RICHMOND
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's proposed $1.1 billion tax increase for transportation was killed Thursday by a Republican-led committee in the House of Delegates.
The House Rules Committee temporarily spared another bill that would raise the gasoline tax by 6 cents a gallon over six years. On a day of high political gamesmanship, the committee allowed the measure to advance to the House floor, where the GOP hopes to set it up for a showy death next month.
The actions suggest further confirmation of a prediction many legislators made before beginning a special session on transportation funding this week: The General Assembly will make little progress.
The legislature essentially recessed until July 9. Lawmakers were unwilling to meet next week because many of them had made vacation plans around Independence Day.
Kaine said he was disappointed but not surprised by the death of his tax increase package, which included a penny-on-the-dollar sales tax hike in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia - the state's two most congested regions.
The Democratic-controlled Senate on a party-line vote Wednesday passed a separate bill, SB6009, that included the gas tax increase in a package to raise $1 billion in new revenues for transportation.
Kaine, a Democrat, chose not to include a gas tax increase in the plan he introduced last month, saying at time that there was little legislative support for such an increase while gas prices are hitting $4 a gallon.
The governor, during a news conference Thursday, declined to endorse a gas tax increase, but suggested he might be willing to live with one if it's part of a transportation package that provides ample money to maintain roads across Virginia and build new ones in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
"You're not going to see me veto a bill that meets those objectives," Kaine said.
The odds of the gas tax increase reaching Kaine's desk are tiny, however. House GOP leaders strongly oppose raising that levy or any other general tax.
Under a new procedure established this year, the Rules Committee, led by House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford, simply voted to send the bill to the floor without casting any judgment on its merits. House GOP leaders are hoping to force Democratic delegates into a floor vote in which they must decide whether to support a tax increase or break with their party brethren in the Senate.
"This bill appears to be the vehicle of the Democratic majority in the Senate and, on this occasion, I think it is something that deserves to go the House floor for a full vote," said House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem.
The Rules Committee also sent a Republican road funding plan to the full House without recommendation.
The measure - proposed by Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News - proposes no statewide tax increase or new roads revenues for Virginians outside of Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
The bill, HB6055, would allow Hampton Roads local governments to raise about $50 million a year by imposing additional $20 fees on vehicle registration and inspections, and a 2 percent tax on car rentals.
The measure also would allow the region to capture up to $250 million a year in future new tax revenues that might come from a growth in business at the Hampton Roads port if roads are improved.
The measure is likely to be opposed by rural legislators, who also are looking for road money, and by Senate Democrats, who are insisting on a combination of regional and statewide tax increases.
Under law, Virginia is required to maintain existing roads before spending money on new ones. Kaine said the Republican plan would not generate ample money for maintenance and force the state to seize new tax money that would be generated in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
He also noted that tax revenues generated by the port go into a general budget fund that pays for education, health programs and public safety. The governor said he opposes siphoning that money for transportation.
Virginian-Pilot staff writer Julian Walker contributed to this story.
Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com
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Solve the problem, or risk jobs
Enough political game playing. If the politicians don't have the courage to solve this problem, and possibly risk their part-time jobs in Richmond, and their full-time work with the "lobbying" law firms many of them work for, then we can say good-bye to companies staying or moving here. What company would elect to set-up in Hampton Roads or NoVa? With gas prices what they are, commutes getting longer and longer, with a simple flat tire causing 30 minute back-ups on I-64, who would subject their employees to this? Not to mention evacuation time if there is a hurricane. Norfolk region has one of the deepest ports in the country forthe largest of ships, but they won't come to this port because of the cost due to difficutly getting trucks in and out of here in a timely manner. What we have in Richmond are cowards who answer to their corporate lobbyists instead of doing the right thing. Be men and women of courage and do the right thing. Risk your re-election. Its what real leaders do, not just lawyer-lobbyists pretending to be otherwise. Maybe the first step would be to make legislators full-time employees and impose STRICT lobby reform, then we might get something done, other
THIS ISN'T THAT HARD
Watching the comments here is laughable at best when you know politicians are when our local folks will ask one simple question:
How much does the state collect from Hampton Roads in gas and other transportation taxes? Let's not go into all of the other taxes that lends to more bang for the population. In other words If I repave a road that has two thousand residents or businesses on either side the cost per resident is a lot lower than our rural friends pay. Shux, they can't even afford it and based on my 45 years of experience the "road fairy" won't be coming.
