Kaine Takes Roads Push Back to Town Hall

They are battling Republicans in the House, who have proposed raising considerably smaller amounts by relying on state surpluses and higher fines on habitually bad drivers. Republicans also argue that Virginians should not have their taxes raised again two years after the legislature increased sales, cigarette and additional taxes to support schools and other services.

Unlike his previous town hall tour, in which Kaine spoke briefly and generally before listening to suggestions from the public, the governor talked specifically and forcefully about his vision for the state's transportation future.

Kaine hammered on the theme that "there's a cost to doing nothing." He said that by 2011, Virginia will lose federal funds because it won't be able to match federal highway dollars.

He said that on the state's present course, the budget for local roads would shrink substantially. Prince William County's secondary roads budget, for instance, would shrink from last year's $7.4 million to $2.6 million in 2010. That amounts to enough to build a single lane a little more than five miles.

Kaine said the House approach, which would shift some general fund money to transportation projects, would cut payouts to schools, public safety and health care while doing little to improve commutes.

"They're sweeping money out of these programs for transportation," Kaine said. "What we see is there are ways to get to a big number. But there are ways to advance the state, and there are ways to hurt the priorities we care about."

Kaine's plan would increase the sales tax on a car purchase from 3 to 5 percent, an amount that would cost consumers about $400 more for a $20,000 car. Taxes on auto insurance premiums would double, auto registration would go up and fines for bad driving would escalate sharply.

Kaine told the audience last night that the new taxes would cost drivers no more than $156 a year: $18 a year in insurance premiums, less than $18 in annual registration fees and no more than $10 a month on car loans.

In return, he said, they would get a revamped road and rail network, powered by a 90 percent increase in local road funds and a doubling in funding for mass transit.