Attorney general talks driver fees and more
By Bonnie Bates, Staff Writer
The Coalfield Progress
Aug. 16, 2007
NORTON — New abusive driver fees that have angered many Virginians and sparked several court challenges do not violate the state or federal constitutions, Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell says.
The controversy over the fees that took effect July 1 was one of several topics McDonnell addressed during a Tuesday interview.
During a Southwest Virginia tour this week, he also took the time to discuss his office's efforts to protect Internet users from sex offenders, to tighten drug abuse controls and to protect senior citizens.
Driver Fees
The 2007 General Assembly passed a law creating civil remedial fees for violating certain vehicle or driving-related crimes committed on or after July 1.
The fees are expected to generate $65 million annually for highway maintenance.
The fees are paid in three parts — the first to the court upon conviction, the second to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 14 months of the conviction, and the final fee within 26 months to the DMV.
The fees apply solely to Virginia drivers, which has sparked an outcry across the state and prompted several court challenges.
It is constitutional to apply the new driver penalty fees only to Virginians, but doing so is a bad idea, McDonnell said.
There will always be parts of anything that people take issue with, he said.
The money that comes from the new fees will help with important transportation improvements, according to McDonnell. If Virginia wants to be prosperous, it needs a good transportation network, he said.
Whether the fees are constitutional or not will ultimately have to be resolved by the state Supreme Court, McDonnell said.
Many people, including several state lawmakers, have called for a special legislative session this year to revisit the fees, but McDonnell believes that's unlikely. Instead, the issue will probably be discussed in the 2008 General Assembly, he said.
Sex Offenders
Starting last year, McDonnell pushed to require registered sex offenders to also register their e-mail addresses and instant messenger names, he said.
The legislation took effect July 1, making Virginia the first state with such a requirement.
It's not foolproof, but it's a step in the right direction, according to McDonnell.
When asked, McDonnell acknowledged how easy it is to create multiple e-mail addresses and instant messenger names — making it difficult for law enforcement to know if all of an offender's various online identities are registered.
But if offenders are caught lying about their e-mails and instant messenger names, their suspended jail sentences could be reinstated, McDonnell said.
McDonnell said he is also working on a proposal that would allow state troopers to go into the homes of sex offenders and check their computers for alternate e-mail addresses and instant messenger names.
Ultimately, he said, the sex offenders will be caught if they lie.
Others states have also started requiring sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses and instant messenger names, he said.
Drugs
McDonnell has been a driving force behind requiring that over-the-counter drugs used as methamphetamine ingredients be sold behind the counter. He has also been a key figure in efforts to keep the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin away from abusers.
Since 2006, many over-the-counter items used in the production of meth have become harder to access.
In 2005, approximately 74 new meth labs were discovered in Virginia, McDonnell said. This year, 40 to 50 new labs have been found, he said.
Since the items used to make meth have become harder to purchase, more meth has been manufactured in Mexico and sent to the United States, according to McDonnell.
United States Attorney John Brownlee and McDonnell created a video about meth called "Meth Kills," he said.
The video helps to bring about awareness of the drug, he said.
Meth could be a plague in Virginia, McDonnell said.
The majority of meth in Virginia is found in the western region, he said.
As for OxyContin, this year McDonnell helped to reach a $634 million settlement with its manufacturer, Purdue Pharma L.P., concerning marketing methods which did not adequately warn people about the drug's risks and addictive characteristics.
The company and its three top executives pleaded guilty to "misbranding" the drug.
The settlement includes payments to several states, criminal fines and payments to settle private civil suits.
Although it is too soon to know definite results, McDonnell said, the arrests, use and abuse associated with OxyContin appear to have dropped since the settlement.
Senior Alert
McDonnell, whose aging father has Alzheimer's disease, worked this year to create a Senior Alert system. The legislation took effect July 1.
When a cognitively impaired citizen over the age of 60 goes missing for two hours, a Senior Alert is sent out, McDonnell said.
Police then start a search in the area where the senior citizen was last seen, he said.
Police start the search with a smaller area, expecting the missing senior citizen to be found wandering not too far away, according to McDonnell.
Although the alert has been in place for several months, McDonnell is not aware of having to use it thus far.
The idea is borrowed from Amber Alert, which is used when a child is missing.
Unlike Amber Alert, the Senior Alert will not spread the news of the missing senior to various forms of the media.
That is because when a child is missing, it has generally been kidnapped, McDonnell said. When a senior citizen is missing, it is usually because he or she has wandered off, he said.