Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Editorial: Driver fees won't end painlessly
Replacing the revenue should be easy, but House Republicans will make sure that it isn't.
From the RoundTable blog
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Nearly everyone in Virginia's Capitol agrees the abusive driver fees were a bad idea. Lawmakers are poised to eliminate them, but their task is not as easy as applying Wite-Out to the law books. They must also have to figure out how to replace the money and how to deal with drivers already sentenced to pay thousands of dollars.
The fees were supposed to raise about $65 million for roads. Then public outrage erupted over the ridiculous amount of the fees -- up to $3,000 for certain offenses -- and the fact that they applied only to Virginians.
So they are on their way out. That leaves another hole in the pathetic transportation plan lawmakers stitched together last year. What remains is inadequate to fund necessary road and rail improvements, let alone backlogged maintenance.
Legislators could easily make up the revenue by increasing the gas tax. Just 2 cents on the gallon would raise about $100 million per year, more than enough to cover the lost fees. A few more cents could close the transportation-funding gap entirely.
The 17.5 cents per gallon has not changed in two decades. Thanks to inflation, that money does not buy what it once did.
Yet, Republican delegates won't even talk about the idea. The state is already facing a revenue shortfall, but that won't stop them from assembling another phantom plan.
They would raid other state funds to find the money. Their tiresome mantra of no new taxes ensures the commonwealth will have bad, congested roads for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Virginia should return whatever money it has already collected from the fees.
If the fees are so bad that they warrant repeal, then that repeal should apply retroactively. Drivers penalized since the fees took effect last summer are victims of bad timing and a worse law.
Lawmakers seem willing to go that route, but a squabble over technicalities could derail repairs.
That must not happen. If a repair means paying refunds, so be it. If it means creating an easy avenue for judges to vacate the orders, do it. Just do not leave a few motorists on the hook for huge fees because lawmakers did not act in time.
Lawmakers brought this situation on themselves. They have the means to fix it. Now Virginia will find out if they have the courage.
