The Washington Post reports this morning that the voter rebellion over the Virginia “abuser fees” continues to gather steam:
RICHMOND, July 16 — An online petition against Virginia’s steep new “abusive driver” fees neared 100,000 signatures Monday, accelerating lawmakers’ calls for the General Assembly to rescind them before voters go to the polls Nov. 6.
Pointing up the political power of the issue, at one point Monday more than 1,000 people an hour were signing the petition demanding that lawmakers repeal the fees — some of which can top $1,000 — or risk being voted out of office.
All 140 Senate and House seats are up for election this fall, and many lawmakers say they are being deluged with comments from constituents opposed to the fees, which are aimed at drunk and reckless drivers.
“Lawmakers have been caught flat-footed,” said Mark J. Rozell, a political science professor at George Mason University. “They had no idea this would generate so much outrage by such a large number of people. . . . This is a way for many citizens to express discontent with government fees and what people consider to be abuses by government.”
And express it they have been, to the point that some Republican legislators are joining the call for a special session to reevaluate the fees:
Cognizant of the public outcry, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax) on Monday joined several GOP delegates in requesting that Kaine call a special session of the General Assembly this summer or fall to revisit the issue.
“I think it has gotten people riled up enough, and it is clearly an issue so many Virginians feel strongly about, [that] the governor needs to listen to those people and call us into a special session,” said Davis, who being challenged this fall by Democrat J. Chapman “Chap” Petersen.
But this isn’t just a Republican problem. One of the more egregious parts of the law, which provides that the abuser fees apply only to in-state residents, exists because of the intervention of a Democrat:
As approved by the General Assembly in February, the fees would have applied to in-state and out-of-state motorists. But Kaine amended the bill to affect only in-state drivers because the state doesn’t have the legal authority to charge out-of-state motorists a vehicle fee.
Which makes the fact that Democrats are trying to pin this one on Republicans all the more ironic.
You can sign the petition here.
