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State Senate sends gas-tax increase to hostile House, which may kill bill
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Related Topics: RICHMOND, Va.
RICHMOND, Va. (Map, News) - The Virginia Senate on Wednesday quickly passed a gas-tax increase that would notch up the levy on a gallon of fuel by a cent a year for six years, sending the proposal to the Republican-controlled House widely expected to kill it. All 21 Democrats in the chamber’s slim majority voted for the tax measure, while 16 Republicans opposed it.
The bill essentially would match the revenue raised under Gov. Tim Kaine’s proposed $1.1 billion transportation plan but includes a different combination of tax increases to close the expanding deficit in highway maintenance and pay for new road and transit projects.
Kaine’s plan, which is sitting in a House committee, does not include a gas-tax increase.
The Senate’s proposal, championed by ardent gas-tax proponent and Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Springfield, would raise $719 million in statewide revenue by fiscal 2015 through the 6-cent gas-tax increase, as well as by increasing the auto titling tax by 0.5 percent and the sales tax by 0.25 percent, excluding food and drugs.
Saslaw’s plan would pump another $381 million into Northern Virginia, which would be subject to a 0.5 percent sales tax increase, a 40-cent per $100 value increase on the tax on selling a home and a $5-per-day levy on staying at a hotel.
It also includes a 0.5 percent reduction in the sales tax on food, which proponents hope will make it more palatable in the House.
“For the average family, the savings on the food tax, which for an average family of four would be $50 a year, will more than offset the increase in the gasoline tax,” said Senate Democratic Caucus Chairman Mary Margaret Whipple, of Arlington.
Still, both Saslaw’s and Kaine’s proposals face long odds in the House of Delegates, leaving lawmakers with dim hopes of passing any large-scale transportation package during the special session.
“The smart money is on, at best, a small area of agreement, or no agreement at all,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political science professor from the University of Mary Washington.
Farnsworth expected any compromise to be centered on a patch for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, the two regions that won millions of dollars in new transportation funding last year only to see the mechanism for collecting those taxes thrown out by the Virginia Supreme Court in February.
The House Rules Committee is expected to consider Kaine’s bill this morning after debating it Wednesday. Saslaw’s plan also has been sent to that committee.
wflook@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
8:50 PM MST on Thu., Jul. 3, 2008 re: "Hopes for Va. transportation plan dim"
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10:32 PM MST on Sat., Jun. 28, 2008
re: "Kaine touts public-private cooperation on transportation projects"
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9:46 AM MST on Thu., Jun. 26, 2008
re: "State Senate sends gas-tax increase to hostile House, which may kill bill"
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8:31 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 24, 2008
re: "Flurry of new solutions emerges, throwing tolls into the equation"
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8:38 AM MST on Mon., Jun. 23, 2008
re: "Lawmakers return to Richmond for transportation fight"
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11:34 AM MST on Thu., Feb. 14, 2008
re: "Fairfax largely rebuffed in legislature"
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Mexicans Without Borders must leave too!!!! said:
The Dems have too many solutions, unfortunately they all involve tax hikes. In a troubled economy, they must be crazy. LOL
7 agree | 6 disagree
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DemDistrustingKaine said:
Turning public assets--like toll roads--over to private interests sounds a great deal like what a fella' named Mussolini did. I contributed to and voted for a fella' named Kaine--not a Bloomberg or a Mussolini. My Democratic party forebears fought a war against that kind of "privatization" in FDR's times. I will not support Democrats of the Mussolini sort any more than FDR did.
7 agree | 6 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
all new road taxes need to be paid by drivers,,not poor like me who cant affoard a car or to drive,,put your taxes on all transportation products,,like ,gas,oil,tires,repairs like breaks,you drive it you pay for it,,and if you cant afford a car..park it like me,,but quite takin my food money!!
7 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
its a aggravation to have to plunk down 1.25 every time i go through there if there was another way we could capture revenue state wide i rather do that so tax payers could pay my 1.25 for me while i drive on the dullas toll road,hummm i live in danville va why should i pay xtra taxes to cover your 1.25 for driveing on the toll road when i have never in my life drove on it,if u dont like the aggravation of paying the 1.25 for driveing on dullas toll roads then stay away from them if u drive them to a big money job then quit crying about the 1.25 mabe hampton and richmond could use a few toll roads they are stuck in grid lock anyway would be easy to collect tolls tons of cars there if grid locked thats a nice hunk of money do that and put that toll money towards fixing hamptons and richmonds roads they useum let them pay forum.
8 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Mr Kaine. I got your money right here. It's called putting the Dulles Metrorail Project out to a good, fair process of bidding. That should free up some money for you. Or, are you so deep under the covers with Bechtel right now that you can't see the light?
9 agree | 9 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
What, Gerry's not out of touch, is he?
46 agree | 38 disagree
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