Governor Kaine Signs Bill to repeal the Civil Remedial fees

The so-called “abusive driver fees” are finally gone, and anyone who has paid the fees will receive a refund.

Washington Post article

Governor Kaine and Delegate Albo realized the error of their ways.

My petition was a big part of it, but I didn’t do it alone. Thanks to all the legislators who opposed the legislation (especially Del. Brian Moran, State Sen Chap Peterson, Del. Bob Marshall, and Del. Jeff Frederick), all the candidates who made it an issue in the campaign (especially Jerry Taylor and Marty Martinez), Virginia’s bloggers (especially Albo Must Go and Raising Kaine), Tom DeSabla, The Virginia Club for Growth, and everyone who signed the petition.

You can contribute to Petition Online at https://artifice.securesites.com/cgi-bin/support_petitiononline.cgi. For the record, I have no connection to the people who run the site and receive no personal benefit for any contributions. I am simply trying to help them out since their site was instrumental in this campaign.

Thanks again to everyone who helped fight this law. Please keep this in mind and remain active with your local, state and national governments in the future.

I will no longer be adding to this blog.  You can view my new blog at http://bryanault.wordpress.com/ 

House of Delegates votes 95-2 to repeal Civil Remedial Fees!

Even Del. Albo realized the error of his previous bill and voted for repeal:

Washington Post article

Governor Kaine has already called for repeal, so we just need the bill to pass the state Senate and the fees will be eliminated.

Gov. Kaine calls for repeal of abuser fees

On Wednesday night. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine changed his opinion and called for a repeal of the “abusive driver” fees.

Gov. Kaine’s support for this legislation was one of the reasons it passed in the first place, and he was also steadfast in his support of the fees even after the voter backlash started.  However, it’s better late than never so let’s give him credit for admitting his mistake.

Del. Bob Marshall introduces Legislation to repeal the “Abuser Fees”

In addition to Del. Brian Moran’s (D- Alexandria) proposed legislation to repeal the “Abuser Fees”, Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William) has also introduced legislation to repeal the fees:

HOUSE BILL NO. 67 Offered January 9, 2008 Prefiled December 7, 2007 A BILL to repeal § 46.2-206.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the imposition of civil remedial fees on certain drivers.
———- Patron– Marshall, R.G. ———- Committee Referral Pending ———- Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 46.2-206.1 of the Code of Virginia is repealed.

I applaud both of these legislators for quickly keeping their campaign promises and doing the right thing for the people of the Commonwealth.

Jim Gilmore misuses “abuser fee” issue.

While I appreciate Jim Gilmore’s opposition to the Abuser Fees, I resent the way he is using it as part of his campaign for the US Senate. In a recent email communique, he wrote the following:

On July 1, you might remember the Virginia General Assembly instituted abusive driver’s fees for a number of traffic violations. Those fees were put in place not to make the Commonwealth a safer place. Rather, they were a way to make money for the Commonwealth at between $750 and $3,000 per violation!

Now these unfair “fees” – which are really a new form of the car tax – are basically making police and prosecutors act as tax collectors. A recent UVA study claims such fees are unfair and calls them “flawed public policy”. Worst of all, nearly 300,000 Virginia drivers could lose their licenses in the next 18 months if this is not fixed!

That’s why I need your help now. Your support of my campaign will help me take this message to the Virginia legislature in the short term. And long-term I will fight in the U.S. Senate to prevent Virginia and other states from levying these unfair taxes on hardworking taxpayers.

Make a secure online donation of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, or even $2,300 to my campaign right now.

There’s one problem, however. Gilmore is running for the UNITED STATES Senate, not the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Senate. Even if he wins, he cannot introduce bills or vote in the Virginia General Assembly because he will be part of the US Senate, an entirely separate body from the Virginia Senate. He’s asking for money for an issue over which he has absolutely ZERO power. I would hope most voters understand the difference, but it is confusing and he’s adding to the confusion rather than educating voters.

Again, Gilmore’s opposition to the fees is appreciated, but this is a very deceptive manner to raise money for his campaign. Wake up, Virginia. Donating to Gilmore or voting for Gilmore will do nothing to affect the “abuser fee’s issue.

Report criticizes fees/Moran announces repeal legislation

A report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that the “abusive driver fees” haven’t improved driver safety in VA, may fall short of the revenue goals, and will result in as many as 300,000 drivers losing their licenses for failure to pay the fees over the next two years:

Daily Press article

Washington Post article

In addition, Virginia House Democratic Caucus Chairman Del. Brian J. Moran announced that he has introduced legislation to repeal the fees and refund drivers who have already been forced to pay them. Here are some quotes from Del. Moran’s press release:

“We have said all along that these fee’s are a Washington-style gimmick that wouldn’t stand the test of time. They don’t make our roads safer, fail to generate real money for transportation, and turn our police officers in to tax collectors,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian J. Moran “It’s time for their repeal. I hope my Republican colleagues will join my efforts in opposition to these fees.”

“The people spoke in this falls elections when proponents of the fees were defeated, and the research now confirm that these fees provide no real safety benefit on the roadways,” said Moran. “It’s time we end the unfair taxation on only Virginia drivers.”

I fully support Del. Moran’s efforts and I applaud him for quickly keeping his campaign promise.   Hopefully the rest of the General Assembly will support him on this.

