GOP Drafts Broad Plan For Va. Transportation

"To come up with something that's born out of panic is not really good government," he said.

Advocates for managed growth were wary of the proposal but congratulated the party for proposing sharper tools for local governments to control development.

"The underlying cause of our transportation problems are poorly planned land use and poor community designs that add to our traffic," said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

The eagerly anticipated news conference ended a month-long negotiation between three lawmakers from each chamber that was organized by Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R). "The failure to find solutions to our transportation problems imperils our future prosperity," McDonnell said in a statement.

Under the plan, taxes on diesel fuel would rise, and fees to register heavy trucks would increase. Rental car taxes would go up, and drivers with bad records would pay higher fines. Taxes on commercial real estate and the sale of a house would go up. And new drivers would pay an extra $100 the first time they get a license.

The plan also envisions dedicating half of future surpluses to transportation projects and diverting $250 million from other state programs starting in 2008. And the state would borrow $1.3 billion in 2008 and an additional $700 million in 2012, repaying the debt with money raised through the plan.

Some of the fees and taxes would require the approval of city councils and boards of supervisors. Republican lawmakers said that would ensure that the millions raised from Northern Virginia residents would be used for projects in the region.

But those requirements inject another element of uncertainty into the proposal.

"I applaud the fact that the Republican leadership, after dithering for a year, has come to the conclusion that the transportation crisis is real," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D). "As long as they are willing to stay flexible, I'm sure local government officials will work with them to make it even better."

The plan does not spell out how the money would be spent. Northern Virginia's 2030 plan calls for widening Interstate 66 and Routes 7, 28 and 29. The dream list of projects includes larger, more efficient interchanges across the region; Metro service to Centreville, Potomac Mills and Dulles International Airport; a wider Capital Beltway with high-occupancy toll lanes; and numerous improvements to smaller roads and bridges.

The total cost: $21 billion.

The Republican transportation package would not pay for all of those projects, officials said. But by leveraging the money to borrow more, they said Northern Virginia would finally have a realistic hope of making many of the projects a reality in the next decade.

Just a few months ago, House GOP leaders celebrated their victory over Senate counterparts after refusing to give in to Senate demands for higher taxes during a special session in September. Kaine had called the special session after lawmakers failed to reach a compromise in the regular session, nearly shutting down state government.

But the election six weeks later changed everything, some lawmakers and other political observers said. Republican George Allen's defeat for a second term in the U.S. Senate shocked the party's leaders and sparked a series of urgent conversations about how the party can win elections.

"Think about where we were in 2006," said an exuberant Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City). Now, he said, "there has been compromise. Boy, that's almost a new term to put into our legislative encyclopedia."

But the celebratory mood at the Capitol was tempered by a harsh reality: The plan still must be voted on by the legislature and then signed by the governor by the time the General Assembly leaves town at the end of next month.

"Now we start the legislative process," said Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle (R-Virginia Beach).

Staff writers Tim Craig and Amy Gardner contributed to this report.