Free Republic

RICHMOND, Aug. 13 -- The wrangling over the state's steep new fines on bad Virginia drivers intensified Monday as a suburban Richmond judge ruled that the fees are constitutional, and fresh evidence emerged that legislators and the governor may have enacted the fees without fully researching the effect on the poor of comparable programs in other states. In light of the legal maneuvering, the Virginia Supreme Court is considered likely to decide whether the fees, which can reach $3,000, violate the constitutional guarantee of equal protection because they apply only to Virginians and not to out-of-state motorists. In a related...

The labor pains were coming, so Jessica Hodges got going. The 26-year-old bank teller from Burke sped toward Inova Fairfax Hospital, but before she got there, the law got her -- 57 mph in a 35 zone. Reckless driving. Hodges's labor pains subsided -- they turned out to be a false alarm -- but the agony from her ticket is mounting. She was found guilty of the July 3 offense and given a $1,050 civil fee on top of a judge-imposed $100 fine and court costs, making her one of the first to be hit with Virginia's new "abusive driver...

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore and 11th District Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, R-Fairfax County, are a pair of potential Republican statewide rivals who said this week that Virginia should abolish its controversial abusive driver fees. "I don’t think the approach is a good one," Gilmore said Tuesday. "The people of Virginia do know that it’s using the traffic law for revenue," said the former governor, who is meeting with Republican groups across the state to explore a possible run for the U.S. Senate next year or for governor again in 2009. "I think people are angry about it," said Gilmore,...

FRONT ROYAL, Va. — This small Shenandoah Valley town must wait to become a battleground for the growing public debate about whether the General Assembly overreached in assessing high fees for Virginia drivers who break the law. The Town Council last night postponed a decision on whether to stop its 36-officer police force from enforcing most "abuser fees" laws for motorists. "It seems to me it may be appealing in a kind of small guy versus big guy way, but I'm not sure that is the answer here," said council member Stanley W. Brooks Jr., who proposed postponing the vote....

As of this post, the Petition to Repeal the VA "Civil Remedial Fees" for Traffic Offenses has over 66,000 signatures. It seems that something has finally gotten the attention from the citizens of the Commonwealth. Much has been said about the abuser fees and who we should blame in all of this. What is most odious bout all of this is that the fines apply only to Virginians. And according to The Mason Conservative and others, we have only Governor Gridlock to thank for that. The Mason Conservative: How Tim Kaine Screwed VirginiaI went to make darken "and persons operating...

A Northern Virginia anti-gun "Republican" legislator, Dave Albo, is trying to raise taxes through the back door on Virginians. And guess why he's doing it? To fill his own pockets! He wants to increase the fines for speeders and other serious traffic offense by hundreds of dollars. Why? I guess he wants to increase the size of the nanny state exponetially. The Virginia Club for Growth is all over it: "On a personal level, for Del. Albo to be sponsoring such a bill also sets a terrible precedent. In proposing this legislation Albo is facing an apparent, if not actual,...