Update....
Abusive Driver Fees Declared Unconstitutional
August 2, 2007 - 11:50am
By BOB LEWIS
AP Political Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Henrico County judge declared the state's new abusive driver fees unconstitutional Thursday.
General District Court Judge Archie Yeatts issued the ruling in the case of Anthony Price, who was facing his fifth charge of driving on a suspended license.
With his order, Yeatts instructed Henrico General District Court clerks not to collect civil remedial fees that can reach $1,000 or more for certain driving offenses.
The ruling is binding only in Henrico County but is being immediately appealed to Circuit Court and could eventually reach the Virginia Supreme Court.
The fees have prompted protests from Virginians outraged that they apply only to state residents. Price's lawyers argued at a hearing last week that forcing him to pay $750 in fees that don't apply to people who live outside Virginia violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law.
Since the fees took effect July 1, critics have called for their immediate repeal in a special legislative session. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine opposes a special session but has suggested legislators revisit the law in the regular session that begins in January.
The General Assembly passed the fees this year to help endow the first major transportation funding law in a generation. They range from the fee Price initially faced _ three annual installments of $250 _ to $3,000 over three years for driving-related felonies.
Because lawmakers wanted the revenue for highway maintenance, they enacted the surcharges as fees, which Virginia is powerless to collect outside its boundaries. The state can collect fines from out-of-state motorists, but state Constitution requires those revenues to be used exclusively for education.
http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=1197750
Forum 
