Dedicated Tax Funds Pursued For Metro
D.C., Va., Md. React To Davis Incentive

By Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 18, 2006

RICHMOND -- The District, Virginia and Maryland are actively considering legislation that would for the first time guarantee a steady source of tax revenue for Metro.

If the rare collective effort succeeds, it will meet a challenge thrown down last year by Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who submitted a bill to give Metro $1.5 billion in federal aid if the region's jurisdictions pledge to support public transit by dedicating a rock-solid source of revenue to it.

Supporters of the effort say they hope to ensure the future of the vast rail and bus network on which the region's economy depends. The task is a daunting one, because it requires jurisdictions with sometimes conflicting political outlooks to do something in unison for the sake of the region's future. Among the most obvious ways to create a source of revenue is to approve a new tax or raise an old one, but that is a course legislators are reluctant to take.

Davis said he was encouraged that each jurisdiction has introduced legislation that would match the offer in his bill, which still must pass Congress.

"There is a recognition from all the jurisdictions that something needs to be done. . . . We're happy about that," he said. "One of the things we're concerned about is if two jurisdictions came up with all of the money and only one came up with, say, half."

The District took the lead in December when the D.C. Council expressed unanimous support for a bill to set aside $50 million for Metro by 2009. It would do so by dedicating a portion of the city's sales tax to the transit agency.

Now the District is awaiting action by the two neighboring states, whose legislatures are considering various bills that would support the effort.

Yesterday, the Virginia Senate voted 36 to 3 for a bill that would increase the sales tax in Northern Virginia communities served by Metro by one-quarter of a cent. Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax) was the only member from Northern Virginia to oppose it. The bill still has to pass the House of Delegates, where the Republican majority has strongly opposed tax increases.

"I'm certainly in favor of the effort," said Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr. (R-Fairfax), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "But it's going to be an uphill fight."

Despite the obstacles, local leaders who support guaranteeing money for Metro say an important threshold has been crossed, because there is general agreement among the jurisdictions that they each need to find a way to dedicate money to Metro.

"It's quite unusual that our region has come together and agreed they will match the federal funds," said Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-Arlington), sponsor of the bill that passed yesterday. "I don't want to be the person who leaves that amount of money on the table rather than using it for a very necessary public service."

Whipple's bill is one of several under consideration in Virginia. Another possibility is that the transportation financing plan introduced by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) could provide the state's share.

"This is not just an issue for Northern Virginia," David Snyder, a Falls Church City Council member and chairman of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, said at a recent news conference. "This is about the state allowing us to raise adequate funds to support the jobs in Northern Virginia that, it turn, throw off a huge amount of taxes that are used by the rest of the state."

In the Maryland General Assembly, a bill introduced by Del. Sheila E. Hixson (D-Montgomery) would set aside $175 million for transit, including money for the regional effort, by dedicating one-quarter of a cent of the state sales tax to a trust fund. Two lawmakers are considering introducing similar bills.

Chip DiPaula Jr., chief of staff to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), did not commit to the idea, but he said the administration "is supportive of reviewing, studying and determining the best way, if we are to fund this."

The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George's), expressed reservations about the sales tax proposal because of competing demands for state money. Hixson said that in an election year, those demands are sure to intensify.

"It may be a hard sell," Hixson said, adding, "I don't think the governor is particularly enthused, either."

A question for the District is whether its funding plan would cover its portion of the regional obligation. Of the $150 million needed annually from the localities, about 37 percent would come from the District, 36 percent from Maryland and 27 percent from Virginia, according to several Metro officials, although those percentages are subject to change.

"At least we've all agreed that something needs to get done," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). "We're at a stage now when we need to address our own issues."

Metro operates the second-largest rail transit system and the fifth-largest bus system in the United States. The federal and state funding, which together would add $300 million a year over 10 years, would provide money for 340 rail cars and 275 buses and for station improvements, such as adding or renovating escalators and elevators.

Since the transit authority was created in the 1960s, it has relied on money from the federal government, from state and local governments that are part of the Metro compact and from its fare boxes. Metro increased fares in 2003 and 2004 and regularly goes to the local governments for money to meet its budget.

The local governments, in turn, weigh Metro's requests against other priorities, such as education.

For years, Metro's leaders have appealed to the governments to provide a steady and consistent flow of money so the transit system will not have to compete with other public needs.