Election Jitters May Clear Path to Progress on Roadwork

Republican delegates from Fairfax -- David B. Albo, left, and Thomas Davis Rust -- are again pushing for their regional tax plan in Northern Virginia. (Courtesy Of David-b. Albo)

RICHMOND Elections have a way of focusing the mind.

When the Virginia General Assembly special session ended in September with no agreement on transportation issues, lawmakers in both parties predicted no action on road funding until after the election in November 2007.

But a funny thing has happened in the past several weeks: Transportation is back.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) is scheduled to appear at today's meeting of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, at which he plans to announce his new efforts on behalf of road and rail construction. Sources say the plans are likely to include about $500 million in new, one-time construction money.

In recent weeks, Kaine has also been hinting that he might reintroduce his ill-fated $1 billion tax increase plan for transportation. At a business luncheon and again at a swanky Richmond fundraiser, Kaine hinted that he might be willing to take another crack at it.

Two Republican delegates from Fairfax -- David B. Albo and Thomas Davis Rust-- are also pushing again for their regional tax plan in Northern Virginia. It would raise several hundred million dollars each year by charging higher vehicle registration fees and hotel and rental car taxes.

Albo and Rust met privately with Democratic lawmakers from Northern Virginia last week to urge them to support the new bill. The response they got: You need to get Republicans to support it first.

That may be difficult, if the past is any guide. The Republican majority in the House, led by Speaker William J. Howell (Stafford), has given no signals that it is ready to abandon its no-new-taxes stance.

But while Howell and his allies don't like taxes, they are not abandoning transportation altogether. They are resubmitting their legislation calling for growth controls and reform of the Virginia Department of Transportation. And they are likely to have numerous proposals for how to raise money for roads without digging into the pockets of residents.

This week, Howell announced that his caucus would commit at least 50 percent of the expected state budget surplus to transportation. In fact, he all but threatened to hold up budget negotiations unless the governor and Senate agreed to those terms.

Why all the interest in transportation after a disastrous 2006? And what makes anyone think the 2007 session will be different?

It's not clear they do.