Va. GOP Lawmakers Reject Kaine's Latest Transportation Fix

"This plan will improve safety, it will provide relief to the two most congested parts of Virginia and it will provide a change in choices for commuters," Kaine said.

Minutes after Kaine unveiled his proposal, House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) and Minority Whip M. Kirkland Cox (R-Colonial Heights) predicted it would not reach the House floor.

"I don't see anything positive in the governor's plan that makes it something that's likely to be considered," Cox said. "It's all tax, tax and more tax."

Democrats, who hold the majority in the Senate, praised Kaine for trying to respond to the state's needs but added that they will probably change it. Some Senate Democrats back a gas tax increase, but Kaine said he did not include it because of the record price of fuel.

Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said Kaine's proposal doesn't do enough to hit out-of-state motorists for some of the costs of maintaining Virginia's highway system. Saslaw, who plans to meet with Senate Democratic and Republican leaders in the coming weeks to try to develop their own plan, lashed out at House Republicans over their refusal to consider a statewide tax increase.

"If . . . that crowd just wants to stick their heads into the sand and pretend we don't have a problem and run this state into the ground, I can't physically force them to do this," Saslaw said.

A year ago, Virginia's transportation funding problem appeared to have been resolved. But lawmakers were forced to repeal steep abusive-driver fees because they failed to gauge the negative reaction from drivers and the court system. Then came the Supreme Court decision that said the regional taxing authorities created by lawmakers in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads were unconstitutional because they gave taxing powers to unelected panels.

House Republicans said they want to salvage last year's deal by having local governments, not the taxing authorities, vote to impose the new taxes. Kaine and Democrats are instead pushing for a broader plan that also closes the estimated $375 million deficit in the part of the budget used to maintain roads.