Much has been said about Sacramento’s recently approved “crash-tax.” George Skelton, in his own way, levied harsh criticisms of the plan that would charge out-of-towners who found themselves at-fault in a traffic accident left with a bill for any necessary emergency services. (That story can be seen here.)

But the idea wasn’t new to Sacramento. Roseville, a Sacramento suburb, has had a crash-tax for the last 18 months. Until Wednesday night, that is.

Roseville was the first of the 60 California municipalities to repeal its crash tax.

The mayor said it was a mistake to pass it, and she hoped to remind residents and non-residents that Roseville is a business-friendly community.

That’s because many see the tax as unfairly targeting people who commute to businesses everyday.

From the Sacramento Bee:

Roseville’s City Council unanimously voted Wednesday evening to repeal its “crash tax” – bucking the trend of California cities creating fees for nonresidents involved in traffic accidents.

“We made a mistake,” said City Councilman John Allard,who first suggested repealing the tax earlier this month.

Outside the chambers after the vote, the firm hired to collect the fee from nonresidents involved in traffic collisions fumed about not being given a fair shake by the council, being vilified by the media and battling the deep pockets of the insurance industry and the politics it claims are behind the reversal.

Read the full article here.