House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian Moran made the following statement after legislation to repeal the Abusive Driver Fee’s passed the House Transportation Committee on January 17, 2008 (HB649). Delegate Moran has been a vocal and consistent opponent of the fees since their introduction and first called for their repeal last summer. He introduced legislation to repeal the fees in the 2008 session (HB1188).
“The abusive driver fees should never have been created and I’ve been proud to consistently oppose them. As a former prosecutor, I know we can’t use our police officers as tax collectors. Research has clearly shown theses fees do not raise the revenue needed for transportation and they fail to improve safety on our roadways.
I’m very pleased at the strong bipartisan support for repealing these fees and look forward to its passage in the full House next week.”
More on Abusive Driver Fees:
Moran Announces 'Abusive Driver Fee Repeal'
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian J. Moran announced legislation to repeal the Abusive Driver Fee’s in this session of the General Assembly. Brian has consistently opposed the abuser fees since their first introduction several years ago. Yesterday’s release of a report from the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission confirmed that the fees have been ineffective and today Brian announced his legislation to repeal the fees and refund those drivers unfairly taxed. Last summer over 180,000 Virginians signed petitions in opposition to these fees.
“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 report, released yesterday, said that the fees program could lead to 137,000 drivers’-license suspensions by the end of June 2008 and to 181,000 more in the next fiscal year.
“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.”
The JLARC report said the fees could fall well short of a $65 million-a-year goal. They cited collection procedural differences, uncertainty over the penalties, and discretion of police and judges.
