200K Arizona drivers getting refunds over public safety fee

PHOENIX (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of drivers will be getting $32 refund checks from the Arizona Department of Transportation. About 200,000 checks are going out in the mail this month, worth about $6.6 million. The Arizona Republic reports that the refunds involve a controversial public safety fee that was part of vehicle registration costs approved three years ago and later rescinded. Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, told the newspaper that she added the refunds into the state budget for people who paid the fee in June because the department should not have charged it that month after its repeal.