January 5, 2007

Governor rolls out transportation plan

On January 4, 2007, Gov. Tim Kaine presented his plan to improve the state's transportation network, a plan that builds on his previous proposal.  House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) offered a transportation plan last week.

The release of the two proposals ensures that transportation, a contentious legislative issue for more than two years, will be a focus of debate again during the 2007 General Assembly session that begins Wednesday, January 10. 

Kaine's proposal includes changes to the state's land use laws, long-term sustainable funding and additional accountability requirements for the Virginia Department of Transportation.  

Sources of funding for the governor's plan include:

• Dedicating existing auto insurance premiums to transportation;
• Increasing the sales tax on motor vehicles;
• Increasing the motor vehicle registration fee for all vehicles, including heavy trucks; and
• Fines for motor vehicle offenses such as driving under the influence or reckless driving.

The governor also proposed a one-time general fund transfer of $500 million in FY08, as well as the annual transfer to transportation of half of any non-recurring general fund surplus.  The proposed transfer would be made after the mandatory transfers to the state's Rainy Day fund and the Water Quality Improvement Fund, and would not diminish them.  Taken together, these funding sources could produce more than $800 million annually for transportation by 2010.  The funding base should increase each year, in concert with rising automobile prices.  In addition, the total amount available could increase beyond the base, depending upon economic growth.  By FY13, the base figure is estimated at about $850 million.

Keeping the new transportation money safely "locked up" and unavailable for uses other than transportation is a priority for Kaine.  "It is time for the House of Delegates and State Senate to reconcile their differing versions of this bill so we can pass a constitutional amendment locking up the Transportation Trust Fund," he said.

Kaine would use the new funding to close VDOT's maintenance funding gap; borrow to advance priority projects; increase rail and mass transit funding; expand revenue sharing and enhance the Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund for use in public-private partnerships.  Part of the funding would help pay the debt service on the state's Federal Highway Reimbursement Anticipation Notes (FRANs).

The governor's proposal does not include new debt, nor does it include an increase in the state's gas tax.  The state's 17.5-cent per gallon gas tax was last raised in 1986. 

Kaine's land use proposals would give local governments the power to deny rezoning requests that do not include enough road or transit capacity to support projected increases in traffic.  He also wants to authorize VDOT to improve subdivision street standards and address access management, including curb cuts, to move traffic more efficiently.

In the hours following Kaine's announcement, Speaker Bill Howell and Del. Leo C. Wardrup Jr. (Virginia Beach), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, issued a press release expressing disappointment in the governor's proposal.  Howell said that he had hoped the governor would develop a new plan, "and not reintroduce statewide tax and fee increases that failed almost a year ago."

^ Top | Index