Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed Senate Bill 51, which he says would have imposed $22 million in new and increased fees onto Missourians by local license offices. The Governor’s Office issued a press release saying, “The legislation vetoed by the Governor would have doubled the fees charged to obtain or renew drivers’ licenses without providing any improvement in the services provided.”
“Senate Bill 51 goes against our long-standing Missouri values of fiscal discipline, low taxes and a government that lives within its means,” Nixon says. “Missourians should not have to pay more than $22 million in additional fees to renew their driver’s license or get their vehicle registered without any improvement in the services they receive. Between rising gas prices and costs of repair, maintenance and insurance – vehicle ownership is already a significant expense for Missouri families. The last thing we need to do is stick Missourians with more burdensome costs that make it harder for them to make ends meet.”
Senate Bill 51 would have also imposed a new $2.00 fee on residents of metropolitan St. Louis and the residents of Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis counties for electronically verifying the status of residents’ vehicle emissions inspections. This additional fee was not equitably applied to Missourians in the other 110 counties, Nixon’s office reports.
Read the Governor’s full veto letter here.
