Four years after the Legislature eliminated registration stickers that vehicle owners used to have to affix to their license plates, someone who misses them finally has emerged.

Republican state Rep. Barry Jozwiak of Berks County wants to bring back the stickers, claiming that their elimination has enabled untold numbers of Pennsylvanians to get away without registering their vehicles.

Restoring the stickers, he recently told PennLive, will help PennDOT generate some of the $51 million decline in revenue that PennDOT says it has experienced.

But that has nothing to do with the stickers. PennDOT actually saves more than $3 million a year by not having to produce them every year.

And vehicle owners still must annually register them at the rate of $38 per car and more per truck, depending on size.

Since the law was implemented, there has been a 200,000-vehicle increase in registrations. In all, more than 12 million vehicles — nearly one per resident — are registered in Pennsylvania.

PennDOT’s revenue comes primarily from fuel taxes. Its revenue decline is because vehicles, even bigger ones, are more fuel-efficient than in the past.

Because of that fuel efficiency and the impending rise of hybrid and electric vehicles, the Legislature will have to alter the way that it assesses taxes to fund PennDOT maintenance operations. There is no need to impose a further cost on PennDOT for stickers that serve no useful purpose.

— Republican & Herald, Pottsville/TNS