Monday, July 30, 2007
Bad-driver fees only part of the problem
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John S. Edwards
Edwards, a Democrat, is state senator for the 21st District, which includes Roanoke, parts of Roanoke, Pulaski and Montgomery counties, and all of Craig and Giles counties.
The ill-conceived Transportation Act of 2007 -- negotiated in secret by House and Senate Republican leaders -- is only now receiving the public scrutiny it should have received during the legislative session last winter. And the public is making clear that it does not like what it sees.
The dramatic increase in fees is intended to raise funds for road improvements, never mind that this source is inadequate and not designed to fund road building. But, worse still, they only apply to Virginians, and not to out-of-state drivers. Despite the fact that perhaps one-third of the miles traveled are driven by out-of state motorists, Virginians will bear the entire burden of paying for roads under this legislation.
The "civil remedial fees," imposed only on Virginia's "abusive drivers" for certain traffic offenses, are particularly unfair. They are excessive and disproportionate to the offenses involved and are in addition to all other punishment imposed by the court.
The experts do not believe the $62 million assumed to be raised by them will be collected. But they will impose a hardship on low-income Virginians, who will likely not be able to pay and lose their driver's licenses as a result. Meanwhile, out-of-state drivers will not have to worry.
The problems with the transportation bill are too numerous to recount here. But the failure of the majority party to open up the process to allow the public -- and minority party members -- to participate is chiefly to blame for this unfortunate piece of legislation. The lone Senate Democrat on the joint House-Senate conference committee, Senator Phil Puckett, D-Russell County, was not even invited to the secret negotiating sessions. Instead, it was negotiated behind closed parlor doors by legislators pledged never to raise any tax, but willing to raise all fees.
The "compromise" bill worked out between House and Senate Republicans was unveiled for the first time late in the afternoon before the final day of the General Assembly session. The voluminous bill included numerous complex parts. It received no public hearing or the public scrutiny it deserved. Many legislators now acknowledge they did not have time to read the bill and did not fully understand many of its provisions.
Some Senate Republicans argued the bill was so flawed it should be passed and sent to the governor so he could fix it. Strange logic this.
The governor's amendments corrected a number of technical deficiencies, but the bigger problems of the legislation remain.
It is widely believed Republican leaders, recognizing that failure to improve transportation rested squarely on their shoulders, needed a fig-leaf to run on under the fiction they fixed the transportation crisis.
The bark has now been stripped from the pretense that this legislation fixes Virginia's transportation crisis. At best, it is a short-term, stopgap measure. At worst, it is unfair to Virginians and unworkable.
Had the bill been aired in the sunshine and debated in the public light, the objectionable provisions of this legislation would not have passed. Virginia's transportation funding crisis is real.
Most people agree an additional $1 billion annually -- from a permanent, reliable, long-term revenue source -- is needed to solve this crisis. The 2007 transportation legislation neither raises sufficient funds to fix the problem nor is fair to Virginians.
A top priority of the 2008 session of the General Assembly must be to repeal the unfair provisions of this legislation and to fix the funding dilemma. Whether it will do so depends on whether voters send legislators to Richmond committed to tackle this problem in the sunshine and in a way that is fair to Virginians.
