SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) With the recall election a little over
a week away, California's drivers and college students are getting
some dollars-and-cents reminders in the mail of just why voters are
so mad at Gov. Gray Davis.
At a rate of 600,000 a week, drivers are receiving bills for a
newly tripled car registration tax. And many California State
University and community college students are being billed for new
fee increases. University of California students paid their bills
weeks ago with 30 percent fee hikes.
Some of the newest bills are due the week before the election.
Experts say any anger about the taxes could be vented in the
voting booths Oct. 7, threatening Davis' bid to stay on as
governor.
``I know everything else is going Gray Davis' way, but this is
not one of them,'' said Shaun Bowler, professor of political
science at the University of California at Riverside.
Said Mark Petracca, a political science professor at the
University of California at Irvine: ``The timing certainly isn't
helpful.''
The controversial increases are associated with the California
budget fiasco that helped prompt the recall.
Jennifer Horonjeff, a sophomore at UC Irvine, said the higher
taxes and fees have stiffened her resolve to go with a new
governor.
``My checkbook is hurting,'' Horonjeff, a 19-year-old Boston
native, said this week while leaving the Department of Motor
Vehicles office in Santa Ana, where she registered her car. ``I was
expecting to pay $50 or $60 here. But when they told me it was
$118, I couldn't believe it.''
It was Horonjeff's second hit in weeks from the state budget
crisis: Recently, UC Irvine sent her a revised bill reflecting the
fee increase.
The first of the new car tax bills are due on Wednesday, and
some college fee increases must be paid by Tuesday.
In Sacramento, James Schreiber, 26, got a letter demanding $117
more for his first semester at Sacramento City College. Schreiber,
who had already paid a tuition bill, said the new bill confirmed
his decision to vote for Davis' recall.
The higher registration fees on California's 31 million cars and
trucks are designed to generate an additional $4 billion in
revenue. The fee increase at the state university systems and state
community colleges will cost students $700 million more. All are
part of efforts by the Legislature and Davis to close a budget gap
once estimated at $38.2 billion.
The major candidates vying to replace Davis have pledged to
rescind the car tax increase, which the Davis administration
imposed in June.
The tax amounts to 2 percent of a vehicle's purchase price minus
10 percent depreciation every year, meaning a $20,000 car will cost
$400 to register. The old rate would be about $135.
This week, Maria Carter, 41, of Santa Ana, carried a
registration renewal form and $629 in cash into the Department of
Motor Vehicles office.
``I'm mad. That's a lot of money for me,'' she said. ``I need
that money right now. But I have to pay it.''
Carter, a registered Democrat, said she is not sure whether she
will vote against Davis, but the car tax bill will make her take a
closer look at the replacement candidates on the ballot.
On the other hand, Californians are getting a $1 billion break
on their power bills starting this week. It is a one-time credit
averaging $40 for residential customers, $100 to $300 for small
businesses and up to $80,000 for large businesses.
The refund is rooted in the state's exit from the power-buying
business. California got into the business after its botched
experiment with deregulation two years ago led to blackouts and
rising bills.
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Associated Press Writers Chelsea J. Carter in Orange County and
Jennifer Coleman in Sacramento contributed to this story.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)