Del. David Albo, an architect of the despised abusive-driver fees, unexpectedly voted for a bill to repeal them Monday.
The Springfield Republican had been the most vocal defender of the set of fines on bad or dangerous drivers, even as public ill will grew and lawmakers in both parties promised to abolish them.
The fees target only in-state drivers and add hundreds or thousands of dollars in penalties to some traffic offenses.
They were enacted last year as part of a statewide funding package with the hopes of raising an annual $65 million for road maintenance.
The Republican-controlled House voted Monday to advance legislation, proposed by Del. Clarke Hogan, R-South Boston, that would scrap the fees, signaling the bill’s imminent passage in one of the General Assembly’s two
chambers.
Albo joined with his colleagues after unsuccessfully seeking an amendment to increase fines on all drivers — out of state as well as in state — who commit serious traffic offenses.
“Given that it’s impossible to fix it right now, you may be surprised to see that I’ll be voting for this bill to repeal it,” Albo said on the House floor. “Because I promised my constituents that I would not vote for anything that charged in-state drivers and did not charge out-of-state drivers.”
Legislators appear to overwhelming back killing the abuser fees, though they agree far less on how to make up the lost revenue.
A spokesman for Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, cheered the decision Monday.
“Obviously, the governor is glad things are moving forward,” said spokesman Gordon Hickey.
Albo’s proposed amendment, which was rejected by Speaker William Howell, would have replaced the abuser fees with a mandatory minimum penalty of $2,250 for driving while intoxicated and $1,050 for reckless or aggressive driving, among other offenses.
Another longtime backer of the abuser fees, Tom Rust, R-Herndon, also supported the repeal after Howell rejected Albo’s amendment.
“At that point, the only thing in front of us was a total repeal, so we tried to do what we said we were going to do,” Rust said after the vote.
