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Kaine's Transportation Plan Faces Uphill Climb

House Republicans Say Senate Must Pass Bill First; Anti-Tax Activists Hit Capitol

By Tim Craig, Anita Kumar

Originally published at 12:00 a.m., June 24, 2008
Updated at 8:37 p.m., June 24, 2008

RICHMOND, June 23 — Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) began a special session of the General Assembly on Monday by challenging legislators to rise above politics and enact his proposed $1 billion tax increase to ease traffic and repair the state's aging network of highways and bridges.

In a speech to the House and Senate, Kaine said Virginia residents are willing to pay more in taxes if it means less traffic, better roads and new mass-transit options.

"Virginians, I am happy to say, are responsible people," Kaine said. "They don't demand a free lunch. Our constituents are open to a reasonable, moderate plan to raise the revenues we need."

But moments after the start of the second special session in two years on transportation, the General Assembly erupted into feuding as Democrats and Republicans jockeyed for political advantage on taxes and transportation.

While Democrats are divided over which taxes to raise, Republicans have become increasingly unified in their belief that Virginians cannot afford a larger tax burden. They are trying to return to their party's anti-tax roots. And even though Republicans lost control of the state Senate and five seats in the House of Delegates, they think that Kaine is miscalculating the public's appetite for new taxes, even for transportation needs.

More than 100 anti-tax activists rallied at the state Capitol on Monday against efforts to raise statewide taxes. The Republican Party of Virginia had sent a letter urging activists to campaign against Kaine's proposal.

Virginia's transportation troubles appeared to have been resolved at a special session in early 2007. The General Assembly passed a landmark package to pump $1.1 billion annually into transportation across Virginia. Regional authorities were poised to collect $400 million a year in Northern Virginia and $200 million in Hampton Roads.

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Special Transportation Session of Virginia's General Assembly

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Del. Brian Moran (D-Alexandria), left, talks with House Speaker William Howell (R-Stafford) during a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly for a special transportation session at the Capitol in Richmond on Monday, June 23. (AP/Steve Helber)

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Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine gestures during a speech before a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly's special transportation sessionon Monday at the Capitol in Richmond. House speaker William Howell (R-Stafford), right, and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, left, listen in the backround. (AP/Steve Helber)

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House minority leader, Del. Ward Armstrong (D-Henry) hands the governor's transportation bill to the House clerks on Monday, during a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly. The special session was called in Richmond to discuss the state's transportation issues. (AP/Steve Helber)

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House speaker William Howell (R-Stafford), center, along with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, left, and State Sen. Charles Colgan (D-Manassas), right, listen to Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine during a speech before a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly on Monday, June 23. (AP/Steve Hebler)

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But lawmakers repealed steep abusive-driver fees after a prolonged controversy. The fees had been estimated to bring in $65 million a year. Then the state Supreme Court ruled that the regional authorities could not constitutionally levy taxes and fees because they are not elected bodies.

Some Republican legislators say they are more adamant about opposing tax increases than in previous years because a poor economy has left residents with little extra money.

"It's just a hard time to raise taxes," said Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle (R-Virginia Beach), who helped push the transportation bill through the Senate last year.

Instead of working with Kaine, Republicans in the House and Senate embraced a strategy Monday that puts the governor and the Democrats at the forefront of the tax battle.

Almost immediately after Kaine spoke, it became clear there would not be prompt action on his proposal to enact a $10 increase in annual vehicle-registration fees and a 1 percent increase in the sales tax on automobiles. The governor also wants a 1 percent increase in the sales tax in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia to pay for transportation in the state's most congested areas.

House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) said the Republican-controlled House will not vote on Kaine's bill unless it first passes the Democratic-controlled Senate. "It is obvious to everyone that, since a Democrat governor called this special session, the body controlled by his party should act first on his legislation," Howell said. "When the governor's allies in the Senate send us a bill that they have passed and that he will sign, then we will give it full and fair consideration."

Kaine's spokesman called that a "delaying tactic." "Just when we thought we'd seen every way to say no, they come up with another way to say no," spokesman Gordon Hickey said.

The session is costing the state about $20,000 a day. Kaine's bill has not yet been introduced in the Senate. Concerned that Kaine's tax increase does not do enough to charge out-of-state motorists for their use of Virginia highways, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) is trying to push his own bill.

Saslaw wants a 0.25 percent increase in the sales tax and a 0.5 percent hike in the car titling tax. He also is proposing a 6-cent increase in the state's 17.5 cent-a-gallon gas tax, which would be phased in over six years.

"I applaud Kaine for getting things going, but I've got my own bill so I am going to do things a little differently," Saslaw said.

But Saslaw faces a struggle in getting his bill approved by the Senate.

There are 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans in the chamber, making it difficult to approve legislation without bipartisan support.

Senate Minority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City) said Republicans, who have joined with Democrats in the past in support of some tax increases, will not be supporting any statewide tax increase unless they first receive assurance that it also stands a chance in the House.

Last year, two moderate Senate Republicans lost to conservative GOP challengers in legislative primaries over their support for tax increases. "We are not, as a caucus, going to vote for a statewide tax increase to send it over to the House of Delegates to have them summarily kill it and then to absorb the criticism of voting for tax increases," Norment said. The continued strength of the anti-tax movement in Virginia was evident at last month's GOP convention. Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), a fierce critic of taxes, nearly upset former governor James S. Gilmore III for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.

"The party leadership is starting to get that message," Marshall said. "They are not going to support a tax increase."

Virginia Republicans, who were criticized for a lack of unity when they controlled both chambers, are relishing the fact that Kaine and Saslaw are behind different plans.

"We have a governor who talks about bipartisan cooperation but has not led effectively even within his own party," House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said. "

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