CHARLESTON — Calling it unconstitutional, unwise in a recession and unnecessary with a bigger yield in tax collections, acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin used his veto pen Wednesday on a bill to raise $40 million for the road fund via higher vehicle fees.

Tomblin referred to the proposed change in West Virginia Code that says no West Virginian shall pay more than $10 for each abstract, including any fee that arises from it, but would permit bigger charges for out-of-state insurers.

“This language is facially discriminatory, and thus violates the dormant commerce clause of the Constitution of the United States,” Tomblin said in his veto message.

“The bill’s provision, under established jurisprudence, is unconstitutional because the state cannot justify the discrimination as serving a compelling state purpose in a least restrictive way.”

Aside from the legal question, Tomblin voiced concern over the timing and amount of the fee increases.

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

While he didn’t mention the number, the jobless rate in the final week of the legislative session soared to 10.3 percent.

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

“I am committed to improving the quality of roads in our state.

 “I will be working with our legislative leaders to come up with a plan to address the conditions of our roads.”

Tomblin said he found comfort in the road fund’s improvement, noting that year-to-date state collections are $32 million above last year.

Via existing law, he said, the motor vehicles sales tax receipts have risen by more than 20 percent because of higher sales this year.

“A growing economy has also contributed to a 3.5 percent rise in the motor fuel tax collections and a 4.6 percent rise in license and registration fees,” Tomblin said.

“This additional money — coming in under current law — will provide significant benefits and offset the need for a fee increase at this time.”

The measure sparked some opposition on the Senate floor, notably from Sen. Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, who scorned it as another tax with a softer name and said it was unfair to impose the burden on working class people already facing rising fuel costs.

Under SB608, registration fees for Class A passenger cars weighing 4,000 pounds or less would have risen from $28.50 to $38.50.

Updating a plate decal was intended to jump from $5 to $15. Title documents would have increased from $10 to $21. Transfer fees would have been hiked from $1 to $6. The line recording fee would have been boosted from $5 to $13.

A vehicle record fee would have been moved from $1 to $7, and the Class E, or standard drivers license, would have been bumped from $2.50 to $6.50 a year. Duplicating a driver’s license was set to rise from $5 to $15. A driving record would have been doubled to $10.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com