UVA Researchers Take Issue with the “Civil Remedial Fees”

Researchers at the University of Virginia have criticized the “abuser fees” in HB3202 as poor public policy for combining revenue generation with deterrence of poor driving habits. This was one of my points in the petition and their research lends additional credibility to it.

VOTE tomorrow (Nov. 6) and vote against this legislation.

University of Virginia Researchers Take Issue with State’s Abusive Driver Fees in UVA Today.

Full Article: Virginia Abusive Driver Fees: An Abuse of Fines by John L. Knapp and W. Grace Ng (in Virginia Issues and Answers, Fall 2007)

The Fundamental Problems with the “Abuser Fees”

The fundamental problems with the Civil Remedial Fees are the way Virginia defines “reckless driving” and the way HB 3202 defines “habitual offenders”.

In VA, anything over 20 mph above the speed limit or above 80 mph (so only 15 over in a 65 zone) is considered reckless driving, and will result in an extra $1050 fine because of the new fees. The only way to avoid the fees is if the judge is willing to reduce the charge from reckless driving to speeding, but this is entirely dependent on the judge and there is no guarantee that this will happen just because a driver has a clean record. There are cases where 20 mph over or 80 mph are reckless, but this is certainly not true in EVERY case and it shows that the lawmakers in Richmond have bought into the “slower equals safer” fallacy. Slow driving can be just as dangerous as fast driving, and statistics show that fatalities and accidents decrease when speed limits are raised.

In addition there is a provision in the “civil remedial fees” that creates additional penalties for anyone who has over 8 points on their license: $100 a year fine for having 8 points and an additional $75 for each point. Points for some offenses stay on a driver’s license for 11 years and some offenses (such as “reckless driving”, which is Virginia’s false moniker for “speeding”) are 6 points. So, for example, if a driver receives a ticket for going 81 in a 65, then get the same ticket 10 YEARS LATER, here’s what would happen:

1st offense: $200 base fee plus $1050 abuser fee plus 6 points= $1250
2nd offense: $200 base fee plus $1050 abuser fee plus 6 points= $1250
Points fee: $100+ 75×4 (for each point over 8)= $400
Total for two offenses= $2900

So, Virginia’s definition of “habitual offender” is as few as two offenses in 11 years. These are not dangerous drivers and not the people who should be subject to stringent penalties.

Remember to vote on November 6, and vote against anyone who supports the “Civil Remedial Fees.”

List of Members/Candidates opposed to the fees

Some of the candidates (both current members of the GA and challengers) have responded to my email and below is a list of those who are opposed to the fees. Please keep this in mind when you head to the polls on November 6.

The list is organized by district- you can find out what district you live in on Virginia’s Who is My Legislator? page.

This is not a comprehensive list because I was not able to find valid emails for all the candidates, and I’m sure some are too busy to respond in the last week of their campaigns. If you are a candidate or aware of a candidate who is opposed to the fees and not listed here, please contact me.

The files are in PDF format, so they require the free Acrobat Reader to view. Please check back because I will continue to update these files as more candidates commit to repealing the fees.

List of House of Delegates candidates opposed to the fees: houselist.pdf Update 11/4/07- add Adam Ebbin  (D- 49th district) to the list

List of State Senate candidates opposed to the fees: senatelist.pdf
Update 11/4/07- add Bob Wilkerson (D- 15th district) to the list.

Petition Sent to candidates and members of the General Assembly

I sent the petition to the members of the General Assembly, as well as all of the candidates running in the upcoming elections (at least all the ones I could find valid email addresses for- if there are any candidates or legislators out there who did not receive the email please contact me).

I will track their responses on this blog so citizens of Virginia can use the information when going to the polls on November 6.

Below is the text of the email I sent:

My name is Bryan Ault and I am contacting you on behalf of 177,000+ citizens of Virginia who have signed the online petition against the “Civil Remedial Fees” (also called the “abusive driver fees”) included in House Bill 3202.

I started this petition because I truly believe these fees are horrible policy for the people of Virginia. Clearly, thousands of my fellow citizens agree. Problems with these fees include:

- Penalties are far too high for the degree of the offense, which violates the explicit prohibition of “excessive fines” in Article 1 Section 9 of Virginia’s Constitution.
- The penalties are also too high for many Virginians to afford and amount to a regressive tax on lower income residents.
- Demerit points remain on a driver’s license for up to 11 years, meaning that as few as 2 offenses in an 11 year period can result in additional fines.
- The fees are affecting first-time offenders for menial offenses and not truly targeting “abusers.”
- The fees are applied through traffic enforcement, which is done inconsistently and arbitrarily.
- The fees are for REVENUE, not traffic safety, and unwisely combine revenue legislation with traffic safety legislation.
- Judges are given no discretion to reduce or eliminate the fees
- Similar legislation in other states have had negative unintended consequences.

There is a fundamental problem with the number and type of offenses that are considered “reckless driving” in Virginia, and this legislation exasperates the problem. While these fees may intimidate and scare drivers into slowing down, “slower” does not mean “safer,” and, in fact, data shows that accidents and fatalities decrease when speed limits are raised. This legislation will have a minimal if any effect on safety because it was designed to generate revenue and addresses many driving behaviors that are not truly “reckless” rather than truly dangerous behaviors.