Fewer renewing speciality plates since state fee hike

Buddy/Golden Retriever

Renewed

FY 2010 — 33,747

FY 2011 — 24,410

FY 2012* — 18,492

New

FY 2010 — 5,924

FY 2011 — 1,385

FY 2012* — 1,107

Dog and cat/Animal Friend

Renewed

FY 2010 — 38,029

FY 2011 — 25,636

FY 2012* — 18,353

New

FY 2010 — 2,061

FY 2011 — 439

FY 2012* — 418

Bobwhite Quail

Renewed

FY 2010 — 172,359

FY 2011 — 99,971

FY 2012* — 66,557

New

FY 2010 — 14,915

FY 2011 — 2,683

FY 2012* — 2,436

Wildlife-Eagle

Renewed

FY 2010 — 269,781

FY 2011 — 162,336

FY 2012* — 108,149

New

FY 2010 — 23,378

FY 2011 — 6,478

FY 2012* — 3,629

Wildflower-Black-eyed Susan

Renewed

FY 2010 — 59,572

FY 2011 — 38,326

FY 2012* — 26,700

New

FY 2010 — 4,474

FY 2011 — 1,183

FY 2012* — 967

Educator

Renewed

FY 2010 — 50,824

FY 2011 — 40,120

FY 2012* — 32,769

New

FY 2010 — 4,474

FY 2011 — 1,183

FY 2012* — 967

Breast Cancer

Renewed

FY 2010 — 38,972

FY 2011 — 31,978

FY 2012* — 25,478

New

FY 2010 — 4,912

FY 2011 — 1,394

FY 2012* — 1,311

*Figures for last month of FY 2012 annualized average

Source: Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts

The number of Georgians renewing specialty license plates promoting dog and cat sterilization, breast cancer programs, education and wildlife conservation have plummeted since lawmakers decided two years ago to hike the price of the plates.

But even with the drop, the higher prices have brought millions of dollars more into the state treasury. Some programs that benefited from plate fees have taken a financial hit, though, and others fear they will see similar losses.

A state audit released this week shows that the number of specialty plates renewed for state-sponsored programs, such as wildlife conservation and pet neutering, dropped from 748,609 in 2010 to about 348,000 during the recently completed fiscal year.

The number of newly purchased specialty tags for those programs fell from 88,782 to 15,574 in fiscal 2012, which ended June 30.

While figures weren’t immediately available, Department of Revenue officials said the number of college license plates have also dropped.

Auditors found, however, that because of the higher prices and new annual tag fees for some of the plates, the state took in an extra $30 million in specialized license plate money over the past two years. Most of the money from the plates goes into the state treasury, not sponsoring programs.

The state audit also said the Department of Revenue could do more to market the plates and expand the offerings. The department said because of budget cuts, it has limited money for things like promoting specialty plates.

The increases were part of a $90 million-a-year fee hike package lawmakers passed during the 2010 legislative session to help balance a recession-strained state budget.

The changes forced Georgians with specialty plates to pay a $35 annual renewal fee. Before the changes, the state charged a one-time $25 manufacturers fee for the most popular plates. Some had renewal fees of $25, but others did not. Now, a Georgian buying a bald eagle plate for the first time would pay $60 – a combination of the manufacturers fee and the renewal fee – plus the $20 regular registration fee all car owners pay. In the past, many Georgians – particularly those with the wildlife plates, the state’s most popular license tags – paid only the manufacturers fee and the regular registration fee.

With the economy slow, House Motor Vehicles Chairman Tom Rice, R-Norcross, said: “I expected to see a fairly significant drop-off. Probably some people said, ‘I never had to do this [pay a renewal] before, I am not going to do it now.’ ”

But groups who receive funding from the plates are concerned that fewer people renewing the specialty tags will eventually mean less money for their programs.

The breast cancer tag program is already seeing that. The state audit showed money going to the program from the tags dropped from $950,000 in 2010 to $610,000 last year. About one-fourth as many people bought new breast cancer tags in 2012 as in 2010.

Linda Lowe, who lobbies for the Georgia Breast Cancer Coalition, said higher prices combined with the sluggish economy may be making the plates a harder sell. “That would be one area families could cut back,” she said.

Renewal of dog and cat sterilization plates have nearly been cut in half since 2010, although the higher costs increased funding to the programs because there previously wasn’t a renewal fee. Funding doubled in fiscal 2011, then fell again last year, but it is still above what it was before lawmakers raised the cost of the tag.

Dr. Duffy Jones of Peachtree Hills Animal Hospital said the program subsidizes the spaying and neutering of dogs and cats. For financially strapped pet owners, the $35-$65 subsidy can be the difference between animals getting the procedure or not. Getting the procedure can be the difference between pets being adopted or not, he added.

Jones said the decline in renewals and new plates is a worrisome trend.

“They ran out of money for this program a while ago,” he said. “I am worried we might run into a situation where we run out of money again. If people really are not buying the license plate because of the increased fee, I have a lot of concern about the sustainability of the program long-term.”

Wildlife tags — the bobwhite quail, bald eagle, hummingbird, etc. — remain among the big sellers of speciality tags. Two years ago, more than 500,000 renewed wildlife tags. Last year, it was 207,000. The number of new tags bought fell from 51,000 to fewer than 8,000.

Brock Hutchins, president of TERN Inc., a volunteer organization that raises money for wildlife conservation, has some of the same concerns as Jones.

State nongame conservation programs get $10 for each new plate and $10 for each plate renewal. Hutchins said the money helps pay for conservation staffers, mostly biologists and ecologists. Nongame projects have included bald eagle surveys, sea turtle nest monitoring, restoration of longleaf pine/wiregrass habitat and acquisitions of key habitats.

The programs got a huge initial boost from the increased license plate fees, but Hutchins said most of the money from the plates goes into the state’s general fund, not conservation efforts.

“Initially, they had a big bump in revenue, but we all saw that long-term, the trend wasn’t good,” Hutchins said. “We are concerned about the future of the program. The numbers are going the wrong way.”

Sen. Greg Goggans, R-Douglas, who handled the fee bill in the Senate, said lawmakers could go back and make some changes in the fees or in where the money goes if the changes eventually start hurting programs.

“I don’t think we anticipated so may people dropping out that it would destroy a program,” Goggans said. “I think you’d see someone willing to look at changes if that happened. We don’t always understand the trickle-down effect when we do things.”