- that 2 cent gas tax increase would be applied on drivers, 40% of which aren't Virginians. 
- that Virginia already has on its books some of the toughest laws in the country to punish abusive drivers with criminal charges bad drivers, which questions the motivation of these fees.
- by applying the abuser fees to Virginians only, companies with large fleets of vehicles might be more inclined to hire non-Virginian drivers which in Northern VA is not a difficult thing to do. 

It's a great show.  Brian brings up a number of other points too.  Worth a listen!

I'm having a bit of trouble finding it.  Thanks.

Plotkin is way behind in posting his shows.  The last one he has up is June 29. I'll ask Jesse about it.  Maybe he's got a recording.

"Using our criminal justice system to pay for our roads."  That's the most clear, concise summary of the argument against the fees I've seen yet.

much I like Brian.  Not only is he a really great guy, but he's also got a lot of sense.  Sorry, Governor Kaine, I think you are totally wrong on this.  Brian's comment about using our criminal justice system to pay for our roads puts it in a nutshell.  Please keep fighting this, Brian.

Margaret Edds has an interesting editorial in today's Virginian-Pilot talking about the abusive driver fees and the "next twist in the latest high-profile clash between the world of conventional politics and the erratic, untamable land of blogs."

The quotable quote...

"The unanticipated emergence of so quick and so overwhelmingly negative a response to a major piece of legislation may be unprecedented in state annals. That, in turn, has prompted a behind-the-scenes flurry as political strategists scrambled to perform triage since the law took effect July 1."

Edds is absolutely right!  It's called citizen involvement, baby, input, feedback.  It leads to accountability, a relatively new concept until recently in short supply in the Republican-controlled General Assembly.  Get used to it!

I think Brian is becoming one of my favorite electeds in the state.

My neighbors who don't read blogs are looking for information on who voted for the abuser fees - Democratic or Republican - they are looking for politicians to blame and vote against.  And they already know who voted on it.  This one is unpopular across the partisan divide. I am having a helluva time convincing them not to take it out on those Democrats, who do represent them in our district, who voted for those fees.  My only argument is that without the Dems, the transportation package would be so much worse or non-existent.  And these neighbors are the ones who usually vote for Democrats.

And clearly Brian is right on this.  As much as I like the governor, Tim Kaine is wrong on this issue.  And it hurts me to say it.  But I think it's true.

represents your district said anything this week?  While he may have dug himself a big hole by voting for it originally, now is the time to admit a mistake and move forward in the right direction. 

Any Dem who continues to stand behind this is taking an absurdly high risk for very little gain.  They need to get with the program - we can't afford to lose seats we already have.

You state:  I am having a helluva time convincing them not to take it out on those Democrats, who do represent them in our district, who voted for those fees.  My only argument is that without the Dems, the transportation package would be so much worse or non-existent. 

Shouldn't the Dems who voted for this shoulder the responsibility, too? Hold them accountable just like this blog site holds the Republicans.

I think the transportation package stinks.  When all the focus has been on abuser fees, you, me and all other bloggers better step back and look at the increase in taxes that we are going to face.  Many of us don't have 8 points on our license so hopefully if we don't turn on the correct blinker and get a ticket, we won't get a $3,500 fine.

We should be looking at the levying of new taxes.  Why has everyone been silent on this fact.  Maybe that was the intent.

Many people, including on this blog, have suggested raising the gas tax 2 cents a gallon in order to ditch the abuser fees.  Remember, the overwhelming reason we even HAVE abuser fees in the first place is that the Republican-controlled House of Delegates refused to go along with the Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, and House Democrats in raising a dedicated, steady, adequate source of revenues to cover our transporatation needs.  It's so silly, too, because they DID end up raising taxes, they just called them "fees."  So here's an idea: let's impose a congestion "fee" or an "energy independence fee" or whatever you want to call it.  Just don't  say the words "gas tax," whatever you do.

By the way, I am NOT happy with the 8 Democrats who consistently voted for the abuser fees.  Most of them are unopposed in the general election, but this is certainly an example of why we need regular primaries.

Timothy M. Kaine has been Governor for about a year and a half now.  Transportation was a driving issue (no pun intended) when he was elected, and he's been working like mad to get everyone to the table so we could get some sort of plan together on how we're going to pay to upgrade our transporation infrastructure.

It took A YEAR AND A HALF for this Republican-controlled legislature to come up with anything at all.  During that time we've had multiple special sessions devoted entirely to transportation, and at the end of most of those this Republican-controlled legislature couldn't produce anything at all.  The current plan, including the Abuser Fees, represents the best efforts of the Republicans in the GA after a year and a half of accomplishing nothing, and now they're clamoring to come back to Richmond and strip out all the funding and destroy it.

A year and a half of trying to get anything done, and now people are telling Governor Kaine to come to the rescue of the Republicans and let them destroy their own transportatoin plan.  Governor Kaine can't afford to spend another year and a half hoping this republican-controlled legislature will do something about our roads; he CANNOT call a special session.

The only thing we can do at this point is to create a leadership change in the General Assembly that will have the political courage to revisit the omnibus legislation and come up with a realistic, progressive long-term solution to Virginia's transportation problems.  We can't afford to destroy the only transporation plan we've seen since Governor Balile's administration until we've accomplished that.

at adding my little voice. 

The Hampton Roads Transportation Authority is another element of HB3202 that I think will soon be upsetting many voters.  Witness my observations after attending a first meeting of the HRTA...

One of things that I found most telling from this HRTA meeting was when they went around the square at the end, allowing each mayor/chair the opportunity to give closing comments. Those comments included things like ?What the hell are we doing having to be transportation experts deciding what road projects and what kinds of taxes/tolls/fees we need to ravage our constituents for?? One elected?s opinion (I?m sorry? I don?t know who it was) was dead-on. He said yes, proceed with developing a package of taxes/tolls/fees just in case this thing actually flies, but let?s hold off actually imposing them on Hampton Roads until after this next General Assembly has had the occasion to meet again. There very well maybe a lot of changes made to HB3202 come 2008.

Those taxes/tolls/fees, some good, some bad, include:
  * 2% local rental car impact fee
  * Ten cents per hundred on commercial real estate taxes
  * Initial vehicle registration fees of 1%
  * Congestion relief fee of $.40/$100 - paid by real estate sellers
  * $10 annual vehicle license fee
  * $10 motor vehicle inspection fee
  * Auto repair exemption removal - would charge 5% sales tax
  * Regional gas tax of 2%

What is up with the times editorial writer claiming the new TAX/FEES are reserved only for "egregious" drivers? How about the Stafford woman who posted over at NLS, who got nailed for $900 for an expired license. Now she is real "egregious"..HUH? How about not having enough tread on your tire(s)? Send the scofflaw to jail in irons. What about putting "antique tags" on your new car? Each of these "egregious" offenses are techically misdemeanors subjecting each "criminal" to a $900 Tax..er..Fee. Yeah,.. that's it...Fee. How are these "fees" protecting Virginia drivers from "dangerous drivers", cited above, like all of the crooked politicians claim? The only thing these "fees" do is line the pockets of the traffic attorneys like Albo and Oblon.