I'm Surrounded By Idiots

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The law, which went into effect last year, will be repealed the moment Gov.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]

AP via Richmond Times-Dispatch: Virginia law takes aim at adults who French kiss minors:

Adults who French kiss a child younger than 13 would be required to register as a sex offender under legislation passed out of the General Assembly on Saturday.

Those convicted of tongue-kissing a child would be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The House passed the legislation 96-1 and the Senate 39-0. It now heads to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

Del. Riley Ingram, R-Hopewell, introduced the legislation on behalf of a woman whose 10-year-old daughter was French-kissed by the 62-year-old husband of her babysitter. The only crime prosecutors could charge the man with was contributing to the delinquency of a minor, which did not require that he register as a sex offender.

What parent allows their 10 year-old daughter to be French-kissed by a 62 year-old without someone ending up dead?

And according to my reading of § 18.2-371, contributing to the delinquency of a minor would not apply: § 18.2-371:

Any person 18 years of age or older, including the parent of any child, who (i) willfully contributes to, encourages, or causes any act, omission, or condition which renders a child delinquent, in need of services, in need of supervision, or abused or neglected as defined in § 16.1-228, or (ii) engages in consensual sexual intercourse with a child 15 or older not his spouse, child, or grandchild, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Regardless, it’s only a Class 1 misdemeanor and no registration as a sex offender to have sexual intercourse with someone 15, 16, or 17 years of age.

Ingram and other members of the House fought to make the crime a felony, but in the final day of the 2008 General Assembly session gave in to senators who thought that punishment was too harsh.

Del. Phillip Hamilton, R-Newport News, cast the lone opposing vote, refusing to back down from his belief that the crime should be a Class 6 felony.

“I think that type of behavior is so egregious it warrants a felony,” Hamilton said.

Ingram said he was satisfied that a conviction would land someone on the sex offender registry.

Here are the sex crimes that are considered Class 1 misdemeanors, items marked with an asterisk (*) indicated the offense would not require registration as a sex offender, items marked with a dagger (†) only require registration and are felonies on third offense:

• indecent exposure† (§ 18.2-387)
• consensual intercourse
  • with child 15 years old or older [also known as contributing to the delinquency of a minor]† § 18.2-371
• masturbation in public* §18.2-387.1
• photographing nonconsenting nude person in restroom, etc.
  • photographing adult† § 18.2-386.1
• prostitution:
  • assisting in transporting* § 18.2-348
  • bawdy place:
    • maintaining/frequenting* § 18.2-347
  • generally* § 18.2-346
  • give information to enable prostitution* § 182.-348
  • offering money for sex* § 18.2-348
  • procurement:
    • generally* § 18.2-348
  • solicitation of prostitution* § 18.2-346
  • transporting to place of prostitution* § 18.2-348
  • vehicle, owner permitting use* § 18.2-349
• sexual battery [requires three convictions or one conviction “where the victim is a minor or is physically helpless or mentally incapacitated as defined in § 18.2-67.10” for registration as a sex offender]:
  • generally § 18.2-67.4
  • inmate being victim § 18.2-67.4
  • parolee being victim § 18.2-67.4
  • pretrial offender being the victim § 18.2-67.4
  • posttrial offender being the victim § 18.2-67.4
  • probationer being the victim § 18.2-67.4
• solicitation of prostitution* § 18.2-346

Sources: Appendix B of Virginia’s Magistrate’s Manual, § 9.1-902 of the Code of Virginia