| Action | General Regulations For Towing and Recovery Operators |
| Stage | Proposed |
| Comment Period | Ended on 3/21/2008 |
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As the July 1 deadline is fast approaching, it reminds me of another law recently passed that caused many outcries from the public, the bad driver fees. Everyone involved in passing this law, all the way up to the governor endorsed these fees as a way to penalize repeat offenders as well as a great way to generate extra income for the state. It was hastily put into place without much notice to the citizens of Virginia and without the proper planning and research to implement these new fees. Now a year later these fees are currently going through legislation to be repealed because they were deemed unconstitutional. This is not much comfort for the many people who have already been cited for these fees and have paid. In many people’s opinions, these fees were justified in order to make people accountable for breaking the law and they should be responsible for paying. Many would also say that when the fees are repealed, all those who have already paid should not be eligible for a refund because they were cited before the necessary changes were made. These fees remind me of the current situation regarding the proposed changes for the towing industry coming into effect July 1 2008. Will the towers of Virginia who rush to meet increased standards while spending more of their hard-earned money face the same situation within a year due to poor planning and research by the Commonwealth and the Towing Board into what is best for the industry and the public all these towers serve? The Board needs to slow down, carefully review, and research what is in the best interest for all of the law abiding, tax paying tow companies in the Commonwealth.