Kaine Calls for a Compromise
Legislators Urged to Complete 'Unfinished Business,' Fix Transportation System

By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 29, 2006

RICHMOND, Aug. 28 -- Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) urged lawmakers Monday to confront the state's transportation crisis at a three-day special session next month but replaced his demand for higher taxes with a call for a meaningful compromise.

Legislative leaders announced that they intend to return to the capital for three days at the end of September to resume efforts to fix the state's ailing transportation network, which Kaine characterized as Virginia's "unfinished business." The first-year governor's earlier proposal to raise taxes by $1 billion to pay for new road and transit projects froze the legislature for six months and helped bring the state to the brink of a budget crisis.

In a speech Monday to the General Assembly's money committees, Kaine again offered a laundry list of transportation projects that need more money, including improvements to Interstate 66, the Capital Beltway, Metro and Virginia Railway Express. But he conceded that the public strongly opposes the tax increases he proposed earlier.

"They are aware that solutions will cost money," Kaine said, citing recent polls of the public. "But they don't want to pay more taxes."

Instead of fighting over higher taxes -- which House leaders vehemently oppose -- Kaine urged lawmakers to focus on areas on which Democrats and Republicans in both chambers have agreed: modest increases in the amount spent on transportation, reform of the Virginia Department of Transportation and land-use changes.

"These points of agreement demonstrate a significant common ground from which we can craft a comprehensive solution," Kaine said in his 24-minute speech, a traditional appearance to update lawmakers about the state's finances. "If we do not act, it will be our people and our future that will suffer."

After his speech, Kaine said he was not giving up on efforts to find new revenue for roads, just attempting to change the tone from earlier this year, when the legislature deadlocked for months.

"A special session is not helped by setting out a series of nonnegotiable positions," Kaine said. He said neither the magnitude of the problem nor his resolve for new money for transportation had changed. But he added that "ultimate success isn't measured by a particular number."

Republicans said Kaine's speech demonstrated a sense of realism about the issue by also endorsing the idea that Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads might adopt separate plans for dealing with traffic in their regions.

"He's lowered his expectations for a statewide solution," said Del. Thomas Davis Rust (R-Fairfax), who has been pushing a Northern Virginia plan. "The way I read it, he's looking for user fees. I don't think we will see anything for statewide gas or sales tax increases."

House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said of Kaine: "Clearly he understands there is not going to be a tax increase."

Transportation advocates, who had cheered Kaine's push at the beginning of the year for what he called a "reliable, statewide revenue source," said Monday that they were let down by the governor's new approach.

David Guernsey, former chairman of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, said he was disappointed by Kaine's comments in the speech.

"It's a sad consequence. These guys all react to polls," Guernsey said. "That determines how the next election is going to turn out. I think that's what we've been faced with for years. This is not just a Kaine phenomenon."

Kaine's supporters in the Republican-controlled Senate said they do not believe the governor has given up on the idea that the state needs at least $1 billion a year in new money for roads, bridges, buses and rail lines.

"He has not backed down on anything," said Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax). "How are you going to fix [transportation] statewide without a tax increase? Kindly tell me that."

Disagreement over whether to raise taxes delayed agreement on the state budget for more than three months this year. Senators pushed for variations of Kaine's plan while House Republicans said they were opposed to any general tax increase paid by all Virginians.

The Senate finally abandoned its push for the tax increase in late May, but the budget wasn't finalized until the end of June, just before the ability to spend money on state programs would have run out. At the time, senators and House members agreed to return in the fall to continue the transportation debate.

On Monday, House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) and Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City) announced plans for both chambers to convene Sept. 27 to debate transportation. They said they have agreed to go no longer than midnight Sept. 30.

House committees will meet earlier that week to take action on transportation bills approved by the Senate during the extended legislative session this year.

Howell and Norment said they were optimistic that legislation could be completed by the end of September. Like Kaine, they both played down the chambers' significant disagreement over taxes, which forced a three-month delay in passing the budget.

"We are trying not to focus so much on the areas of disagreement," Norment said.

Howell said, "I think we'll come up with some very meaningful initiatives."