WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Gov. Tim Kaine said on Thursday he expects to call lawmakers back to Richmond in mid-to-late June to address the state’s lingering transportation funding crisis, a projected date creeping deeper into the summer as lawmakers and the governor show no signs of reaching a funding agreement.

At hand is how to replace millions of dollars in annual road revenue lost when the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a large part of the funding package approved by the General Assembly last year.

The court ruled in late February that the regional taxing authorities empowered under the plan in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads were unconstitutional. Kaine and the assembly’s Democratic leadership have suggested a statewide replacement — in the form of a car or gas tax — which Republicans have vowed to fight.

Kaine, a Democrat, has declined to offer glimpses of the specifics of his plan, but on Richmond radio station WRVA’s “Ask the Governor” program on Thursday said it won’t reflect a “my way or the highway” approach.

“If we want to have a good system, good maintenance, we’ve got to pay for it,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, the Republican opposition — which wants to limit the taxes raises to local governments — has been growing increasingly restless as Kaine toils away on a solution.

“I don’t think he has a plan,” said Del. Timothy Hugo, R-Fairfax. “He needs to demonstrate some leadership, get off his rocking chair, get off the porch.”

Kaine also told Richmond-area radio listeners that the government has pushed state agencies to consider more telecommuting to conserve energy, and that his administration has tried to move state jobs in high-traffic areas like Northern Virginia to less congested areas in the south and southwestern part of the state, where commutes are shorter.

The governor, however, misspoke, said spokesman Gordon Hickey, who said state jobs have not been moved out of Northern Virginia.

“He was talking about setting up teleworking people who work in their homes ... there is no instance in which we’ve closed an office in Northern Virginia and moved to Southside or Southwest Virginia,” Hickey said.

wflook@dcexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

7:42 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Dulles rail re-bidding stripped from budget"

Lisa Green said:
I've read the State contract with Bechtel for Dulles Rail and I don't see how bidding out this project would be a "breach of Contract" as Sen. Colgan and Governor Kaine assert. This is hogwash that Governor Kaine has put out to stifle real competition. We've got to get him out of Bechtel's pocket already.

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7:41 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Dulles rail re-bidding stripped from budget"

Examiner Reader said:
Someone should look into Governor Kaine's connections with Bechtel. Something isn't quite right there. Maybe we'll get lucky and find that Kaine was Bechtel's "Client #10"?

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10:55 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Saslaw pushes tax increase to fill transportation gap after ruling"

Examiner Reader said:
i agree with the person below no excuse for va being so broke oh yea they left one out to va is one of the few states were u have to buy county stickers to just think of all those thousands of people that have to buy them here in va at twenty bucks apeace most other states dont have to buy, them so my question is were is all that money going to would really like to no the answer to that one,so the person below is exactly right theres no excuse for va being so broke,do your job kaine and quit getting off the wall bills passed that waste tax payers money,thats not the job we the people voted you in to do.

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2:22 PM MST on Mon., Feb. 18, 2008 re: "Governor�s plan to cut state aid puts squeeze on local budgets"

Examiner Reader said:
Get rid of the illegal people in N.Virginia, and the drain they have us and get busy taking care of the Americans. There is no excuse for Virginia to be so broke. One of the few states that have total controll of the liguor,beer and wine, one of the few states that you have to pay personal property taxes on your car every year,one of the few states that is a commonwealth. So Mr.Kaine, do your job, get your priorities straight and find out where all the money went.

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