large role in Davis' removal from office. Schwarzenegger crusaded against the hike throughout the recall campaign, and in his first act in office he cut the fee -- the "car tax," as he and some others call it -- back to its current rate.
