KMAX: News of the West

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) With the recall election a little over a week away, California's drivers and college students are getting some dollars-and-cents reminders in the mail of just why voters are so mad at Gov. Gray Davis.

At a rate of 600,000 a week, drivers are receiving bills for a newly tripled car registration tax. And many California State University and community college students are being billed for new fee increases. University of California students paid their bills weeks ago with 30 percent fee hikes.

Some of the newest bills are due the week before the election.

Experts say any anger about the taxes could be vented in the voting booths Oct. 7, threatening Davis' bid to stay on as governor.

``I know everything else is going Gray Davis' way, but this is not one of them,'' said Shaun Bowler, professor of political science at the University of California at Riverside.

Said Mark Petracca, a political science professor at the University of California at Irvine: ``The timing certainly isn't helpful.''

The controversial increases are associated with the California budget fiasco that helped prompt the recall.

Jennifer Horonjeff, a sophomore at UC Irvine, said the higher taxes and fees have stiffened her resolve to go with a new governor.

``My checkbook is hurting,'' Horonjeff, a 19-year-old Boston native, said this week while leaving the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Santa Ana, where she registered her car. ``I was expecting to pay $50 or $60 here. But when they told me it was $118, I couldn't believe it.''

It was Horonjeff's second hit in weeks from the state budget crisis: Recently, UC Irvine sent her a revised bill reflecting the fee increase.

The first of the new car tax bills are due on Wednesday, and some college fee increases must be paid by Tuesday.

In Sacramento, James Schreiber, 26, got a letter demanding $117 more for his first semester at Sacramento City College. Schreiber, who had already paid a tuition bill, said the new bill confirmed his decision to vote for Davis' recall.

The higher registration fees on California's 31 million cars and trucks are designed to generate an additional $4 billion in revenue. The fee increase at the state university systems and state community colleges will cost students $700 million more. All are part of efforts by the Legislature and Davis to close a budget gap once estimated at $38.2 billion.

The major candidates vying to replace Davis have pledged to rescind the car tax increase, which the Davis administration imposed in June.

The tax amounts to 2 percent of a vehicle's purchase price minus 10 percent depreciation every year, meaning a $20,000 car will cost $400 to register. The old rate would be about $135.

This week, Maria Carter, 41, of Santa Ana, carried a registration renewal form and $629 in cash into the Department of Motor Vehicles office.

``I'm mad. That's a lot of money for me,'' she said. ``I need that money right now. But I have to pay it.''

Carter, a registered Democrat, said she is not sure whether she will vote against Davis, but the car tax bill will make her take a closer look at the replacement candidates on the ballot.

On the other hand, Californians are getting a $1 billion break on their power bills starting this week. It is a one-time credit averaging $40 for residential customers, $100 to $300 for small businesses and up to $80,000 for large businesses.

The refund is rooted in the state's exit from the power-buying business. California got into the business after its botched experiment with deregulation two years ago led to blackouts and rising bills.

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Associated Press Writers Chelsea J. Carter in Orange County and Jennifer Coleman in Sacramento contributed to this story.