With the Albuquerque Police Department crackdown on missing license plates and the state Legislature rejecting a move to require them in front as well as back of a vehicle, DV emails “since we can’t seem to get the two-license plate law passed, how about we change the sticker color we put on the rear plate every year or two? I see cars all over town with a tag from 2020 and such. Having the tag color change would also help out the police checking on expired plates more easily. Just my 2 cents.”
Lawmakers?
MORE ON WHAT TEXAS DOES: A Texas reader says in an email “for what it’s worth, I was stopped by a state highway patrolman back in December as my plate was faded. I went online and ordered a replacement plate and with the surcharge for using a credit card it was $12.05, which is considerably more than the $6.50 you cited. It seemed like a reasonable fee to me as my plate was almost 25 years old. You might want to double check to see what the fee really is as I have seen several different amounts published in different places.”
I went to txdmv.gov and found “submit the completed application for a replacement license plate(s) and/or registration sticker to your local county tax assessor-collector’s office. Replacement fee is $6 plus 50 cents automation fee (total $6.50). Do not mail cash. The fees are not refundable.” It could be that, as in New Mexico, some local offices add a fee or there’s an online “convenience fee.”
BTW in New Mexico it’s $17 for that single replacement plate.
Editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the metro area on Mondays. Reach her at 823-3858; dwestphal@abqjournal.com; or 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87109.
