Proposed access preservation fee stalls in Senate

An attempt to allow local governments to assess up to a $20 fee on vehicle registration to pay for preserving access to property where future roads are planned stalled Monday in the Senate.

The sponsor of SB8, Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, moved to put action on the bill on hold to give him time to address some of the concerns raised by his fellow senators, including whether the fee was necessary.

Sen. Al Mansell, R-Sandy, suggested local governments look to existing revenues, such as the tax already collected on motor vehicle sales, before coming to the state for a new source.

"Don't they have the ability to do this right now through other taxing? They haven't used the taxing authority we've given them and we're going to give them some additional taxing authority?" Mansell asked.

There didn't seem to be any disagreement even among critics of the bill that there is a need to preserve transportation corridors. "I'm 100 percent in favor of some sort of corridor preservation," Mansell said.

Killpack said its much easier for a community "to buy raw land now instead of waiting 10 to 15 years and having to condemn homes and businesses." He said the bill could raise as much as $40 million statewide if every county in the state imposed the maximum $20 fee.