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Gov. Tim Kaine included |
BY CHELYEN DAVIS
RICHMOND
--Gov. Tim Kaine unveiled a transportation plan yesterday that would raise about $1 billion a year for roads.His proposal requires increasing the sales tax on cars, boosting the annual vehicle registration fee, increasing a tax on home sales and applying an extra sales tax in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
Lawmakers will take up the proposal in a special session Kaine is calling June 23.
But House Republicans have already rejected the plan, saying a recession is no time to raise taxes.
And Senate Democrats, some of whom had pushed for a statewide gas tax increase, said they have concerns about the plan as well.
Kaine said he chose sources of revenue that are familiar to lawmakers, as they've approved all of those tax increases on a regional basis at some point in the past.
He chose not to propose a statewide increase in the gas tax, he said, because gas is a necessity of life for many people.
Kaine promised that all the money would be dedicated to transportation. He said his bill will include a provision that the revenue would expire if lawmakers (or governors) try to use it for something else.
"It's simple, it's sustainable, and it's statewide," Kaine said of his proposal. "We do have to act. The General Assembly has to act. Its reputation and our reputation are at stake."
But House Republicans disagree. They want to apply a variety of fees and taxes in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to revive the regional components of last year's transportation package; those two regional authorities were ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court last year.
The House Republicans do not support any statewide tax increases.
"I don't see anything positive in the plan," House Majority Leader Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said. "It's all tax, tax and more tax I don't think you're going to see the governor's plan succeed, or anything close to it."
Senate Democrats released a statement yesterday saying they have "concerns" with Kaine's plan, but without elaborating on what those concerns are.
"We want to ensure that any transportation plan is fair to every region of the Commonwealth, provides enough funding, and has out-of-state drivers paying their fair share for the roads they use," said Senate Majority Leader Sen. Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, in the statement. "As he made clear during his press conference, the governor does not expect this to be the final plan. We understand this will most likely not be the final plan but hopefully we can use this as a starting point for discussion."
Saslaw has said in the past that he favors an increase in the gas tax as a way to pay for statewide road needs. He and other Senate Democrats do agree with Kaine that any action on transportation issues this year must include a statewide component.
That's because Kaine and other Democrats say the state needs more money for road maintenance costs, which they project will completely eat up the road construction budget within a few years.
Kaine presented charts showing that the state will pay about $400 million for road maintenance in fiscal year 2009, and nearly $600 million by fiscal year 2014.
That isn't a new argument. Senate Republicans, at least, used that in proposing tax increases in 2006.
"The consequences of not focusing on maintenance are very obvious and very severe," Kaine said. "The maintenance deficit is worsening."
But House Republicans said they distrust Kaine's figures and don't believe that paying for road maintenance is a growing problem.
"It's based on numbers that project we're going to have a flat economy for 10 years," said Del. Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights.
Cox and Griffith said House Republicans had not settled upon a proposal of their own yet, but that they're willing only to deal with the two regional components for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
Kaine said he expects lawmakers to make changes to his proposal. He said that's why he announced it six weeks before the special session, so legislators can "kick the tires" and come up with improvements.
Kaine plans to sell his plan to the public with a series of town-hall meetings around the state.
He's scheduled to hold one in Fredericksburg June 19, at 7 p.m. at the Jepson Alumni Executive Center Ballroom at University of Mary Washington.
But those meetings may not help him get his plan past the House Republicans.
Asked if he expected Kaine's bill to get out of committee and onto the House floor for a full vote, Griffith paused, then said no. "I see it on the floor, but not on the floor of the House."
Chelyen Davis: 804/782-9362
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com
Total new transportation funding: $859 million in fiscal year 2009, increasing gradually to $1.08 billion in 2014. Money would come from:A 1 percent increase in motor vehicle sales and use tax statewide from 3 percent to 4 percent and rededicate another existing 1 percent of the tax to highway maintenance. Also boosting the yearly vehicle registration fee from $39 to $49. This would raise between $445 million to $512 million a year for maintenance. A 25-cent increase per $100 in the real estate seller's (grantor) tax statewide. This would raise $142 million to $155 million a year for mass transit projects and economic development. For Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads only:A 1 percent increase in the sales tax, except for food and medication for regional projects. This would raise $306 million to $414 million a year for Northern Virginia and $168 million to $227 million for Hampton Roads. In Northern Virginia, $25 million would go toward the Virginia Railway Express for locomotives and additional service. |
