Senators eye taxes, planning for roads

Finance Committee wants to revamp way state assesses, funds transportation needs.

By CHELYEN DAVIS

Date published: 11/19/2005

HAMPTON--Senators appear to be crafting a plan that will link local land-use planning with state transportation priorities and possibly include new sources of revenue.

At the Senate Finance Committee's annual budget retreat yesterday, staffers gave a presentation on transportation that included a dusted-off 2002 report from the Joint Legislative and Audit Review Commission. That report recommended re-evaluating the way the state assesses road needs.

It also recommended giving the General Assembly power to appoint some members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which are currently all appointed by the governor.

Asked if the report's mention in the staff presentation suggested the committee's intent to implement those recommendations, Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, called it "a pretty good framework to start from" as lawmakers revamp transportation policies.

The staff report noted that if things don't change, the state will be paying far more in maintenance than for new road construction in a few years. Finding more money is a key in making any real difference in the state's road program, lawmakers say, but the question is whether that means new taxes or merely shifting some revenue streams.

No one specifically called for tax increases in yesterday's meetings, which included a gathering of the task force formed by the Senate Finance Committee to prepare a comprehensive transportation package.

Sen. John Chichester, R-Northumberland, made an oblique reference to money, saying that even if VDOT were given a billion dollars more, it wouldn't be prepared to spend it. He said some restructuring needs to take place first.

"We're not going to be ready to do it all on Jan. 12," Chichester said.

But Houck said legislators are talking to each other about possible revenue sources.

"We all know and we discuss [that] the central problem is lack of money," Houck said. "There's still a lot of unanswered questions."

After the Finance Committee meeting, the task force led by Sen. Charles Hawkins, R-Pittsylvania, held a three-hour work session in the same room.

The group went over a variety of ideas for improving road and rail systems, with an eye toward crafting recommendations at their Dec. 16 meeting. Not all will make the final product, Hawkins said.

"This is a discussion day to put all our hopes and dreams on the table, and a lot of them will be smashed at a later date," he said.

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Date published: 11/19/2005