Bray v. Department of State

This cause concerns a governmental exaction that is difficult to label. The circuit court and the Court of Appeals characterized the exaction as a 'Tícense fee”1 and as an *166"insurance premium” respectively,2 holding in appellees’ favor under both labels. Today, the majority advises appellees that they may not recover because the "uninsured motorist fee is more in the nature of a tax than either a license fee or an insurance premium”.3 Persuaded that appellees did not have an insurance contract with the state and that the $45 exaction could not have been levied validly as either a regulatory…