http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1890.asp

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The furor over Virginia's "civil remedial fees" (more info) has given
hope to opponents of similar taxes in Michigan and Texas designed to
raise revenue by imposing mandatory fees of between $100 and $7500 for
various driving-related offenses.

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Three sitting district court and one circuit court judge testified before
lawmakers about the issue last December. Each suggested that the
short-term revenue gain was not worth the long-term damage done. The
judges provided several examples of low-income motorists, stopped for the
most minor of violations, who later found themselves in a financial trap
from which they could not escape.

Under a typical scenario, Michigan's Secretary of State will suspend a
driver's license if a single fee or tax is not paid, even if the bill had
been mailed to the wrong address. When this happens, a motorist
unwittingly driving under a suspended license, if stopped, faces a
mandatory $1000 ticket tax on top of a $150 license reinstatement fee.
Given the choice of feeding and housing one's family or paying the fine,
many opt to pay the rent.

"When you turn law-abiding people into criminals, they lose all respect
for the law," Judge Michael Jarreau testified. "I will almost never take
a guilty plea for driving with a suspended license."

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Now at least one judge agrees that legislatively defining normal and
reasonable behavior as criminal destroys respect for the law.