"I will go down with this ship…"

That’s a reference to Dido by the way.

Anyway: NBC4: Lawmakers Kill Abusive Driver Fees:

Lawmakers working overtime in Richmond voted late Saturday night to kill Virginia’s much-reviled abusive driver fees as soon as possible.

The law, which went into effect last year, will be repealed the moment Gov. Tim Kaine signs the bills. The move became assured in early January when Kaine conceded that after six months, the fees had failed to approach the estimated revenue yield and that highway deaths had soared in 2007 in spite of them.

Drivers who have paid the $6.5 million in penalties so far will get their money back.

The fees were expected to generate $65 million a year for highway maintenance projects. But the fees were instantly rejected by Virginia motorists, in part because they didn’t apply to non-residents.

The fees were billed as punishment for bad drivers and averaged $1,000 to $3,000 for traffic offenses such as speeding and reckless driving.

The repeal is a second big blow for Virginia transportation officials in days. Last week, the state Supreme Court ruled that a Northern Virginia taxing authority for transportation officials is unconstitutional, costing the state millions in construction funds.

Want the names of the morons that voted against repealing the “abusive driver fees”?

• House of Delegates:
  • Voted twice against repealing:
    • House Majority Leader, Delegate Morgan Griffith (R-Salem)
  • Voted once against repealing:
    • Delegate Watkins Abbitt (I-Appomattox) [Caucuses with the Republicans]
• Senate of Virginia:
  • Voted twice against repealing:
    • Senate Republican Leader pro tempore/Senator Ken Stolle (R-Virginia Beach)
    • Senator Richard Stuart (R-Montross)
    • Senator John Watkins (R-Midlothian)
  • Voted once against repealing [Note: All of these guys decided within a span of thirty (30) minutes to change their minds — that’s what we call leadership]:
    • Senator Harry Blevins (R-Chesapeake)
    • Senator Bob Hurt (R-Chatham)
    • Senate Republican Caucus Chairman, Senator Steve Newman (R-Forest)
    • Senate Minority Leader, Senator Tommy Norment (R-Williamsburg)
    • Senator Fred Quayle (R-Suffolk)
    • Senator Frank Ruff (R-Clarksville)
    • Senator Walter Stosch (R-Glen Allen)
    • Senate Republican Party Whip, Senator Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach)

And since the Republicans heart the “abusive driver fees”:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNe2xy5YRLo]