Senate Plan Would Scrap Some Driver Fees

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - The Michigan Senate has taken a step toward repealing parts of a law that imposes extra fees on drivers for certain traffic offenses.

A bill unanimously approved Thursday would eliminate some parts of the state's driver responsibility fee program but not others.

Senator Coleman Young, who called the fees "draconian," said they never should have been allowed by the Legislature in the first place.

Under the bill, extra fees would end for offenses including driving without insurance or proof of insurance. Fees tacked on to more serious offenses such as drunken driving, reckless driving and manslaughter would likely remain in place.

The legislation would repeal parts of a program enacted in 2003. Some lawmakers consider the program unfair and say it makes driving and insurance more difficult to afford.

"These fees were designed to reduce the number of uninsured drivers and those driving without a license, but instead they have had the opposite effect," Senator Tupac Hunter said in a statement.

"These (driver responsibility) fees have done nothing but create an unfair tax on the citizens of Michigan.  This bill, though we wanted a total repeal, will help ease the pain of Michigan drivers who have been caught up in the whirlwind of unjust fees," Senator Morris Hood said in a statement.

Senator Bert Johnson, who championed the legislation, said it eliminates the most burdensome of the driver responsibility fees, allowing drivers to break the cycle of debt and instead come into compliance with the law. He believes the bill will result in fewer uninsured drivers and eventually lower insurance costs.

It's unclear how much revenue the state would lose through the proposed changes, but Republicans say they want to limit the revenue losses.

The bill now advances to the House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.