Erica Neely, founder of the Hispanic Latin Alliance and candidate for the Nevada Assembly, talks to Alan Stock about her proposed $60 flat fee for vehicle registration in Nevada for two to five years, similar to other states like Arizona and California.
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Today is Nevada news and views, Thursday and again, if you want to find out more about the great reporting and editorializing that’s coming out of the out of Chuck’s great publication, Nevada news and views, go to Nevada news and views.com because they cover local, state and national news, and it’s done so clearly and so succinctly. I endorse it every day, not just on Thursdays and joining us right now on the Vegas City, KX city. Liveline, representing Nevada news and views, is our very good friend, Erica Neely, founder of the Hispanic Latin Alliance, and writer, of course, with Nevada news and views and a candidate for the assembly here in the state of Nevada. How you doing? Erica?
Erica Neely 0:46
I’m doing great. How are you? Thank you for having me. I appreciate
Alan Stock 0:50
your being with us this morning. So here’s the deal, the President has tried his very best throughout his presidency. Well, from 26 of 2016 and now in a second term here to make things more affordable. And I know the the Democrats have tried to co opt the idea of affordability, but he really has tried to make them more affordable. You know, we’ve had the inflation rate during the first administration down around one or 2% and of course, it went up to 9% plus during Biden’s administration, and now it’s way back down again, and the President is doing everything he can. You’ve come along with an idea to, you know, mix right in with that affordability issue and to save people money. And if this passes what you’re talking about, I mean, they can start saving a ton of money immediately. And I think it’s a great idea, and it has to do with vehicle registration fees. Tell me about this, by the way, first of all, you’ve got to get elected to the assembly, and then you’ll be able to propose this as our new assembly person. So tell me about this idea.
Erica Neely 2:02
So this bill DMV registration, registering your vehicle. So we have this complicated math that goes on when you buy a car. This system punishes, in my opinion, punishes you for buying a brand new vehicle that is more effective, more cleaner air, it’s safer for the road in this here, let me just I’m proposing a $60 flat fee our neighbor states, Arizona, even California, New Jersey, South Carolina is proposed already have these implemented, a flat fee and registration for two to five years, saving you time and money.
Alan Stock 2:44
So your idea is to lower the fees for vehicle registration and and then be able to register your car for up to five years. So let me I’ve got some questions about this. I think it’s a great idea, but I want to get real clear about how this would work, because right now I have to, I have to re register my car every year. Okay, so do you and I have to go get it smogged. I got to get it smog that pay for that, and then I have to pay for the registration fee. And my fees are literally in the hundreds of dollars every year. My car is a 2017, by the way, a and, but it’s still hundreds of dollars every year. And I know a lot of that’s based on the original price of my car. So under your system that you’re proposing, would you have to still get a smog check every year?
Erica Neely 3:37
Yes, you would have to get a smack chair. But with what it does, the registration, it’s a flat fee for $60 that that flat fee, you could pay it if you choose to do it for one time, for the five years that’s already taken care of. So it saves you time and money on that aspect. So when you’re driving on the road, you don’t have to worry about getting pulled over because your car is not registered. Your car is registered on the road
Alan Stock 4:05
for five years. I’d still have to get smogged every year.
Erica Neely 4:08
That’s a that’s that would be something that we would have to work out in details. But right now, keeping it simple, registering your car for five years, especially if it’s a brand new vehicle, you wouldn’t be registering a small tech every five years.
Alan Stock 4:24
Okay, I think this is a great idea, by the way, and you have a flat fee that, again, you proposed, of $60 a year. Now here is what the opposition is going to say to you. This is taking away fees that we need for our for our highways and fixing up our streets and everything else. How are you going to replace the money that we’re going to lose by reducing our vehicle registration fees?
