RICHMOND
Minutes after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine unveiled a plan Monday afternoon for an almost $860 million tax increase to help transportation, House Republican leaders declared it all but dead.
"I don't see anything positive in the plan that could make it something that could be considered," said House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. "It's all tax, tax, tax."
So begins the latest chapter in the state's six-year quest for money to build new roads, improve existing ones and ease gridlock in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
Kaine, a Democrat, said the reputation of the legislature to solve problems rests in its willingness to increase taxes to improve roads, rail and mass transit. "The General Assembly must act because its reputation, and our reputation, are at stake," Kaine said during a news conference.
The governor has called a special session of the General Assembly for June 23 to take on transportation funding.
Kaine said new money is needed to enhance the quality of life, ensure the safety of bridges, and improve emergency services and hurricane evacuation in Hampton Roads.
He'll head to Woodbridge today for the first of 10 town-hall meetings he has scheduled across the state in coming weeks to explain his plan and build public support for it. He's slated to speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton and at 6:30 p.m. June 3 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.
Kaine offered his tax plan after weeks of consulting with senior Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate. He said his proposal represents a compromise that incorporates a bevy of taxes that lawmakers have closely considered and many of them have approved since 2002.
The plan is a blend of new statewide levies and a special penny-on-the-dollar sales tax increase only in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. The current 5 percent sales tax would be increased in those regions to 6 percent, except for food and over-the-counter medicines. The increase would generate $168 million next year in Hampton Roads and $306 million in Northern Virginia.
The Hampton Roads revenues would help finance several major regional projects, including an expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
Statewide, Kaine proposed that the 3 percent sales tax on new and used cars be increased to 4 percent. It would generate $172.5 million in new revenue next year.
Annual vehicle registration fees would increase by $10. For most cars, the new cost would be $49.50, producing $70.3 million next year. The increase, if approved, would mark the second time in two years that registration has been boosted by $10.
Those revenue sources would help pay for the upkeep of existing state roads.
Kaine also would increase the grantor's tax on parties that sell homes by 25 cents per $100 of the sale price, producing $142 million. The levy is now 10 cents per $100. The increase would cause the seller of a $250,000 home to pay an additional $625 in taxes.
That money would be used for mass transit, road needs related to economic development projects and at the port of Hampton Roads and airports across the state.
Kaine said the bill he presents to the General Assembly will include "lock box" provisions to guarantee that the new taxes are dedicated to transportation. He said "the revenue source expires" if the money is not used for roads, rail or public transportation.
The safeguard is important because polls have indicated that voters do not trust state officials to use transportation taxes for their intended purposes.
House Republican leaders in recent years have opposed increasing taxes for transportation. The General Assembly approved a compromise last year that allowed transportation authorities in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia to raise local taxes for road projects.
The Virginia Supreme Court struck down the plan in February, however, ruling it unconstitutional for unelected authorities to impose taxes. The decision left lawmakers searching for a new transportation plan.
Kaine also called for the elimination of the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority, which was supposed to develop the region's big projects, including new bridges and tunnels. The Northern Virginia authority would remain intact.
The regional authority also was to hold the billions of debt that would be needed to build Hampton Roads' projects - debt that cities said they could not handle on their own.
Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, who has been head of the authority, said the region needs to push together for a solution that all can agree on. If eliminating the authority is required, "then please, abolish it," he said.
State officials will have to clarify how debt would be held, he said.
Kaine characterized the plan as "my best effort," but invited lawmakers to improve it.
Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, said he will continue his effort to modestly increase Virginia's gasoline tax, which he sees as the most reliable revenue to maintain roads.
Saslaw said if Republicans block a funding solution for roads, "they're going to pay dearly at the next election."
Many House leaders want nothing to do with new taxes, however. Passage of Kaine's plan depends on the defection of some Republican delegates who would have to defy party leaders and vote for the plan.
Del. Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, said the tax increases are inappropriate while the economy is weak.
"To do this, I think, in a recession and with families struggling," he said, "is unfortunate."
Staff writer Tom Holden contributed to this report.
Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com
Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Well, sometimes the truth
Well, sometimes the truth hurts Mike.
