Indeed, the adhesive woes are occurring as the state, which is confronting a growing budget deficit, has raised registration fees by about 25percentt for most vehicle owners.
Mr. Giffen questioned how students in impoverished schools would fare under the new security requirements, which might raise registration fees to cover the costs.
John Maginnis, a political analyst in Baton Rouge, pointed out that the federal motor-voter law, which allows people to register when they get a driver's license, had already raised registration to near-saturation levels.
Late in the session, though, Rice signed on as House sponsor on a measure to raise registration and rental fees to create trust funds for transportation; the measure was later dropped in favor of a bipartisan study committee between legislative sessions.
Efforts to find at least some of that financing have met significant resistance this session, particularly from Tea Party-friendly Republicans uninterested in raising vehicle registration fees or allowing the state to take on more debt.
Adrian Martinez, staff attorney for the environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice, criticized the idea of raising vehicle registration fees as "verging on political fantasy".
If they did so, the money raised from registration could be used for habitat restoration and the management of fisheries.
The Senate Budget Committee approved the initiative yesterday after agreeing to raise vehicle registration fees by $7 instead of $8.
When the conservative advocate Michael Quinn Sullivan took aim at an expensive water deal or a transportation-financing plan that would have raised vehicle registration fees, the Tea Party set in the House showed strength in numbers.
Rice also hoped to sponsor legislation supported by Ritter to raise vehicle registration fees in order to fund road and bridge repairs, but failed to find a suitable cosponsor for the bill.
