July 10, 2008

Running on empty

Transportation special session runs out of gas

Partisan jockeying consumed House floor session; Assembly adjourns

	In brief ... House Republicans tried to revive Gov. Tim Kaine's transportation bill to force Democrats to vote for a gasoline tax hike, but procedural motion failed. House Democrats claimed an "accord" was achievable with Senate Democrats regarding Sen. Richard Saslaw's funding bill (SB 6009). Democrats and Republicans joined together to amend SB 6009 to remove gasoline tax increases. House Republicans offered an amendment to substitute Kaine's transportation bill for SB 6009. Amendment failed 98-0. Sen. Saslaw bill is finally defeated on House floor vote -- 39 Yeas to 59 Nays. House Republicans passed heavily amended version of HB 6055 to pay for transportation improvements in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Senate kills HB 6055. Senate adjourns at 1:32 a.m. Thursday, House at 1:39 a.m. Thursday. Governor and House Republicans blame each other for session failure.

IN THE END, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY adjourned its special session in the middle of the night unable to reach agreement on a transportation bill that would infuse new money to pay for road maintenance, construction and transit.

In a legislative session that began early Wednesday afternoon and ended in the wee hours this morning, the House passed a number of transportation-related bills. Among those items, which were ultimately killed by the Senate, were bills that directed an "outside" program audit of VDOT and that endorsed drilling for oil off of the Virginia coast.

The delegates also passed a regional transportation funding package for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads that died in the Senate. The House voted 51-45 in favor of a substitute measure (HB 6055) to set up two programs to siphon money from the General Fund to pay for transportation projects in the two regions. The bill included formulae to measure economic activity related to expanded commerce at Dulles and Reagan National airports and at the port of Hampton Roads.

Beginning July 1, 2010, up to $600 million per year would have been allocated for Northern Virginia projects and up to $300 million per year would have been assigned to transportation projects in Hampton Roads. These dollars would have been pulled from personal and corporate income taxes, as well as from the state sales and use tax. General Fund dollars pay for public education, law enforcement, health care, environmental protection and economic development.

HB 6055 -- as reported out of the House Rules Committee -- included increases in the grantor's tax, vehicle rental tax, transient occupancy tax, vehicle registration fee, and vehicle inspection fee. All of these fee and tax increases were dropped from the substitute.

The measure ignored statewide road maintenance. The current practice of transferring road construction dollars from all portions of the state to pay for maintenance would have continued unabated. Nor did HB 6055 provide any additional resources for rail, transit or roads outside of Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. HB 6055 identified specific projects for Hampton Roads. For Northern Virginia, there would have been set asides for the Metro system and for the Virginia Railway Express. Northern Virginia road projects would have been included in the Regional Transportation Plan approved by the Metropolitan Planning Organization representing the region.

Meeting after 10 p.m., the Senate Finance Committee considered HB 6055, as well as the bills to drill off-shore (HB 6006) and to audit VDOT's operations (HB 6046). None of these bills passed the Senate.

According to press accounts, Gov. Tim Kaine promises to pursue transportation funding in the upcoming 2009 session.

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