A pending proposal to hike auto-registration fees by up to $100 will fall hardest on motorists of modest means--and should be put to vote of the people. That's the conclusion of Coloradans randomly surveyed by ColoradoSenateNews.com on Denver's 16th Street Mall Wednesday.

Senate Bill 244, introduced by Democrat Sen. Abel Tapia, of Pueblo, attempts to fund transportation projects by slapping up to $100 in new fees on the annual registration tab for most Colorado cars and trucks, with older vehicles assessed the highest amounts.

Legislative Republicans, almost all of whom oppose the measure, have derided it as a "car tax" disguised as a fee and have lambasted it for creating the heaviest burden on people who least can afford it: the owners of older vehicles.

A sampling of popular opinion outside the Capitol turned up similar sentiments. A common view was that expressed by Ron Cutshall, a retiree and senior citizen who drives an older truck.

"It's not fair. I barely get by," Cutshall said. "I can't afford any more. We're squeezed as it is."