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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Although the fee proposal originated with House Republicans, Kaine fueled the backlash last summer after he was advised by lawyers to make the fees apply to only Virginia motorists.

Kaine joined many Republicans in defending the fees, even as many Democrats made them a cornerstone of their election campaigns.

But last month, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission reported that Virginia might have to issue more than 300,000 license suspensions over the next two years for people's failure to pay the abusive-driver fees.

And even though the penalties were supposed to make people drive slower, Virginia surpassed 1,000 traffic fatalities for the first time in 17 years.

House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) said that the fees improved highway safety but that he would not oppose repealing them if lawmakers do not want to keep them. "We've got to do something if we're going to take this away," he said. "We've got to do something to improve traffic safety." We can't just let that go away."

In the Senate, where Democrats hold a one-vote majority, nine new members were welcomed Wednesday.

Sens. J. Chapman "Chap" Petersen (D-Fairfax), George L. Barker (D-Fairfax) and Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Warrenton) were sworn in shortly after noon.

"It's kind of like college graduation," said Petersen, flanked by his wife, three children and more than a dozen members of his extended family. "It's more for family than for you."

He and other lawmakers made their way around the newly renovated Capitol, which was closed in 2004 and underwent a $105 million facelift.

The House convened with four new Democratic members. But Republicans hold a slim majority, raising the prospect of tension with the Democratic Senate in the weeks ahead.

Staff writer Sandhya Somashekhar contributed to this report. For the text of Kaine's speech, go tohttp://blog.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics.