Snyder Wants 60% Car Registration Fee Hike

LANSING, Mich. (WJBK) -- Governor Rick Snyder in his State of the State message this week did not tell motorists he wants to hike their registration fees by a hefty 60 percent.

The governor believes the state's sagging and crumbling infrastructure requires $1.4 billion now and he'll ask you to help.

Mike Nystrom from the road building industry figures the 60 percent increase will generate half a billion dollars.

"The registration fee could on average could go up $60," he said. "The current average is about $100. The larger, more expensive vehicles would pay more, and some of the lower end, older vehicles may actually pay less."

Nystrom contends in the long run you'll actually save money because if the roads get better, your car repair costs will go down.

"If we make improvements to our system, they won't pay as much over time to repair shocks, struts and that type of stuff," he explained.

How much are drivers paying for those repairs now? "On average over $300 per driver in Michigan," Nystrom said.

None of this, of course, will happen unless and until lawmakers say yes, and in the Michigan House, everybody is running for re-election and critics will call this not a fee increase, but a tax hike. Who wants to run on that?

Yet, Nystrom is optimistic on its chances.

"75 percent, feeling pretty good about it," he told us.

Easy for him to say. He's not running for re-election.