Additional Vehicle Registration Fee to Take Effect Oct. 1

A $5 vehicle registration fee for Centre County residents will begin Oct. 1 to raise funding to repair 13 structurally deficient bridges. 

Approved at the May 9 Centre County Board of Commissioners meeting, the fee is projected to raise $2.5 million between now and 2022. Passed by a 2-1 margin, with commissioner Steve Dershem voting against, it’s a piece of a statewide repair project hoping to get in front of mounting transportation costs.

“I want to be clear … we’re keeping our commitment to citizens and using this money for transportation (purposes),” Centre County Chairman Commissioner Michael Pipe said. 

The State Transportation Advisory Committee reported in 2010 that Pennsylvania’s transportation authority was underfunded by $3.5 billion. They also projected it could be underfunded by as much as $6.7 billion come 2020.

Needing money to get ahead of the issue, Act 89 of 2013 was passed by Pennsylvania’s state legislature. In the bill, local governments were given the option of implementing this $5 fee to repair transportation infrastructure.

Exempt from the fee are any government or municipal vehicles and any of Penn State’s vehicles. Disabled veterans also are exempt. The ordinance itself calls for retired persons earning less than $19,200 per year to be eligible for a flat $10 state registration fee for one vehicle. Earlier this year, Pipe said there are about 6,000 exempt vehicles in the county.

Once enacted, the state Department of Transportation will collect the money and hand Centre County a check twice per year, in June and December, to use as needed.

“I think we have two issues at play here. Centre County doesn’t own any bridges or roads, and I believe we have the highest fuel tax in the country. I don’t think this is part of our mission that we have roads and bridges,” Dershem said when the fee was approved.