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Lopez-Cantera and House killed tag fee cut in 2010

As they rewrite history, Tallahassee politicians can have short memories when it suits their political objectives.

Take the current debate over reducing car registration fees and the bill Gov. Rick Scott signed Wednesday rolling back some fees to pre-2009 levels.

Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who voted to raise the fees as a member of the House in 2009, told reporters that he only had "one option" when Charlie Crist was governor, to increase registration fees by about 35 percent. 

The following year, Lopez-Cantera had a chance to reduce tag fees by a smaller amount. But the record is clear that along with the rest of the House, he voted no.

That year, the Senate voted 37-0 for a bill that would have lowered the fees. The bill was SB 1436, sponsored by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and co-sponsored by Democrat Dave Aronberg and Republicans Charlie Dean and Don Gaetz. 

After that unanimous Senate vote, the bill went to the House, where an amendment by Republican Rep. Rich Glorioso of Plant City stripped off all of the fee-reduction language and sent the bill to a conference committee, which turned out to be a death sentence.

The House vote of 116-0 included a yes vote by Lopez-Cantera, House majority leader under Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala (view the roll call vote here).

Rep. Brad Drake of DeFuniak Springs filed the House version of the tag fee reduction in 2010 (HB 71), but it went nowhere.

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