Gov. Tim Kaine Wednesday night championed a series of post-Virginia Tech mental health and gun law reforms, defended his plan to expand state-funded pre-kindergarten, and urged the Virginia General Assembly to repeal the driver “abuser fees.”
In a far-reaching “state of the commonwealth” address in Richmond that also touched on illegal immigration and the economy, the Democratic governor said the much-criticized bad-driving fees have “flunked with our voters.”
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“The impositionof higher fees on drivers who commit serious traffic offenses was designed to both increase transportation revenue and encourage safer driving habits,” he said on the opening day of the General Assembly session. “After six months, neither goal has come to pass.”
Kaine’s words came on the heels of a state auditor report last month that cast doubt on the effectiveness of the fees, which were enacted last year to raise $65 million a year in transportation revenue. They range from $750 to $3,000 and are imposed only on Virginia residents.
“Virginia citizens in huge numbers have told us that the fees should be repealed,” Kaine said. “We should listen to them.”
In August, Kaine scaled back his plan to offer taxpayer-funded pre-kindergarten to all children in the state because of looming budget woes, but is nevertheless proposing an expansion of the program from 13,000 to 20,000 children.
The governor also echoed his calls to overhaul Virginia’s mental health system and close a loophole on background checks at gun shows. Support for both measures is fueled by the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech, when mentally ill student gunman Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 students and faculty before killing himself.
Kaine said “chronic underfunding and an insufficient focus on the quality of care” has left the state’s mental health system falling short of the needs of the mentally ill. His proposals, many of which are mirrored by both parties in the legislature, include increasing funding for clinicians and case managers and loosening involuntary commitment standards.
In a response to Kaine’s speech, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican, pledged to work with the governor but questioned his ability to pay for his proposed expansions.
“The governor would pay for these new initiatives by raiding the state’s savings account, diverting money away from needed transportation projects, overly optimistic revenue projections and the excessive use of debt,” Bolling said. “That is a formula for disaster.”
Kaine’s plan
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine proposes:
» Fixing “chronic underfunding and an insufficient focus on the quality of care” in Virginia’s mental health system
» Closing a gun-show loophole on background checks for firearms purchases
» Reforming domestic violence and sexual abuse laws
» Adding 17,000 children to state-subsidized preschool
» Abolishing driver “abuser fees”
