Compromise in Doubt For Va. Roads Funding

By Anita Kumar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 2, 2008

RICHMOND -- Three weeks before the General Assembly returns for a special session on transportation, many legislators say they have little or no hope of reaching an accord on how to fund road and transit projects.

The funding impasse stems from stark, philosophical rifts between the House and Senate, between Republicans and Democrats and within chambers and parties. The issue also divides regions.

Even legislators who would like to cut a deal wonder how they can overcome such steep challenges when they convene in Richmond on June 23 for the session called by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).

"I haven't heard much consensus. Everybody's got a different view," Sen. John C. Watkins (R-Chesterfield) said. "I don't think anyone has put something out there that solves the problem."

Even Kaine acknowledged the General Assembly could leave empty-handed. "I don't know whether we will get a solution or not," he said.

Legislators have engaged in one-on-one discussions in person and by telephone since March, but leaders of the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and Democrat-controlled Senate say there has been no movement toward compromise.

Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), who has sought for weeks to broker a deal, called the chance of reaching an agreement "extraordinarily bleak."

In May, Kaine proposed raising $1.1 billion a year by increasing taxes statewide on car and home sales and vehicle registration fees. His plan includes a 1 cent sales tax increase in the state's most congested areas, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

Democrats and some Senate Republicans want to boost taxes statewide, but they disagree on whether to increase the gas tax, sales tax or other revenue sources.

House Republican leaders oppose a statewide tax increase and announced last week that they want to encourage public-private partnerships, in which companies would pay for some projects on roads and bridges in return for the right to collect tolls.

"It would be exceedingly helpful if we were able to count on some participation at the private level," said Del. Joe T. May (R-Loudoun), chairman of the House Transportation Committee. "Otherwise it appears we are going to have to raise all of it ourselves . . . and that makes our task all that more difficult."

Kaine said if the General Assembly fails to pass a plan, he will tell voters House Republicans stood in the way.

"Virginians will know that they've got to get different legislators," he said.

Kaine and other Democrats said they worry House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) and other top House Republicans will order their ranks to oppose any tax increase or face retribution, such as losing coveted committee seats.

"The rural legislators apparently led by the speaker seem pretty determined not to help the state," said Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax), no relation to the House Republican. "The speaker won't deal with any statewide approach, any taxes of any kind."

But House Republican leaders accuse Kaine of calling a special session, at a cost of $20,000 a day, knowing that the legislature will not pass a bill.

"It's political. He thinks he can make it look like our fault," House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said. "He's playing games."

Kaine has touted his message for the past month around the state. A coalition representing retailers, developers, real estate agents and contractors supports his view that a statewide tax increase is needed.

"The business community in the state is certainly at a point where they want to see substantive results in June," said K. Clayton Roberts Jr., leader of the coalition Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education. "The business community is out of patience, and certainly there will be consequences [if nothing passes]. . . . We'll fix it at the ballot box."

Watkins, who favors a gas tax increase and more reliance on toll roads to charge out-of-state drivers, said Kaine should have waited to call a session at the end of the summer when gas prices might be lower.

Legislators predict the session could drag on for months.

"There's a long, long way to go," said Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax). "It's not something that's going to be solved in a couple days in Richmond. That's a starting point."

The General Assembly approved a package last year to pump $1.1 billion a year into transportation projects across Virginia. Regional authorities were set up to collect $400 million a year in Northern Virginia and $200 million in Hampton Roads.

But lawmakers repealed abusive-driver fees, which were estimated to bring in $65 million a year. Then the state Supreme Court ruled that the regional authorities could not constitutionally levy taxes and fees because they are not elected bodies. And an economic downturn and rising asphalt and steel prices are forcing the state to divert construction funds to maintenance.

"The money is obviously needed, and the solutions just get more expensive," said Bob Chase, executive director of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, a business-supported group that lobbies for transportation funding. "At some point, solutions may be beyond our ability to finance."

Albo said he hopes to team with May and Del. Thomas Davis Rust (R-Fairfax) to offer a compromise that includes sources for regional and state money. But Albo said nothing will pass unless Saslaw, who favors a gas tax increase, and William Howell, who favors no tax increase, ease up on some demands.

The two leaders have not spoken in weeks about transportation, the speaker's office said.