Va. Driver Penalties Nearing An End

Senate Follows House in Voting To Repeal Fees

RICHMOND, Jan. 30 -- The Virginia Senate unanimously approved repealing the state's controversial abusive-driving fees Wednesday and agreed to give refunds to anyone who has begun paying the fees.

The bill now goes to the House, which also has approved a measure to repeal the fees.

Under a compromise between Senate Democrats and Republicans, the fees on misdemeanor and felony driving offenses would be repealed as soon as Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) signed the measure.

To address the fees being paid in annual installments over three years, the Senate bill orders the state comptroller to issue refunds. But to be eligible, people would have to go to the court where they were convicted and fill out a form requesting that a judge clear their name.

"This is a clean repeal bill. The burden is on us," said Sen. J. Chapman Petersen (D-Fairfax), who worked with Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle (R-Virginia Beach) on the compromise.

Both parties had been pushing to quickly approve legislation to repeal the fees, which range from $750 to $3,000.

But the Senate bill was held up this week after a lawmaker discovered a 130-year-old state Supreme Court ruling that prohibits lawmakers from ordering local courts to stop the collection of fees or fines that have been assessed.

In Ratcliffe v. Anderson, the court said that the General Assembly "oversteps its authority when it passes legislation to invalidate or otherwise reopen a court judgment or decrees." Subsequent rulings in line with that decision have been upheld, according to a memo distributed to lawmakers.

The ruling was echoed in concerns that Stolle and other Senate Republicans expressed last week when they argued that the General Assembly could not issue refunds unless recipients got the court to sign off on them. But Senate Democrats said it would be too burdensome for people to return to court to be eligible for a refund.

On Tuesday, after discovering the ruling, Sen. R. Edward Houck (D-Spotsylvania) had Petersen and Stolle work on the compromise, which was approved 38 to 0.

The bill says the Department of Motor Vehicles cannot suspend the driver's license of anyone who fails to pay the fees. The agency would be required to send notices to people paying the fees instructing them how to get the court to dismiss them.

The bill approved by the House does not address refunds. Several GOP delegates said Wednesday that they expect the two chambers to be able to agree on a final bill.

But neither chamber has come up with a solution for replacing the $65 million for transportation that was to be raised by the fees. Some Senate Democrats are advocating an increase in the gasoline tax. House Republicans have ruled out additional taxes.

The debate over funding comes as lawmakers are growing increasingly worried about the state's fiscal outlook. Finance Secretary Jody M. Wagner told the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that a possible drop in revenue might force Kaine to request that additional money be taken out of the state's reserve fund to keep his proposed 2009-10 budget balanced, several delegates said.

Wagner said Kaine will have a clearer picture of state revenue, which has been hit by a downturn in the housing market and economy, in a few weeks, lawmakers said.