CHP SEEKING SCOFFLAWS HIGHWAY COPS AIMING TO CURB LOCAL DRIVERS REGISTERED OUT OF STATE.Byline: Amy Raisin Darvish Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - Those who live in California but drive vehicles registered out of state, take heed Verb 1. take heed - listen and pay attention; "Listen to your father"; "We must hear the expert before we make a decision" listen, hear focus, pore, rivet, center, centre, concentrate - direct one's attention on something; "Please focus on your studies and : The CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan is out to catch ``cheaters.'' The California Highway Patrol's Newhall station is making a name for itself, citing motorists who avoid California's higher vehicle registration costs by licensing their cars in neighboring states or failing to reregister when they relocate to the Golden State. ``We get a lot of (license) plates from border states Border States The slave states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri that were adjacent to the free states of the North during the Civil War. like Oregon, Nevada, Arizona,'' said Officer Michelle Esposito. ``You'd be surprised how easy it is to spot these cars. And it can get pretty costly if you're caught.'' Esposito coordinates the program known as Californians Help Eliminate All the Evasive Registration Scofflaws - or CHEATERS - at her station. In the past three months, the Newhall station has processed 19 plates and collected more than $6,700 in fees from the offenders. While California's flat vehicle registration fee of $31 is lower than that of many other states, additional fees - based on vehicle type, environmental factors and other state, county and city taxes - increase that number significantly. The flat fee for vehicle registration in Oregon, for example, is $8. And the state does not collect sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. on new vehicle purchases, which can be tempting for those looking to cut corners. In addition to law enforcement crackdowns, vehicles suspected in the out-of-state scheme are often reported by drivers' neighbors, Esposito said. The telltale signs are obvious once you know what to look for. ``A lot times, it's as simple as an out-of-state plate with a bumper sticker bumper sticker n. A sticker bearing a printed message for display on a vehicle's bumper. bumper sticker n → Aufkleber m on the car, like the ones that say 'My child is student of the month' at a local school,'' she said. ``Or the out-of-state plate is in a local dealership frame.'' In 2003, the CHP wrote nearly 200,000 citations for vehicle registration violations statewide, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. figures released by the law enforcement agency Noun 1. law enforcement agency - an agency responsible for insuring obedience to the laws FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation - a federal law enforcement agency that is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Justice in April. That same year, the state's Department of Motor Vehicles In the United States of America, Department of Motor Vehicles (or DMV) is a commonly used name of the government agency of a U.S. state which administers the registration of automobiles (e.g., by issuing license plates), and/or the licensing of drivers (e.g. credited the CHP Newhall station with identifying and reporting 71 offenders, resulting in more than $14,300 in fees and penalties paid, Esposito said. California law states that vehicle registration fees are due immediately upon accepting employment or establishing residency in the state. There is a grace period of only 20 days to pay the fees without incurring penalty fines. People can report suspected violators anonymously at www.chp.ca.gov and are urged to collect as much information as possible, including the license plate's state of issue, the plate number, the make and model of the vehicle and when it where it was observed. Esposito added that vehicle owners who voluntarily register their cars are often charged only the registration fee and are not assessed penalty fines. Amy Raisin Darvish, (661) 257-5254 amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com |
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