By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 3, 2008

RICHMOND, April 2 -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine told legislators Wednesday that the highway construction budget will be nearly depleted within a decade, but House and Senate leaders remain sharply divided over whether a statewide tax increase is needed for transportation.

In a meeting at the state Capitol, legislative leaders spent two hours getting a briefing on what Kaine's staff describes as a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars in the part of the budget used to maintain roads.

The meeting came six weeks after the Virginia Supreme Court threw out a key element of last year's transportation funding compromise. The court ruled that regional authorities in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, created to raise revenue for roads, could not constitutionally impose taxes or fees because they are unelected.

Kaine (D) and Senate Democrats are pushing for a statewide tax increase for transportation needs.

House Republicans, who oppose a statewide tax increase, say they want to revive the regional authorities in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia but require that state and local governments impose the taxes.

"We are certainly not any closer to a resolution," House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) said after the meeting. "You are probably not going to get a statewide tax increase anytime soon, so why hold Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia hostage until that point?"

Howell also questioned the Kaine administration's premise that highway construction money could dry up soon. In response, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said Howell "is not facing reality."

Howell said a tax increase would not pass in the House without near-unanimous support from the Democratic minority. Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria) said House Democrats are "assessing the need and evaluating the options."