So now we have it; the
So now we have it; the definitive expert opinion from on high, delivered by Keith. Isn't that jsut wonderful, a self appointed objective expert who has rendered his opinion based upon the fact that he got stuck in the HRBT on day, and he knows a lot of other people who have gotten stuck there as well. Further, he has stated without fear of contradiction that no citizen has ever been stalled at the third crossing, hence, we must widen the HRBT. What intellect! How long did you work on analyzing this data? It must have taken years of toil and all the computing power available in your home computer. But no thanks. I prefer the opinion of the elected leadership of every political jurisdiction in this region, the Commonwealth Transportation Board, the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Federal Highway Administration. Call me risk adverse, but I prefer the plan approved by all the above to the one advocated by Keith.
Republicans
The business community is used to having things done it's own way on the legislature. Taxes don't need to be increased. If the legislature (democrats and republicans) collect the taxes that are meant for transportation and SPEND them on transportation vice raiding teh trust fund it to balance budgets, then the money would be there. The HRBT should have priority. It should actually take the place of "The Third Crossing". That project will do nothing, but shift what little traffic will be moved off of the HRBT and on to I-564 to compete with the Naval Base Traffic. The "expert" that came up with that one works part time for the chamber of commerce and managed to analyze the data and present it in such a way as to obfuscate the public as to believe that such a crossing will reduce traffic congestion in a way to justify the $4Billion plus dollars for it costs. Republicans and democrats are two wings on the same bird. George has a point about the republicans, especially GWB. The money WILL be spent. What it is spent on and who for is where the R's and D's differ. Neither party is fiscally responsible.
How a business person in
How a business person in this region could ever consider voting for a republican again, if the views of the Speaker and the Majority leader reflect the views of our local delegates, is what most of us want to know. That is, given the overwhelming evidence of decay and deterioration of our transportation infrastructure, and the unanimous support of every major business association in this region for a long term, sustainable, broad based funding solution so we can build the six projects, add the HRBT, and fund the state match for local road projects, if our delegates don't work for a solution, how could a business person ever vote for them again?
Fiscal responsibility
Someone please explain to me how our Republican President George Bush has exercised sound fiscal responsibility.
Annes777739
Your wrong about the property taxes. Your comparison to socks that are sold and other things that are turned over for a profit are apples and oranges. Whenever something is sold for a profit it is taxes on several levels. This is not the same as a property tax whereas you are basically 'renting' your property from the goverment for a yearly fee. Don't pay it, and they in fact redistribute your holdings. It is just plain wrong. However, Virginia has a choice to make. Due to your geographical challenges you will either have to drive less and require less road construction, or pay more taxes. You all can debate the issue unti lthe end of time but it will not affect the reality of the situation.
"Well, as usual, a Demo-Crap wants to raise Tax's. Nothing ever changes."
To the genius who wrote this. I think you should do some research into who has provided the LARGEST GOVERMENT EVER: Bush. Just because you are not being taxed today does not mean that the money is not being borrowed and having to be repaid with interest.
Clarity and precision in language
I have to laugh when this newspaper writes that the new tax is intended to, among other things, ease "gridlock". Gridlock is a very specific term used by traffic engineers that refers to specific problems caused when the volume of cars exceeds a grid system. We do not have a grid system, hence, we can have no gridlock.
Please...
...geographically define Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Why do both areas have to bear the burden for the rest of the commonwealth when it comes to a sales tax increase?
Thanks GOD governors have a four-year term limit...
Transportation Funding
I think that Virginia House Republicans are being "penny wise and pound foolish" when it comes to transportation funding for new construction projects. The cost sharing formula is 20% state funding and 80% federal funding. In other words, every $1 that the state provides is leveraged by $4 from the federal government. Seems like a pretty good deal to me, especially for critical transportation projects that almost everyone agrees are needed.
While it is important to decide what additional fees or taxes are needed and what projects should be built, it is at least as important to take advantage of the leverage the transportation formula provides. Let's not let some other state benefit from federal transportation funds that should be coming to Virginia
funding sources
Why dosnt the GA look for new funding sources, and I dont mean new names for taxes. Even the ports "3rd crossing" could happen if people werent forced to contribute. I vote for casinos.
Don't stop there...
Get rid of the policitial motivated MPO as well. Same group of non-transportation non-experts as the HRTA.
Create a working group staffed with transportation experts from the tidewater area to review, comment, and suggest transportation options. Politicians and developers do not need to be deciding the fate of transportation in this area.
How about a toll?
Gas prices are at record highs, so lets increase the gas tax.
We are in a housing slump and the price of homes are down, so lets increase the tax on that, so you can lose more money on the sale of your house.
