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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Sunday, July 1, 2007
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Blunt Tackles License Plate Tab Theft
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), July 1, 2007 - Gov. Matt Blunt has signed legislation tackling tab theft and making it easier for Missourians to replace stolen license plate tabs. The law will benefit Missourians who together had to replace 20,625 plates or tabs last year.
"Law abiding vehicle owners whose tabs are stolen should not have to jump through hoops to have their tabs replaced," Gov. Blunt said as he signed the bill in a bi-partisan event at the St. Louis Police Board. "I am pleased to sign Sen. Maida Coleman's bill to provide Missourians an alternative to protect their plates from tab theft and make it easier than ever before for tab theft victims to replace their stolen property without unnecessary, added costs."
Senate Bill 384, sponsored by Sen. Maida Coleman, allows Missourians to receive two sets of license plate tabs for free to replace stolen tabs if they submit a notarized affidavit. Previous law required a police report to avoid the $8.50 tab replacement charge. The new law applies to tabs issued before January 1, 2009, which is when Missouri's new license plate will be introduced. The bill also provides that license plates may be encased in transparent covers so long as the plates are plainly visible and their reflective qualities are not impaired.
"I appreciate the Governor's willingness to sign this legislation, and as a result, Missourians who have been the victims of tab theft will find it easier to replace those tabs," Sen. Coleman said.
"This bill represents a common sense approach to a long-standing problem. I want to thank the governor, the bill's sponsors, and the Department of Revenue for their help in fixing this problem," St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said.
The new law will benefit Missourians like one woman from St. Louis who had her tabs stolen twice in two weeks and a Kansas City family who had their tabs stolen as many as five times over 10 years.
In 2006, license offices issued 20,625 replacement plates or tabs statewide that were identified as stolen. Of those replacements, approximately 1,100 were accompanied by a police report. The rest were identified as stolen but did not have an accompanying police report so the vehicle owners paid an $8.50 replacement fee. Under the new law, as long as vehicle owners have a notarized affidavit, they would not have to pay the replacement fee for the new tabs.
Beginning January, 2009, vehicle owners will have access to new license plates specially designed to reduce tab theft as well as to improve the plate's visibility and ensure the collection of state and local taxes. Several security features work in conjunction with one another to further aid in eliminating tab theft. The new plates will feature a larger size tab and the expiration month will be embossed in the upper left corner. The new year tab and plate configurations will assist law enforcement in determining whether a plate is expired.
Immigration Bill Stirs Contentious Debate
ST. LOUIS, (PRNewswire-USNewswire), July 1, 2007 - As the immigration debate heads back to the United States Senate, there seems to be an emerging consensus among U.S. adults. Most U.S. adults favor a program allowing illegal immigrants to stay in this country if they have a job and pay their back taxes, but would not allow them to stay if they do not pay their back taxes.
This Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States between June 5 and 11, 2007, among 2,372 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
To correctly gauge the difference of this issue, we asked people whether they would favor or oppose creating a program that would allow illegal immigrants already living in the United States for a number of years to stay in the country and apply for U.S. citizenship. Then, there was a twist -- the question one-half of our sample read continued "if they had a job and paid back taxes" while the question the other half read concluded "even if they don't pay back taxes".
Not surprisingly, there was a large difference. Well over half (57%) of adults who had the first statement with the back tax provision favored such a program while two in five (39%) opposed. Among the adults who had the provision of not paying back taxes, two-thirds (66%) opposed such a program while only one-quarter (28%) favored it.
These are just some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,372 U.S. adults conducted online between June 5 and 11, 2007 by Harris Interactive(R).
There is also a divide among Hispanics, one of the groups most impacted by the current debate over illegal immigrants. When given the program where illegal immigrants would pay back taxes, three-quarters (74%) of Hispanics would favor this program (compared to 53 percent of Whites). But, looking at the program where no back taxes would be paid, Hispanics are evenly divided as 44 percent would favor such a program and 44 percent would oppose.
Partisan leanings also show a split on this divisive issue. When back taxes are included, two-thirds of Democrats (65%) favor this program as do 56 percent of Independents. Republicans are split straight down the middle as 49 percent favor it and 49 percent oppose it. When back taxes are not included, Republicans are of like mind with over three-quarters (78%) opposing it. There is also consensus among Democrats as three in five (60%) oppose this no back tax program along with 63 percent of Independents.
So What?
While so much seems to be up for contentious debate with regard to the immigration bill the U.S. Senate is considering, one thing is clear. To win over a majority of the U.S. public, including half of Republicans, a provision which includes the payment of back taxes should be part of the final bill sent to the White House.
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