After three hours of testimony, argument, and questions, the Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday approved a sweeping bill that would increase vehicle registration fees to pay for road repairs.

The bill passed with all four committee Democrats, including co-sponsor Dan Gibbs of Silverthorne, outvoting the three Republicans. The bill will now move to the Finance Committee.

Thirty people addressed the committee: Five listed themselves as taking "no position" but still offered a number of suggestions. Six others were opposed, and 19 spoke in favor of the bill.

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce President Joe Blake told the committee that transportation issues should unite people, not divide them.

Joe Kiely, who is based in Limon and is vice president of the Ports to Plains trade corridor, piggybacked on the need for statewide cooperation and supported the bill. He said he jokingly offered up Limon's $2 million general fund budget to the Colorado Department of Transportation for local I-70 maintenance.

"That wouldn't pay for a quarter-mile," he said he was told.

Under the bill, owners of passenger cars and many SUVs would have to pay an extra $32 for vehicle registration next year and then $41 the following year. The owners of larger vehicles and trucks would pay more according to their weight. The fee increases would be tied to inflation.

Enterprise and National car rental companies were among those opposing a $2 fee hike on their customers, about half of whom are Coloradans.

Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, proposed an amendment eliminating that fee, but it failed along party lines, as did an amendment by Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, to eliminate a study on alternative mileage fees, such as one based on the number of miles people drive.

The committee vote capped a day of negotiations on the bill.

GOP leaders have said provisions such as the higher registration fees and the proposed study on alternative funding are unacceptable. But it wasn't until Monday night that they presented a written alternative plan.

In four hours of negotiations with Rice, Gibbs and Gov. Bill Ritter over the past two days, Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry and House Minority Leader Mike May pitched a package that would eliminate the alternative funding study and the provision in Gibbs' bill that could allow for more tolling.

They also sought a smaller increase in vehicle registration fees and a reallocation of the severance tax for roads.

Gibbs and co-sponsor Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, said the Republican proposal would raise only $100 million to $150 million annually, which in their opinion is not enough money for Colorado's needs. However, they said all of the bill's elements remain up for discussion as it moves forward.

Gibbs said he hopes to raise over $200 million a year, and Democrats say that could result in 5,000 to 10,000 jobs.