Need to buy a more effecient car, raise the sales tax on a new car.
Let's raise the registration fees.
As grocery prices rise, let's raise the "state" sales tax, but only in parts of the state.
A lock box??? . . ."the revenue source expires" if the money is not used for roads, rail or public transportation. How is that possible? Shouldn't we get our money back? We won't, they will tax us for "roads and bridge safety and security", then they will need a raise and use the money for that, but don't worry "the revenue source will expire" until they increase more taxes.
Just put a toll on the new or improved roads, then the people who beneift from it pay for it, including the tourists, the military folkes who have their cars registered in Guam, the renters, the people who pass through from north to south. . .
Then, when the roads are built give bonuses to the contractors for finishing early OR penalize them for being late. The projects will be ahead of schedule.
Taxes & fees
Well, I will say it. We are overtaxed; we we don't care what other states taxes and fees are or where Virginia ranks in taxes with other states because we don't live in another state or in Europe; we can do better than the MPO list of projects. I live in the real world and also in a republic. The port and business communities are the ones living on the streets paved with gold, because the taxpayers in the commonwealth probably paid for it with THEIR own milk and honey. One thing I will agree with Gov. Tim Kaine on is the abolition of The HRTA. The NVTA should receive the same fate. Good riddance.
Dokein Re: Tolls
You really should read the www.texas121.org link. There are no toll booths on T121. Tolls are charged by electronic signals like EZpass, but for cars that lack the transponder, the license plate is photographed and the owner is billed. The toll is slightly lower for those with the transponder.
What is fair about taxing a guy in Pungo who works at Oceana when he sells his home to leave the area to pay for the T connector for the Port? Would it not be more fair for those who use it to pay for it?
This is how the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was financed 50 years ago with NO tax money.
Lock em Up
Lock em up and don't let them out until a REAL plan (that is, not watered down nor shot down by a court) - like Gov. Kaine's plan - is passed. Time to clean the House anyone? Oh wait, this area wants the roads but doesn't want to pay for them.
Well, if you were paying
Well, if you were paying attention, you would know that tolls are included in most of the projects, and further, the Governor has acknowledged that a public private partnership may be the best and most economical way to build a number of the regional projects. But for those who are intellectually challenged, a public private partnership still means there needs to be a publicly financed component. In particular, if the improvements to the HRBT are to be funded then the prohibition on tolls on that interstate will need to be lifted. Right now, every Virginian is paying a tax of $900 per year, which is the cost of congestion; that is, the time we spend in traffic jams and three light cycle delays. Stated another way, it is the cost caused by the collective wisdom of the House of Delegates whose vision is restricted because they have had their collective heads stuck in the sand for over a decade.
? what poll
Mike B continues to parrot the HRP slogan, "taxes for transportation are above suspicion".
"Fact is, even here in Hampton Roads the overwhelming majority of our voters, that is, 89% believe that traffic congestion is is terrible, 77% say that it has gotten much worse since 2002, and 67% say that they would support increased funding for transportation improvements." (M Barrett)
Not sure where this "overwhelming majority" originated; it certainly is the obverse of the 2002 70% referendum rejection vs regional funding for state/port/economic projects.
Good idea dems!
Take more money out of the working peoples pockets! That always works! Just ask Jimmy Carter! We don't need the added burden during a time of record crude oil and gas prices and while we are in an economically slow period! Just got my car tax bill of a $125! Thank God Jim Gilmore provided relief for that otherwise it would have been twice that! My city (Norfolk) sure hasn't been using those funds to improve our city streets.....except downtown! That my friends is called redistribution of wealth...aka socialism! Lets go my fellow Norfolkians $.99 in '09!
How stupid can Kaine be?
That we need revenue to fix the neglected roads (as a result of more resources being shifted to more social programs) is obvious. I am willing to pay a little more, if and only if, every cent goes to roads and not another social prgram and a guarantee of that. What I don't undersand is why Kaine feels the need to screw VIRGINIANS rather than adding a little to the lodging tax, gas tax or the like in order to get some of the money from the out-of-state people who, using our roads, are a big source of the problem. How dumb is he?
State issue
The entire state will benefit from improved transportation in NorVa and Hampton Roads. The increased revenue as a result of improved transportation will be disbursed state-wide. Therefore, the burden of financing should be state-wide. I do not support any regional taxes. I own 2 vehicles, but walk to work. I bought my home close to my workplace for the convenience. Why should I pay for everybody else????