Regional Tax Idea A Flop In N.Va.

Officials Call GOP's Road-Funding Plan Weak, Burdensome

RICHMOND, July 7 -- Northern Virginia's top elected officials blasted a proposal by House Republicans that would authorize regional taxes for transportation, saying it unfairly burdens local residents and does little to ease congestion or improve highway maintenance.

In a letter to House and Senate leaders Monday, the local officials and members of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority called the GOP plan "an unacceptable solution for Northern Virginia" and urged that the bill be killed or heavily amended when the General Assembly reconvenes Wednesday.

"It is just not a workable plan," said Chris Zimmerman, the NVTA chairman and a member of the Arlington County Board. "The question is whether there is going to be a serious approach, and that is what we are waiting to see."

The letter frustrated House Republican leaders, who say it makes it nearly impossible for a transportation deal to be reached during the special session.

"Politics is the art of the possible, and it looks like they want the impossible," said House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (Salem). "I am sorry they have taken that position. It is probably sufficient to kill the bill, but probably not sufficient to get what they want."

Griffith added that local governments in Northern Virginia have embraced a strategy of wanting "more and more and more."

Unwilling to accept a statewide tax increase, which had been proposed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and Democrats in the state Senate, Republicans who control the House were hoping to approve a bill that would authorize regional taxes in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

The effort is modeled after last year's transportation deal, parts of which were struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court.

The Northern Virginia proposal, which would bring in $156 million in new revenue annually, includes a $100 license fee for new adult drivers, an increase in the tax on home sales of 40 cents per $100 of assessed value, and a 2 percent tax increase on rental cars and hotel rooms.

Some parts of last year's regional plan in Northern Virginia remain intact, including a commercial real estate tax that would bring in an additional $208 million.

Local governments would have to vote to impose many of the new taxes before they could take effect.

But officials in Northern Virginia are rebelling against the proposal, saying they should not be expected to assume responsibility for what they view as the state's duty.