Further, what percentage and dollar amount of state income generated from transportation is used for programs not associated with transportation. Had this been favorable for the politicians and tax increases, I think we'd already know this.
Just A Fast Thought.
JAFT
Well Kevin, one thing I
Well Kevin, one thing I learned by participating in the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership which brings 35 "fellows" from throughout the Commonwealth each year to study civil means to forge coalitions and partnerships, is that every region of the Commonwealth says exactly the same thing you have said; that is, our region is a donor region, paying more in taxes and getting less back than any other region of the Commonwealth. Actually, Jim Koch, the former President of ODU, addressed this issue in his "State of the Region" report, and while I do not have it in front of me, I recall that he did find some areas in which we received an bit less than we should and some areas where we received a bit more. Regretfully, while changing allocation formulas may result in some very minor changes, the fact is we are a low tax state, and for transportaion, we are in the bottom third of all states in the Union, even though we are 8th or 9th in per capita income. We simply want a class A system for a class D cost; won't happen.
tax increases
The thing that tax me I don't care people seem to forget is that when you get a raise, the government also gets a raise because your taxes go up due to increased income. But the raise the government gets doesn't seem to be enough for them so they want to raise taxes on everything you make and own which makes your raise actually worth less. How ludicrous is that? I can't go demand from my employer that I need more money to do X so why should government be allowed to come to me for more money? If I have to live within my means, so should government.
Of course there is going to be more road construction projects
Of course we have more construction projects here - there are more people here paying more taxes. Mike, you are going to have to do a better job than that to convince me that we get our "fair share" of state money. If you are just talking about transportation, you may have a case, but in terms of overall state spending, including health, agriculture, education, etc., I think you are mistaken. The Virginia Beach city officials I talked with, including a councilman, all agree that VB puts more money into to the state coffers than what comes back.
Well of course, there is not
Well of course, there is not a transportation district in the Commonwealth that feels it has gotten its fair share, but of course, that can't be true. In fact, we have just seen the completion of the Mercury Blvd/I-264 project, the Battlefield Blvd. Interchange is nearing completion, and the I-64/I-264 Interchange with improvements down to Witchduck Road is the next major project in the region. Fact is, we do get our fair share or very close to it, and if we want an extra level of investment we will need to raise that money within our region. Frankly, if it can be assured that it stays here for use on our six regional projects and the widening of the HRBT, as the Senate Bill proposes and funds, I support that approach and it appears that Northern Virginia does too for its regional program.
Tax fairly, or not at all.
The problem here in a "Hampton Roads only" tax increase is this: For years on end, we've been paying our taxes, and being told that our needed road repairs projects have been approved but put on hold for financing, while we watched the projects planned for I-95 in northern Virginia start, finish, start, finish, and repeat like clockwork while we wait for our number to come up. If we're going to cave in and allow the state to approve regional tax rates that are NOT uniform statewide, then we need to petition to have the taxes we contribute to the state returned to "Hampton Roads" so we can use them as we so choose instead of paying for other regions to thrive. We all know we're just getting the shaft because we have the tourist base to rape more money from.
It's more proof it's time to live up to Virginia's motto: Sic semper tyrannis.
