(The Center Square) — Florida officials forecast that the state’s revenues from highway licenses and fees will continue to increase in the next few years.
The Florida Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research held its annual revenue conference on Monday to revise the forecast for Florida’s expected revenue.
Current license and fees revenue collections for fiscal 2022-23 came in at $18.7 million, or 0.7% above previous estimates made in February. The conference stated in its executive summary, that this percentage is within what they consider “noise.”
The new forecast is set to see revenues rise somewhat, allowing for new legislation that has now been enacted, including a new $100 fine for speeding violations captured by speed detection systems in school zones.
For fiscal 2023-24, the General Revenue Fund is projected to be $4.9 million, a 1.4% increase above February forecasts. The Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund is forecast to earn $12.1 million — a 2.2% increase — while the state Transportation Trust Fund is projected to earn $23.3 million, a 1.6% increase.
The conference stated that overall, any changes made to the forecast were largely positive and exceeded any downward projections. Further into the future, license and fee revenue is forecast to continue to grow at a rate between 1% and 1.7% annually up until FY 2028-29.
Across 10 revenue categories, analysts have projected that these will increase each year, with the most significant increase over the first two years of forecast occurring in the reinstatement category. Other categories projected to have increases include driver license tests, transcripts, ID cards, vessel registrations, for hire, private vehicles and surcharges.
Revenue estimates were reduced through the forecasts for miscellaneous fees, commercial driver’s licenses, suspensions and other vehicles. The conference also noted that projections for DUI had not changed.
While this was also initially projected for traffic camera revenue, red light violation projections were reduced and the forecast for speeding violations in school zones was added. License plates, private driver licenses, titles, truck/tractors and initial registration fees had mixed forecast revisions.
For fiscal 2024-25, the General Revenue Fund is forecast to exceed previous projections by 1%. The Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund estimates are 2.3% above the previous forecast, and the State Transportation Trust Fund is 1.6% above previous estimates.
