A Springfield legislator thinks he has devised a way to apply the commonwealth’s maligned bad-driving fees to out-of-state motorists and resolve an issue that has drawn criticism from judges and tens of thousands of Virginians.

Del. David Albo, a Republican who sponsored legislation this year creating the penalties, initially defended exempting non-Virginians because he thought the state would be able to collect the fees only from motorists with a commonwealth-issued driver’s license.

After reviewing judges’ rulings in cases challenging the fees’ constitutionality, Albo told The Examiner he thinks non-Virginia residents can be compelled to pay the civil sanctions using legal language that is similar to the provisions covering breathalyzer tests.

Virginia law essentially says that by driving on the commonwealth’s roads, a motorist agrees to submit to a breathalyzer test.

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Albo’s proposal would say that by driving on Virginia roads, a motorist consents to paying the controversial fees.

Albo said his legislation would enable the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to have an out-of-state motorist’s license suspended for nonpayment.

Virginians will have their licenses suspended immediately if they do not pay one-third of the fine immediately upon conviction.

“A guy from North Dakota would agree to pay the fees the minute he drove on a taxpayer-funded road in Virginia,” said Albo, a defense attorney who handles traffic cases. “The DMV is part of an interstate compact that mandates other states honor Virginia’s laws. If someone from North Carolina gets a DUI in Virginia, North Carolina won’t give him his license back until he completed all the things Virginia requires him to do. It would be the same with the fees. They should be totally collectable and enforceable.”

The fees, which range from $750 to $3,000 depending on the offense, have twice been ruled unconstitutional because only Virginia drivers pay them.

A higher court, however, upheld the sanctions Monday.

Regardless of the eventual judicial ruling, Gov. Tim Kaine and leading legislators have committed to enacting legislation to include out-of-state residents next year.

jrogalsky@dcexaminer.com