For some who agree that we
For some who agree that we need the improvements but suggest we should fund them out of current resources, just what is it you would cut? Ever wonder why House republicans say the same thing but never deliver with a bill detailing what they would cut to fund transportation? Well, the reason is that there is no line item labelled fat in the budget. They say there is waste, but of course when Mark Warner actually cut billions from the budget he inherited from Gilmore, the republicans howled about the effects on citizens from longer lines at the DMV and on and on about the dastardly action by the Governor. Fact is, they never actually identify the cuts, they just say they should be made and the resources transferred to pay for transportation. Frankly, their failure to attend to this strategic imperative is obscene, and as a friend of mine has said, if they were military officers, they could be courts martialed for dereliction of duty.
jerrys28523
We All Aready Pay - Including Me...
selzjj taking you up on your offer
I will gladly send the state a check for road maintenance and construction,but YOU want be able to drive on them because you don't think their worth paying for.
No Regional Tax Rates, no unrelated tax increases
I am OK with a state-wide increase in the gas tax to raise money for road projects that will actually help commuters (like more lanes for the HRBT). I am also OK with small increases in vehicle registration fees and automobile title taxes. But stay away from tolls (especially on existing roads), they slow traffic down. I am AGAINST raising the sales tax. It will discourage out of state folks from buying Virginia goods and services. I am against raising taxes that and fees that have nothing to do with transportation (e.g. grantors tax rate on real estate). And I am also OPPOSED to regional taxes - more tax dollars flow from Va. Beach to Richmond than the other way around. I have no desire to broaden this inequity.
Well of course, that is an
Well of course, that is an interesting point, but why would I pay twice? That is, we are all paying now for gas wasted stopped in traffic, for the loss of productivity in our businesses, and for the loss of quality personal time associated with gridlock. Whether that is at two and three light cycle delays on streets near our neighborhood, or waiting in line, not moving or crawling, at one of many choke points in the region, we are all paying now for the cost of inaction by the General Assembly, and most notably, by the majority in the House of Delegates. Their failure to address known deficiencies in our regional system, and their failure to pay the state's share of local road projects, is now legendary as they have presided over the most significant deterioration in our transportation system in the history of the Commonwealth. If you think you are saving money on taxes and fees by not investing in transportation, you are sadly misinformed.
Send Them A Check
For all of those who wanted Kaine's 1.1 billion-dollar tax increase, my suggestion is stop your Republican bashing and just send to the commonwealth a personal check for transportation. Better yet start a campaign to raise money for transportation with donations, since so many people in Virginia are so blindly willing to pay more in taxes a campaign should be able to tap those resources and solve the problem - right?
the root of the problem
why are we deadlocked? People simply no longer trust politicians, any of them. Even if these bills passed the chances of any meaningful improvements in our infrastructure is at best--50/50. We've been lied to (from both sides) so often I've totally lost faith in the systems ability to do anything meaningful. A sad legacy to leave my heirs. A little impartial truth would go a long way but it's just not available.
Of course this action
Of course this action confirms that the republican majority in the House has decided that transportation must be sacrificed on the alter of no new taxes, which is ironic since they supported new taxes and fees to pay for transportation as long as someone else had the political courage to enact them. For me, this is a refutation of one of the primary functions of government; that is, to act in the public interest, and transportation has long been one of the primary responsibilities of the states. Hamilton's bill is neither enough, nor is it courageous, and the attempt to steal general fund revenues that support the entire Commonwealth for our use in Hampton Roads has already met with derision from political leaders in Northern Virginia. So much for coalition building. The House majority has run for so long on a platform of anti tax, anti government, that they can't change tactics even when we all realize that it was them in charge. Let us hope that we voters are not ignorant enough to return them to power.
Lottery
The Lottery is a tax on the mathematically challenged. :-)
Does this suprise anyone?
Kaine is Virginia's worst Governor ... at least in my lifetime. He gets nothing done. I'm glad I didn't vote for him!
Stop raising taxes
Increase the cost of a lottery ticket. This is an easy way to get additional money for transportation projects. I see people every day throwing their money away to get rich. They seem to enjoy giving free money to the state and it helps me keep a little more of mine.