New year, new pickup license rates to help fix roads

The buying buzz was caused by an increase in the yearly licensing fees for the trucks.

The new rate went into effect Jan. 1 for pickups purchased after January 1. Pickups purchased before Jan. 1 will be grandfathered in, thus the rush on pickup sales in December.

Pickup owners may be noticing the increase, too.

According to Priscilla Strathman, auto deputy in the licensing department at the Plymouth County Courthouse, the fee for a three-ton pickup has gone from $65 to $150 per year.

In the 25 years Strathman has been on the job, she has never seen an increase in the rate for pickups and she said they have had very few complaints about the rate increase.

Beginning with the registration of 2010 models of pickups, the fee will be based on the weight and list price, much like the fee for cars.

There will be a special rate for pickups used for business and farming beginning with the 2010 models along with a special license plate. The business owner or farmer will have to sign a document stating that the pickup will be used primarily for business or farming.

Filing false papers can result in a fine of up to $2,500 for each pickup.

The Iowa Department of Transportation will be in charge of enforcing the description of "used primarily for business or farming."

Transferring a title is being raised from $15 to $25. Licensing small trailers went from $10 to $20 per year while the fee to license a semi trailer over 2,000 pounds went from $10 to $30. If you own a travel trailer you can expect an increase of ten cents per square foot.

The fees for cars are based on the year purchased and the list price. Until now, that fee stayed the same for the first five years and then went down in the sixth year. The change for cars means that the rate will remain the same for seven years and go down in the eighth year. A vehicle owned prior to January 1, 2009 is grandfathered in and you won't see any change.

In the past, the lowest the fee for registering a car could go was $35. That is being raised to $50 if the car is purchased after January 1.

All these changes are due to a state program called TIME21, which stands for transportation investment moves the economy in the 21st century.

TIME21 was enacted to fund the primary road system and the money will be spent on the interstate and commercial and industrial network system to make needed improvements to the state's highways and bridges, many of which were built as long ago as the 1940s.

"All of the money is going to go to roads and bridges," Strathman said. "It cannot go to any other usage. It's got to go toward the roads."

The state project of continuing the four-lane Highway 20 is a major project for this additional revenue.

Money raised through TIME21 in excess of $200 million per year will be distributed to the Road Use Tax Fund to help support the improvement and replacement needs of the primary road system at the county and city levels.