Repeal Of Driver Penalties Possible

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Va. State of the Commonwealth Address

In his State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday night, Va. Gov. Timothy Kaine asked voters to close the gun control loophole and announced a repeal of the state's abusive driver fees.

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Kaine, who says immigration is a federal issue, said he will consider proposals, but he noted that Virginia prohibits someone in the country illegally from receiving most state and local services. Virginia corrections officials and police who come across someone undocumented also notify federal officials, the governor said.

"Virginia has done much to pick up the slack for broken federal immigration policy," Kaine said.

"I think the governor is correct when he says the system that the federal government maintains is broken," Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R) said. "But I think he's wrong to say that there is not more we can do in Virginia and, in particular, in the area of criminal" illegal immigrants

Kaine, who has just passed the midway point of his four-year term, urged lawmakers to approve his initiatives, including proposals to boost spending on mental health, expand access to pre-kindergarten for poor children and close a loophole that allows unlicensed dealers at gun shows to sell firearms without performing background checks.

There could be a fight this year over Kaine's proposed $78 billion budget for the next two years. Because a slump in the housing market has slowed revenue, Kaine wants to transfer $261 million from the state's reserves.

Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr. (James City), the newly elected minority leader, said Republicans would try to make Kaine's proposed budget more fiscally sound and less reliant on the state's rainy-day fund and on borrowing money.

"The budget you will see in March will surely be very different from the one you heard about tonight from the governor," Norment said. "And, I promise you, it will be a superior budget."

There is more consensus about strengthening the state's mental health system, a key priority for Kaine and GOP leaders because of the Virginia Tech massacre.

"In the days following the shootings, we mourned together, faced troubling questions and were inspired by the indomitable community on the Virginia Tech campus," Kaine said. "The commitment to healing reminded us that we owe it to the victims and their families to bring light out of the darkness of this tragedy by addressing the problems it revealed."

Kaine noted that 6 percent of Virginians have serious mental illness and that and one in four have a diagnosed mental illness.

Besides increasing spending by $42 million over two years, Kaine spoke about the need to revamp commitment standards and increase oversight of community-based health clinics.

Kaine's decision to call for a repeal of the abusive-driver fees was something of a surprise.