Tax Idea a Flop in N.Va.

Officials Call GOP's Road-Funding Plan Weak, Burdensome

By Tim Craig

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

RICHMOND — Northern Virginia's top elected officials blasted a proposal by House Republicans that would authorize regional taxes for transportation, saying it unfairly burdens local residents and does little to ease congestion or improve highway maintenance.

In a letter to House and Senate leaders Monday, the local officials and members of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority called the GOP plan "an unacceptable solution for Northern Virginia" and urged that the bill be killed or heavily amended when the General Assembly reconvenes Wednesday.

"It is just not a workable plan," said Chris Zimmerman, the NVTA chairman and a member of the Arlington County Board. "The question is whether there is going to be a serious approach, and that is what we are waiting to see."

The letter frustrated House Republican leaders, who say it makes it nearly impossible for a transportation deal to be reached during the special session.

"Politics is the art of the possible, and it looks like they want the impossible," said House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (Salem). "I am sorry they have taken that position. It is probably sufficient to kill the bill, but probably not sufficient to get what they want."

Griffith added that local governments in Northern Virginia have embraced a strategy of wanting "more and more and more."

Unwilling to accept a statewide tax increase, which had been proposed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and Democrats in the state Senate, Republicans who control the House were hoping to approve a bill that would authorize regional taxes in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

The effort is modeled after last year's transportation deal, parts of which were struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court.

The Northern Virginia proposal, which would bring in $156 million in new revenue annually, includes a $100 license fee for new adult drivers, an increase in the tax on home sales of 40 cents per $100 of assessed value, and a 2 percent tax increase on rental cars and hotel rooms.

Some parts of last year's regional plan in Northern Virginia remain intact, including a commercial real estate tax that would bring in an additional $208 million.

Local governments would have to vote to impose many of the new taxes before they could take effect.

But officials in Northern Virginia are rebelling against the proposal, saying they should not be expected to assume responsibility for what they view as the state's duty.

They are angered that there would have to be a vote to raise many of the taxes. By comparison, the regional plan for the Hampton Roads area, where there is significant public opposition to higher taxes, calls for the state to use money from the general fund to help pay for transportation needs there.

"We are saying to the General Assembly: From our point of view, on a bipartisan basis, you have to do your job," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D). "You can't dither around about the single most important issue facing the people of Virginia. The Hampton Roads piece is a slap in the face to Northern Virginia."

Besides Connolly and Zimmerman, the letter was signed by Scott K. York (I), chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors; J. Walter Tejada (D), chairman of the Arlington County Board; and the mayors of Manassas, Manassas Park, Alexandria and Falls Church.

The leaders are expected to join business and civic activists Wednesday in Richmond to urge the General Assembly to go back to the drawing board. They want a transportation proposal that includes regional plans that do not require local jurisdictions to impose the taxes as well as a statewide solution to address the shortfall in the budget portion used to maintain roads.

Although the special session was expected to end this week, the group will urge the General Assembly to continue until a solution is reached.

Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), who has been trying to broker a compromise, said Monday that he is optimistic that a deal can be reached.

Albo plans one last attempt to get House Republicans to agree to impose the regional taxes themselves. But he said the letter from the local officials contained some "complaining" that will make his job harder.

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Kaine Speaks After House Kills Transportation Bill

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Gov. Tim Kaine speaks to the media during a news conference in the Patrick Henry Building, in Richmond on Thursday. Kaine's transportation bill was killed by the House Rules Committee, after being approved by the Senate, earlier in the day. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo)

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Gov. Tim Kaine speaks to the media during a news conference in the Patrick Henry Building in Richmond on Thursday. Kaine's transportation bill was killed by the House Rules Committee earlier in the day. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo)

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Gov. Tim Kaine speaks to the media during a news conference in the Patrick Henry Building in Richmond on Thursday. Kaine's transportation bill was killed by the House Rules Committee earlier in the day. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo)

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Other Republicans from outside Northern Virginia are more pessimistic about reaching a deal because the issue is worsening regional rivalries.

Under the GOP plan for Hampton Roads, some revenue from future growth in traffic at the Port of Virginia in Norfolk would be diverted to highway projects in that area, so local officials and legislators don't have to vote for significant tax increases.

Because that money traditionally goes to the general fund that is used to pay for government services throughout the state, officials in Northern Virginia say Republicans want to steal some of the money from their region to build new highways in Hampton Roads.

Griffith said those officials also will probably fail in efforts to prolong the special session if a solution is not reached this week.

"We are not a full-time legislature. People have plans, they have businesses, they have real jobs," Griffith said. "We cannot sit down here all summer."

Tagged: transportation

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