April 10, 2004. SENATE TAXPAYER STALWARTS: Longtime taxpayer advocates Andy
Harris and Alex Mooney, as well as Roy Dyson and Norman Stone--all four
Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers -- voted
<http://mlis.state.md.us/2004rs/votes/senate/0819.htm> against the car
registration hike. The National Taxpayers Union <http://www.ntu.org/main/>
with over 6,600 members in Maryland wrote
<http://www.mdtaxes.org/NEWS-Stories-2004/NTU.L040219Ehrlich.Fees.pdf>
Governor Ehrlich on February 19: "Raising car registration fees by more than
50 percent and truck registration fees by more than 65 percent - with no
requisite increase in processing costs or other extenuating circumstance -
is clearly a tax." (Emphasis TBN's. See HB 1467
<http://mlis.state.md.us/2004rs/billfile/HB1467.htm> Fiscal Note.)
Regrettably Pledge Signers and Maryland Senators Colburn, Greenip, Haines,
Hooper, Jacobs, Kittleman, and Stoltzfus succumbed and voted for the
substantial increase which touches every owner of a car or truck with
Maryland registration.

Best Wishes.

Richard Falknor
Executive Vice President