Erica Neely 4:51
Well, right
Erica Neely 4:52
now, we have so many contract administrators. We’re paying for consultants outside consultants we’re paying for administrators in. Bureaucrats cleaning up the bloated budget that we have would be one, one place where we would clean that up. We wouldn’t be touching teachers, money, police, road cleaning and safety and repairs. So that’s how we would be saving money on that aspect and saving the taxpayers by registering at this low cost,
Alan Stock 5:21
plus you talk about getting rid of overlapping programs which are duplicating costs unnecessarily,
Erica Neely 5:29
absolutely right now we have contracts that are outside for it work and current it contracts here in the Nevada. So we’re paying for double, double programs that work once, but to offices that have staff and payroll for doing the same job,
Alan Stock 5:49
all right. I mean, this is a great idea. Cleans up the overpayment and the excess of payment that we’re paying for no reason at all. And plus, instead of reducing the just the, you know, the money at the top of the scale, this reduces the money that people are paying all the way on down the line to those who could least afford it. And plus, you talk about the fact that people are going to say, Well, why shouldn’t people with nicer, newer cars pay more? And your argument is,
Erica Neely 6:22
my argument is that working families shouldn’t pay more for a safer vehicle, a cleaner vehicle, admission clean for the environment. We shouldn’t be punishing working families. A rich person doesn’t care if they’re paying 60 or 400 but a working family makes a big difference whether they’re going to get a newer vehicle that’s reliable and going to keep your family safe.
Alan Stock 6:43
So it makes total sense to me that you get, if you get a new vehicle that is already safer, it’s got more safe, safe qualities to it, and then also it’s got more attributes to reduce smog and everything else. Now, what some people would say is you’re going to pay more for that new vehicle that really is making it a safer environment. You’re saying, well, that’s incredibly ridiculous. If it’s going to make things safer and cleaner, why should people have to pay more?
Erica Neely 7:14
Exactly right now the current system, we’re punished for buying a view a new vehicle that’s clean, good for the environment, safer, it’s roadside friendly, it just doesn’t make sense. So we are incentivizing so you could keep your old vehicle in the car, which is not safer, and it’s not good for the environment, and it’s causing more problems as we drive.
Alan Stock 7:38
And once again, other states have done these things that we’re talking about is not anything new. We are just behind the eight ball at this point, and we just need to bring ourselves out from behind the eight ball and get with the program and do what some of these other states are doing. Some of these states are our red states. Some are blue states, but we, right now, again, are not doing what would be best for the people here in Nevada, and you’re proposing that we make that change.
Erica Neely 8:05
Yes, our neighbors, Arizona is now offering the five year you register your vehicle once every five years. Oregon offers the two year registration. Missouri, South Carolina, Florida, New York and even California offers something similar.
Erica Neely 8:21
We could do better. We should be doing better, absolutely.
Alan Stock 8:24
And again, you’re mentioning red and blue states both. So it’s not a matter of this being necessarily a political issue. It’s more a common sense issue than anything at all. And I think it’s a great idea. First thing we have to do, first thing we have to do is get you elected to the assembly, and then once you get there, you’ll be able to propose this as our new assembly member. So I want to remind everyone of that, which district are you running
Erica Neely 8:50
in assembly? District nine,
Alan Stock 8:53
okay, and we will make sure that people remember that as it gets closer to the primary in June and the general election come next November.
Alan Stock 9:05
Go ahead. I’m sorry, go ahead.
Erica Neely 9:07
I was just gonna say a district nine. Usually it’s it’s located on Fort Apache warn spring, but everybody knows where the IKEA is. So if you live by IKEA, you are in district nine.
Alan Stock 9:18
There you go. Easy, very, very easy. Erica Neely, founder of the Hispanic Latin Alliance, writer with the Nevada Nevada news and views and a candidate for the ninth assembly district proposing common sense legislation, an idea that would save us all. We all drive. I mean, this is what we do. As a friend of mine once said, we wear our cars like overcoats, and we do as Americans, and especially out here in the west. So this is a great idea, and it’s something that absolutely should be initiated, and I know you will be there to put it forward after you become the new assembly person from district nine, Eric and Ely. Thanks so much. For being with us, I appreciate it very much, and you and I will talk again.
Erica Neely 10:05
Thank you. Thank you so much.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology was used in the production of this transcript and as such may not be 100% accurate.
