There's a lot riding on the new Connecticut state budget. Our hopes have already been dashed about the elimination of the car property tax. In the compromise budget package presented on Oct. 24, relief from that particular annoying tax was disappointingly left out.

Speaking of your vehicle, though, it is coming into play in another way in the new state budget that has been finally approved by the legislature.

According to nhregister.com, the Passport to the Parks program was voted in and will help to change the way Connecticut state parks are being funded. The new budget eliminates the parking fee for state residents at most parks. Instead, the fee will be replaced by a ten-dollar charge added on to Department of Motor Vehicle registration two-year renewals, at five dollars per year.

Evidently the thought process is that the revenue will be automatic. Legislators say the tax will raise around 16-million-dollars a year for Connecticut state parks, which they add is much more than the current parking fee generates.

If you remember, last year budget cuts forced three of the state’s 14 campgrounds to close after the July 4th weekend. Nine other campgrounds were shut down after Labor Day. Here's hoping that this money alleviates the need to close residents out of great out door enjoyment. Honestly, I hardly ever go to our state parks, but I still wouldn't mind the $10 charge to ensure they would stay open when they should be.

If Governor Malloy signs the budget into law the no-parking fees start up on Jan. 1, 2018.

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