The new vehicle registration fee bill introduced this morning will go to a full hearing in the House Transportation Committee, the Ways & Means Committee decided this morning. "The recommendation is to the Transportation Committee for full hearing," said Rep. Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry, chairman of the committee, before the unanimous vote. House Majority Caucus Chair Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, said that was the preferred choice "just to vet this one out because we've changed these band widths - that's a significant enough change that it'd be appropriate to hear it." The "bands," or groupings by age of vehicles, drop from five in the previous bill to three, and each covers more years of vehicle ages. Owners of vehicles up to four years old, who now pay either $48 (one and two years old) or $36 (three and four years old) per year for registration, would pay $54 next year, $60 the following year, and $66 the year after.

The second band, vehicles five, six, seven and eight years old, would rise from the current $36 (for those five and six years old) or $24 (for those seven and eight years old) to $42 next year, $48 the following year, and $54 the year after.

The third band, for vehicles more than eight years old, would rise from the current $24 to $30 next year, $36 the year after, and $42 by the third year.

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