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No Transportation Solution in Sight As the State's Lawmakers Meet Again

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 March 2006, 00:00 CST

By Hugh Lessig, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.

Mar. 27--RICHMOND -- State lawmakers are back from spring break. They will be in their seats today, pencils sharpened, when the General Assembly rings the bell to start a special session.

Their first class is Gridlock 101.

Two weeks have passed since tired lawmakers left Capitol Square without enacting a budget, hung up on a long-term fix for transportation.

But they agreed that budget negotiators should continue to meet and everyone would return today, hopefully with a compromise at hand.

It hasn't happened.

Budget talks have come to a screeching halt. Hampton Roads lawmakers remain split on a key piece of the puzzle. And Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has turned up the heat with a lobbying effort that Republican House Speaker William J. Howell has called "unconscionable" -- threatening to polarize the legislature even further.

So what to expect this week?

Barring a lightning bolt from the blue, the General Assembly is likely to meet for a couple of days to reorganize and formally re-position the budget bill to be debated. Again. Legislators could propose a Hampton Roads transportation authority. Again.

Then everyone will settle in for what could be a long haul.

Del. Harvey B. Morgan, R-Middlesex, is one veteran lawmaker who is not holding his breath for an immediate breakthrough.

"I'm hopeful," he said, "but I'm not so optimistic."

Howell, when asked if the public should lower its expectations this week, replied: "I'd be surprised if the public's expectations are very high at this point anyway."

It is easy to see why.

The 11 budget negotiators -- five from the Senate and six from the House of Delegates -- broke off talks last week amid mounting signs of rancor and frustration. The two sides have been unable to bridge their basic disagreement over funding.

The Senate -- and Kaine, to a different extent -- believe Virginia should bankroll its transportation future with higher taxes and fees, seeing it as the only way to create sustainable funding over the long term. The House wants to ride the healthy economy, using temporary excess cash and exploiting the state's debt capacity.

Hampton Roads lawmakers have fared no better in trying to find a self-help plan for the region.

Legislation to establish a tolling authority in Hampton Roads failed during the regular session. Attempts to revive the idea have been under way, but support for a particular plan has not coalesced.

Compromise proposals? There have been few.

House Republicans would like to pass a budget and return later this year for a special session on transportation. In essence, they would enact a two-year budget with about $1 billion set aside as a transportation reserve -- a chunk of money that would serve as a placeholder until a spending compromise is reached.

But the Senate has been cool to that idea, and Kaine has stressed the importance of lawmakers not returning home empty-handed.

At least there is no shortage of money when it comes to lobbying.

Kaine is holding another series of town hall-style meetings on transportation. He has launched a series of radio ads and automated robo-calls to voters. An anti-tax group is airing similar ads with an opposing point of view.

The governor's radio spots are "blatantly misleading," Howell said, because Kaine never says he supports tax increases. In fact, the governor would increase taxes on motor vehicle sales and auto insurance premiums, and he is open to the Senate's idea to increase the grantor tax, which applies to home sales.

Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall said the transportation proposals have been thoroughly discussed at the governor's town hall-style meetings around the state.

"No one is hiding the ball here," he told The Associated Press. "The House leadership would continue to argue that Virginians can have something for nothing. The House transportation plan looks under every sofa cushion for loose change and runs up the state credit card to make up the difference for what is at best a temporary fix. That is disingenuous."

Morgan said he thinks the Senate will play a waiting game while the radio spots play out.

"I think they're biding time because they think the governor's campaign is going to bear fruit," he said. "I don't think that's going to work, to be honest with you."

Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, said he's received a few inquiries based on the governor's campaign. He does not see the need for Republicans to respond with their own high-level media blitz.

"I don't think it's necessary to spend any money to counter someone that's advocating a ... tax increase," he said. "As people contact me, I respond back at no charge."

Here's where they've been and where they may be heading

They're baaaack -- the General Assembly, that is.

Lawmakers officially begin their overtime session today, still stuck on how to fund long-term improvements for roads, bridges, mass transit and rail.

For those of you following at home, here's a scorecard:

--THE BACKGROUND

This has been a long time coming. The General Assembly hasn't dealt with transportation in a big way since 1986, when the legislature raised taxes under former Gov. Gerald Baliles.

In 2002, voters in Hampton Roads and northern Virginia rejected ballot initiatives that would have raised taxes in those two regions to fund transportation projects.

In 2004, a tax-and-budget debate dragged lawmakers into overtime. The resulting compromise raised taxes for schools, public safety and health care, but left transportation for another day.

Last year, transportation headlined the race for governor. Democrat Tim Kaine was swept into office on a promise to shore up and expand Virginia's crumbling network of roads and bridges -- and to do it this year.

--THE STORY HAS TWO SIDES. MAKE THAT THREE.

The House of Delegates' plan relies on the budget surplus, state-backed debt and stiff fines on bad drivers to generate about $500 million a year for transportation.

The Senate would raise taxes on sales of homes and motor vehicles, and it would apply the 5 percent sales tax to the wholesale price of gas. Its proposal would provide about $1 billion a year.

Kaine's would raise the sales tax on motor vehicles and auto insurance premiums. He would also increase registration fees and levy stiff fines on bad drivers. Kaine is open to the Senate's plan to raise the grantor tax, paid by the seller of a home.

--THE WEEK AHEAD

The situation remains fluid as the General Assembly convenes. Here are some possibilities, in no order of importance.

Continued stalemate: Lawmakers could play a waiting game to see which side blinks. Remember that the 2004 budget impasse dragged the legislature into May. The state needs a new budget by July 1, or some government services could shut down.

A compromise: If senior budget writers want to stop squabbling and meet each other halfway, now's the time. Lawmakers are in their seats, ready to do business, and a new proposal could jump-start the debate.

A delay: House Republicans don't like the idea of transportation being intertwined with the larger debate over the budget. They'd like to separate the two -- in effect, pass a two-year budget with a fixed amount of transportation money, then return later this year to consider the more difficult questions of tax hikes, higher fees or going deeper into debt.

--THE LOCAL ANGLE

A key issue in the overall debate is a self-help program for Hampton Roads.

During the regular session, Sen. Marty Williams, R-Newport News, proposed a tolling authority for the region. He ended up spiking the bill, dissatisfied when the House of Delegates amended it.

Kaine said he was interested in reviving the idea, and both House and Senate leaders are interested too.

The problem is finding a consensus among lawmakers in the region. There isn't one.

House budget writers -- Delegates Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, and Leo Wardrup, R-Virginia Beach, in particular -- are interested in a plan that allows localities to join a regional authority while requiring local officials to spell out how they would raise revenue among their citizens.

Wardrup said the plan may not be finalized by today. Whenever it comes, the Senate may not buy it.

Leading senators say they're waiting for the region's lawmakers to coalesce behind one plan before overall negotiations can proceed. However, House leaders say the Hampton Roads debate should not hold up anything.

-----

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Copyright (c) 2006, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.

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Source: Daily Press

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