Richard J. Serpe, P.C. Blog

Oh those pesky bad driver fees

If you’ve been complaining about those pesky abusive-driving fees, then boy do we have some news for you.  As we speak Virginia House and Senate members are working to iron out the differences in their two bills, both of which will repeal the abusive-driving fees.  The main difference right now is whether or not drivers who have been asked to pay the $750 to $3,000 fees will get a refund.

The Senate bill hit an interesting snag earlier this week, when a 130-year-old state Supreme Court ruling was found that prohibits lawmakers from ordering local courts to stop the collection of fees or fines that have been assessed.  The original ruling was made in the 1878 Ratcliffe v. Anderson case, and upheld by a number of subsequent rulings.

The Senators were able to work on a compromise and their bill now states that the DMV can’t suspend the driver’s license of anyone who fails to pay the fees.  In addition, the DMV must send letters to people required to pay the fees with instructions on how to get the court to dismiss them.  This version of the bill was passed unanimously.

Once the House and Senate iron out their differences, all that’s left is for Gov. Kaine to sign the bill into law.  Dare we ask… are you glad to see the end of these fees?

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