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TITLE: abandoned vehicle fees |
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SPONSOR: Fillmore |
STATUS: As Introduced |
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PREPARED BY: Jordan Johnston |
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Description
The bill would modify the abandoned vehicle fee level, which is currently prescribed by the director of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). The bill would modify the fee as follows: 1) for vehicles abandoned on private or local land, the fee would be set at $50 and 2) for vehicles abandoned on state or federal land, the fee would be set at $200.
Estimated Impact
Based on ADOT estimates, the JLBC Staff estimates that the bill would reduce state revenues by $(6.9) million annually beginning in FY 2021, including a reduction of state General Fund revenue by $(4.9) million and of State Highway Fund revenue by $(0.6) million.
Analysis
Owners of abandoned vehicles must pay ADOT an additional fee for the abandoned vehicle when registering another car or paying a driver's license fee. The additional fee, which is set by the ADOT director, depends on where the vehicle was abandoned.
Except for vehicles towed prior to August 9, 2017, towing companies receive a 20% reimbursement for all abandoned vehicle towing fees. The analysis assumes all future abandoned vehicle fees are for towed vehicles after August 9, 2017.
If the vehicle was abandoned on private or local land, then the owner pays a fee of $500. The fee is deposited into the Abandoned Vehicle Administration Fund. After the initial 20% reimbursement to towing companies, the fee is effectively distributed to 2 sources: 72% to the General Fund and 8% to the State Highway Fund. If the vehicle was abandoned on state or federal land, which includes national forest, state park, Bureau of Land Management land, or state trust land outside of a city or town, then the owner pays a fee of $600. The Administration Fund first reimburses the towing company 20% for fees from vehicles abandoned on state and federal land. After that disbursement, the fee is effectively distributed to 2 sources: 48% to the General Fund and 32% the State Highway Fund.
The bill would modify the abandoned vehicle fee in 2 ways: 1) for vehicles abandoned on private or local land, the fee would be set at $50 instead of $500 and 2) for vehicles abandoned on state or federal land, the fee would be set at $200 instead of $600.
Table 1 below delineates the impact of this bill on the following sources where the abandoned vehicle fee is deposited: General Fund, State Highway Fund, and towing company reimbursements. The FY 2021 impact is based upon FY 2019 actual revenues from the abandoned vehicle fee as reported by ADOT.
The total revenue generated in FY 2019 from the abandoned vehicle fee was $7.7 million, which was disbursed to 3 different sources as follows: $5.8 million to the General Fund, $0.7 million to the State Highway Fund, and $1.5 million to the towing company reimbursements. The bill would reduce total revenues by $(6.9) million, which would impact the 3 sources as follows: $(4.9) million from the General Fund, $(0.6) million from the State Highway Fund, and $(1.4) million from the towing company reimbursements. The distribution of revenues to each source follows the previously outlined deposit schedule.
(Continued)
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Table 1 |
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HB 2040 Revenue Impact ($ in millions) |
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FY 2021 |
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General Fund |
$(4.9) |
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State Highway Fund |
(0.6) |
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Subtotal |
(5.5) |
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Towing Company Reimbursements |
(1.4) |
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Total |
(6.9) |
Local Government Impact
None
1/30/20