California Registration Fee

This a for sure thing it sounds like. What is the process?

 

Especially here in Shasta and other Northern California Counties.

 

Also we have to Smog in Shasta County and only 7 miles North Siskiyou has a one time only initial Smog, One and Done.

 

Here is my F250

 

Here's what I know so far.
A canopy gets the Commercial Plate off and fees reduced.
Just don't get caught with it off of the truck. Big Ticket!!!!

 

Its gotten crazy here. They have a tax, or fee for just about everything. I never paid for a trout stamp...duck stamps, yeah, but until a couple years ago we now have to have a trout stamp to catch/keep trout, or salmon. Won't be long before they decide to tax the amount of air we consume daily.

 

I totally agree. I was trying to not make it too political though. The entitreity of taxes and fees here is insane. If you add into it the fee and fine structures that use the administrative law structure as enforcement it is mind blowing. CA has lots of agencies, for example the SCAQMD, that has the ability to create regulations, structure fees, and impose huge fines outside of our usual legislative and judicial processes. CA has lots of duplicate agencies at the county or local level whose job it is to regulate. When that is your sole mission, that agency will look to ever expand its authority over things and its revenue base via licensing, fees, and fines. All of which is passed onto residents through increased costs. They all build these little kingdoms, and at our expense. Some of these agencies have bigger budgets than other entire states. Many of these agencies didn’t exist when I was a kid growing up here in the 70s.
As for the roads, they are pretty bad. They do get a lot of travel, but like I said earlier, monies for maintenance and improvements is often diverted to other things. One thing the state seems interested in is making toll roads out of roads we paid for decades and even generations ago regardless of the outrageously high fuel taxes we pay. Other states have some rough roads too, but CA really has no excuse for its problem. Right now our Governor is facing a recall and the chief complaint is mismanagement. The larger problem is the state is ran under a single point of view by a supermajority. Little discussion, little minority party power, little consideration for other points of view or values.
When I retire in the next 3or 4 years, we’re taking our retirement and the money we made on our home and spending it somewhere less in our pockets and less in our rights.

 

The process is outlined here. Basically you fill out a short form and take it in with your commercial plates.

 

Have you looked closely at the taxes and fees on water in California?

 

I'm going on 40 years old, lived there for the first 19, and my parents are still there. These problems are most definitely not new. I remember this crap back in the Schwarzenegger days, when I was somewhat aware of the things around me, and they definitely existed well before.

 

The shifting of revenue streams happened after prop 13 dramatically reduced property taxes and limited the increases.

The government still wanted to spend way more than they found other sources.

 

It does of course, go down every year, but man, it is pretty insane. All you have to do is look on your paperwork when you bought the truck initially, because you paid the license fees for the first year there. That being said, and I admit I don't know what my initial fees were, but I do know that a year later, when I got my first renewal, I was not surprised but still somewhat dismayed, when they said the renewal fee for my 2019 TRD Sport, was $528. This year, it was 'only' $507. So I look forward to next year, when it should drop below the $500 mark. I remember when I moved out here from NC, and at that time, they had just a flat fee that everyone paid for their sticker, and it was a flat $20 a year, no matter what kind of car/truck you had. So it was quite a shock when I registered my first car out here, and had to pay registration fees, out of state fee because of smog differences, etc. At the time [1991], I had driven a 1990 VW Fox out here and I paid $1500 all total, to get it registered and to get a plate. Believe me, I polished that plate every week, as it was so expensive!

 

It reads, " includes, but not limited to, closets, drawers, blah blah blah......."
Does that mean that it has to have some "living" type components in it to make it exempt from Commercial?

 

2018 Pro in Santa Clar Country $448

 

No. You just have to have a camper shell installed on the truck, that you do not intend to remove. It basically turns the truck into a vehicle capable of human habitation, and allows you to change it to an automobile, rather than a commercial vehicle.

 

I've read some DMV employees will state that there needs to be a sink to be considered "for human habitation" but YMMV. I looked into this before and for newer trucks like ours you actually don't save that much money.

 

Oh, I know... a lot of this nonsense goes much farther back; early 70s, 60s, further depending on what brand of nonsense. I’m not singling out the current governor or anyone for that matter. This mess is a group project that has been in play for decades. Lots of people have a hand in it; some more than others.
I’m 55 and lived here my entire life, my family has lived in CA for around 150 years. My Dad, though long retired, worked in the public sector for 35 years. He has a Masters in Public Administration and a Masters in Biology. I have a BA political science. We talk about state and local politics a lot. Neither of us cares for where the state has gone and is headed in many areas. It could be worse, but it could be much better too.

 

I looked this over too. It seems like the DMV will take your word on it in that you sign a statement of facts. I think there was also an “under penalty of perjury” statement too. The thing is, if you are cited for non-compliance and found guilty, they assess all back fees with additional penalties. As I recall, some of the criteria seemed subjective enough it would be easy to lose. In the end, it just didn’t seem worth the risk.

 

Arnie ran on the platform of lowering registration fees which IMO is one of the reasons he was so poplar and got him the governor seat. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-schwarzenegger-repeals-car-tax-2003nov18-story.html That recall election was crazy and we're about to have round 2 with Newsom