how do the police spell $revenue$ - out of state plates???? Original Article Out-of-state plates draw crackdown Rachel Stults The Arizona Republic Oct. 10, 2005 12:00 AM If you have an out-of-state license plate, state authorities are waiting for you. Where you work. Where you shop. Even where you take the kids to school. State authorities, eager to recoup the millions of dollars lost each year from drivers who don't properly register their vehicles, are on the lookout for license plates that don't say "Arizona." That means people who work in the state - even those who are only here temporarily - must obtain proper plates, or they could soon see a citation stuck to their windshield. Just ask Josh Laurandeau of Montana. The electrical engineer was brought in as an expert to work on the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. But as he left work Thursday, 20 MVD officers greeted him and other employees outside the plant's exit at the end of their shift. By the end of the day, the officers handed out 111 citations to 82 employees, mostly for out-of-state plates. "I'm a resident of another state, but we come in to fix this plant because there's not enough experts here to do it," Laurandeau said. "Next time they have a power problem, they better buy candles." Laurandeau, who has been here for about six months and is renting an apartment per diem in Avondale, said he plans to stay in Arizona for at least 70 days or until the project is done. When it is, Laurandeau said, he won't come back if he can help it. "I've been doing this for eight years, and no other state has ever done this," said Laurandeau, who works for Bechtel Corp., a company that contracts across the country. People who receive a citation may have to go to court to prove their temporary status, or pay up to a $300 fine. A spokeswoman with the state's Motor Vehicle Division said all drivers must pay their fair shares to keep up with the state's growth. So enforcement officers are targeting everything from small to large businesses, school districts, state agencies and even strip-mall parking lots. But some experts warn that such a tough stance could alienate potential employees and residents, especially contractors and consultants who work on a temporary basis. Contractor Bruce Gendvil, 67, who got here just over a week ago and received a citation Thursday, said he thinks the MVD enforcement is a scam. "If we had to register in every state we work in, it wouldn't be worth it," Gendvil said. In Arizona, registration fees vary depending on the value of the car. For example, a $20,000 vehicle could cost about $330 in fees. New residents are required to register their out-of-state vehicles immediately. State law defines a resident as a person employed in Arizona or someone who remains here for seven months or more in a calendar year. Temporary workers are given a three-month grace period. But once that time is up, residents should get their plates changed or risk going to court. The law is not a new one, but as more people move to the state, officials say they need to help fund the roadways, said Cydney DeModica, an MVD spokeswoman. "We're an extremely transient state," she said. "We have many people moving here every single day, and everybody out there is enjoying some of the best roads in the nation." Officials don't have a good estimate of just how much they could be losing, but since July, the state has raked in nearly $5 million from enforcement of unregistered and expired plates. The incident at Palo Verde was one of MVD's biggest, and enforcement officers spent more than two weeks planning the sweep. Arizona Public Service Co. officials said they did not know about the enforcement until it happened. But they condone what MVD is doing and see no repercussions to their future business interactions with contracting companies. "As a company, we certainly advocate people following the laws of the state," said Jim McDonald, an APS spokesman. "I don't see a controversy about it. We all have to pay our taxes." But some Valley contracting recruiters disagree. Such strict laws could cause major repercussions in the state's needy market for contracting and consulting, said Kathy Garcia-Colace, managing partner of JBN & Associates, a Scottsdale-based national recruiting firm. Out-of-state experts are a necessity in a growing city, and the consequences of the laws could alienate potential employees and residents, Garcia-Colace said. "It's a positive impact any time we get people in to the city to work," she said. "I think it's unrealistic to expect that anybody who's coming here on a contract basis would pay for registration. JBN executive recruiter Matthew Lissy said that if the state continues its crackdown, it will have an impact. "There's already a shortage of people to get these jobs done," he said. "If that's going to be the case, it's just going to present that many more challenges." Reach the reporter at rachel.stults@arizonarepublic .com or (602) 444-4138. Reporter Lindsey Collom contributed to this article.