June 24, 2008

House, Senate lurch along in search of statewide transportation funding solution

 The Senate Finance Committee is poised to vote Wednesday morning (June 25) on two competing transportation funding bills -- SB 6009 (Saslaw) and SB 6010 (Colgan).  The committee could vote out both bills even though they rely on different funding sources, which would give the full Senate, and possibly the House of Delegates, two approaches to consider.

 Because of their reliance on statewide tax increases, either bill is likely to face opposition in the Republican-controlled House.  Each bill contains statewide and regional components.  VML will have a more extensive overview in a future Legislative Bulletin once the Senate Finance Committee has acted. 

 The Senate Privileges & Elections Committee reported SJR 6004 (McEachin) today, creating what has been called a “double lock box” that protects both the Transportation Trust Fund and the general fund.  

 The Senate Transportation Committee killed SB 6004 (Cuccinelli) by passing it over for the day.  It was a “devolution” bill that would have made counties responsible for road maintenance.  Similar legislation has been assigned to the House Rules Committee.

 The Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee passed by legislation that would have dedicated revenues from off-shore drilling to transportation.

 Sen. John Watkins suggested at the conclusion of today’s session of the Senate that the legislature should hold public hearings on its proposals, which would delay conclusion of the special session until July.  Currently, the legislature appears to be trying to wrap up more quickly than that.

 Numerous bills, including Gov. Tim Kaine’s transportation bill (HB 6026), have been assigned to the House Rules Committee, which is expected to meet Wednesday morning.  Bills assigned to this committee often are on the fast track, either to the House floor or to the waste basket. 

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