West Virginia’s highway needs are many.

Division of Highways officials say the road fund needs $700 million more to meet today’s needs.

But the advent of more fuel-efficient vehicles has cut revenue to the road fund. And with Congress trying to rein in trillion-dollar deficits, federal highway funds will not flow so freely.

Traditionally, drivers have paid for roads through fuel taxes. But with the state and federal tax on gasoline now topping 50 cents a gallon, that is not an attractive option.

An increase in fees charged by the Department of Motor Vehicles seemed to be the most reasonable way to raise money this year.

After all, some fees had not been increased since the 1950s. Raising the fees was to generate $43 million a year for the state road fund.

But as badly as the road fund needs money, reasonableness is in the eye of the beholder, and Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed the fee hikes.

“Our people are hurting and our unemployment rates are still too high,” Tomblin said.

“Although we are seeing economic growth, we are coming out of one of the worst recessions in the history of our country.”

House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, agreed.

“I think, as we said during the session, West Virginians are having a hard time making ends meet,” he said. “To add to that burden with additional DMV fees was the wrong direction.”

To their credit, Tomblin and Armstead, stayed connected to that reality.

West Virginians have been hit hard. Unemployment in the state topped 10 percent in January.

The majority in the House of Delegates and the state Senate thought it was a good idea to raise DMV fees by $43 million a year – $430 million over 10 years.

A majority also thought it was a good idea to give state employees a permanent $67 million-a-year raise – $670 million over 10 years.

This tax-and-spend formula did not sit well with many people who

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