Maryland Proposes Increased Tax on Fat-Ass SUV's - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

02-21-2005, 07:51 AM

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"Driving a super-sized sport utility vehicle on Maryland roads could cost
$750 more a year, under a bill being considered by Maryland lawmakers.
Delegate Bill Bronrott, a Montgomery County Democrat who also is bringing
bills this year to keep young drivers from using handheld cell phones, is
pushing legislation to require owners of SUVs that weigh more than 6,000
pounds to pay an annual $750 surcharge on their registration renewal fee.

"This bill is not about pickup trucks, vans or your standard SUV," Bronrott
told fellow members of the House Environmental Matters Committee at a
hearing Tuesday. "It's about the largest, heaviest passenger vehicles that
are the least fuel efficient and the most toxic to our air, land and water."

Maryland's bill doesn't include a tax hike but would impose the higher
registration renewal fee on owners of SUVs that include the Hummer H2,
Cadillac Escalade ESV, Lincoln Navigator and the GMC Yukon XL.

"They pose a highway safety hazard, and they disproportionately beat up our
roads and bridges," said Bronrott, who acknowledged that the bill as written
may not survive in the legislature. But, he said, the legislation "at a
minimum would raise questions about the true utility of these extra-large,
trophy SUVs." "

GG