Florida residents are flooding the offices of the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to renew their drivers' licenses and tags before Tuesday, when higher fees go into effect. The increases were passed by the Florida Legislature to make up for a budget shortfall caused by the recession.
Florida lawmakers voted to raise the fees last spring to help close the budget gap, according to the Miami Herald. The legislature voted to raise state fees for nearly every government service, including fishing permits, filing court briefs, visiting parks and, of course, driving a motor vehicle.
Lawmakers say that the increased fees are necessary to avoid cutting more government jobs, reports the paper. Also, legislators point out that many of the fees have not been raised in 20 years.
So, Monday, drivers from across the state were in a mad rush to the DMV offices to save a few bucks. Initial driver licenses are increasing from $27 to $48, while six-year renewals will cost $48, more than double the current $20 fee. Motorists who renew before Tuesday avoided the increase at least until their next renewal.
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Chaos reigned at tax collector’s offices all over the state Monday as people lined up to pay vehicle registration and tag renewal fees before the cost went up.
Long lines and computer problems ultimately prompted Gov. Charlie Crist to issue a call for vouchers to be provided extending by 10 days the deadline to pay fees at the pre-Sept. 1 price.
The last-minute rush didn’t necessarily catch local officials off guard — they deal with long lines of procrastinators at the end of every month — but state officials didn’t, apparently, get the memo.
“The truth is the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles wasn’t ready for this,” Okaloosa County Tax Collector Chris Hughes said. “I don’t think they believed this number of people would wait until the last minute.”
See a copy of the vouchers being handed out.
The Florida Legislature voted in 2009 to substantially incre
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