If the goal of repealing abusive driver legislation is to protect Virginia drivers from burdensome fees, why does the House of Delegates bill also hurt law-abiding car buyers?

The Virginia House of Delegates voted Tuesday to repeal the despised abusive driver fees in a 95 to 2 vote. Yet attached to the bill is a provision that car buyers in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia would have to pay car sales taxes at the DMV or possibly use a longer online or telephone system.

The move would make it impossible for car buyers to finance the new 1 percent sales tax from the regional transportation authorities. That can mean a hefty upfront bill. Currently, auto dealers can finance the state’s 3 percent sales tax along with the price of the car.

Auto dealers don’t want the additional work of handling the new tax and don’t want consumers to confuse the 1 percent increase with the car’s price.

Perhaps money helped auto dealers’ cause. In 2007, the Virginia Auto and Truck Dealers Association gave $460,362 to state candidates, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

The bill does not include suggestions on how to make up for the $65 million the fees were supposed to bring in for transportation.

The Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed a bill to repeal the driver fees. Although the bill did not include the provision to require car buyers to pay the new sales tax at the DMV, The Washington Post reported Senate leadership supports the idea.

Gov. Tim Kaine supports a repeal of the fees, but does not support the sales tax provision of the bill. 

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, has shown just how passionate the debate over illegal immigration has become — and how far proposals can go.

Cuccinelli has proposed changing the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment to allow U.S.-born children to become citizens only if at least one of their parents is a citizen. Currently any U.S. -born child automatically becomes a citizen regardless of his or her parents’ immigration status.

The Potomac News reported that Cuccinelli will file a Senate Joint Resolution that petitions U.S. Congress to change the 14th Amendment.

You can see the resolution here.

Cuccinelli outlined his proposal during a press conference Monday with Save the Old Dominion, a group that includes many anti-illegal immigration groups around Virginia.

The Washington Post wrote an interesting story today on a bill proposed by state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax.

The bill, SB 339, says that if an employee doesn’t speak English in accordance with an established workplace policy, it can be labeled misconduct. Under rules of the Virginia Employment Commission, an employee who is fired for misconduct is ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits.

Cuccinelli told the Post the bill evolved from a conversation with an employer whose unemployment taxes went up after he fired an employee who didn’t learn English. Cuccinelli said the bill would give employers a recourse against employees who promise to learn English but don’t.

Currently, more than 100 people have commented on the bill on the Post’s Web site.

A few years ago, anyone would have laughed at a proposal to ban smoking in restaurants in Virginia.

That’s changed rapidly in the past three years.

In a state where the early economy was based on the tobacco crop and the largest cigarette manufacturer in the country is headquartered, more than 10 bills have been introduced in the General Assembly this year that would curb smoking in public places.

Prior to 2005, proposals to curb smoking were much less prohibitive, such as banning smoking in restaurant bathrooms or tightening controls to prevent teen smoking. A 2005 proposal to ban smoking in public indoor areas failed the Senate handedly - 26-14.

Since then, lawmakers have been more brazen in bills aimed at curbing public smoking, and they have in turn enjoyed more success. A similar plan passed the Senate in 2006 but was left in a House of Delegates committee. In 2007, a plan to ban public smoking failed in the House of Delegates, but the chamber passed a bill that would require restaurants allowing smoking to post a “smoking permitted” sign. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine added an amendment to prohibit smoking in all restaurants, which failed in the House of Delegates. Without the amendment, Kaine vetoed the bill.

This year, Kaine has pushed again for a ban on smoking in indoor sections of restaurants. Ralph S. Northam, D-Norfolk, is sponsoring the bill, which would prohibit smoking in any food establishment, including private clubs.

Other bills go further, such as HB 500, which would ban smoking in all public indoor areas. Del. Phillip Hamilton, R-Newport News, has introduced that bill.

Yet others, such as SB 202, would give localities the power to ban smoking.

The business and tobacco lobbies surely won’t let these proposals go by without a fight. They argue that restaurant owners should retain the right to choose whether to allow smoking.

Twenty-eight states have banned smoking in restaurants. The likelihood that Virginia will be the next state to pass it is unlikely, but don’t expect it to go away anytime soon. Each year these proposals are gaining ground.

A story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this weekend highlighted the dozens of bills that have been introduced in the General Assembly to combat illegal immigration.

Many of these bills are directed toward punishing businesses that have hired illegal workers. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said in last week’s State of the Commonwealth speech that he doesn’t want the state to appear xenophobic as it tries to deal with issues related to illegal immigration.

Last year, many bills concerning illegal immigration passed the House of Delegates but failed in the Senate, which was then controlled by moderate Republicans. Democrats now control the Senate, but illegal immigration bills are likely to get some more attention this year. Localities across the state have been studying the effect of illegal immigrants in their communities. Many have passed resolutions asking local staff to study whether they can reduce services.

Following are just some of the bills that target employers that the Times-Dispatch listed this weekend. We will follow these closely in the blog.

HB90: Allows state regulatory boards to suspend or revoke the license, certificate or registration of a business if it has been convicted of knowingly hiring someone who is not eligible to work in the U.S.

HB 227: Requires applicants for a contractor’s license to submit a statement promising they will verify employee’s status and not hire an illegal immigrant knowingly.

HB 926: Allows regulatory boards to discipline businesses convicted of hiring undocumented workers.
five patrons; Makes conviction for violating the law by employing ineligible workers grounds for disciplinary action by a regulatory board.

HB928: Several measures, including requirement that public bodies and their contractors work with the Department of Homeland Security to participate in federal work authorization program. Requires state agencies offering services to verify the recipient’s immigration status.

HB 1047: $100 fine each day for a business that employs an undocumented worker.

HB 1249: Allows employee who is replaced by an ineligible worker grounds to take action against former employer.

HB 1298: A set of punishments and fines for businesses employing workers they cannot provide documents for showing their are eligible to work in the U.S.

HJ164: Directs the Virginia Commission on Immigration to study how many licensed contractors in the state hire ineligible employees and their effect on the work force and the economy.

SB90: Prohibits employers from hiring workers before their legal eligibility has been verified.

SB385: Requires applicants for local business licenses to certify they are not employing undocumented workers.

SB426: Same as HB.