Kansas House, Senate OK bill increasing car-registration fees

Registering your car will cost $3.25 more if Gov. Sam Brownback signs a bill sent to him Sunday by the Kansas Legislature.

HB 2696, which passed the Kansas House on Sunday on a 92-27 vote, will increase the total cost of registering a vehicle that weighs 4,500 pounds or less to $38.25. The additional money will increase funding for the Kansas Highway Patrol in the face of staffing shortages.

The bill passed the Senate 36-4 on Saturday.

The bill would direct $2 from every vehicle registration fee to a special fund that would be used for recruiting and retaining more highway patrol officers, with the goal of adding 75 officers over five years. Thirty-six of the state’s 105 counties had no dedicated patrol officers as of November because of understaffing.

Rep. Blaine Finch, R-Ottawa, said that Franklin County, where he lives, used to have two dedicated patrol officers but now has none. Lawmakers of both parties said that increasing the patrol’s staff numbers would improve safety on the state’s highways.

The bill also directs $1.25 to a fund for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in Hutchinson.

Some lawmakers criticized the fee increase, contending that other funds could be used to pay for more patrol officers.

“Why on Earth should we charge our vehicle owners an extra $9 million a year?” Rep. Virgil Peck, R-Tyro, complained during a House Republican caucus meeting.

This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Kansas House, Senate OK bill increasing car-registration fees."