Partisan Bickering Kills Va. Roads Bill

By Anita Kumar and Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 10, 2008 5:33 AM

RICHMOND, July 9 -- The General Assembly's special session on transportation failed to come up with an agreement on how to pay for millions in road and transit projects across the state, including the most congested area of Northern Virginia.

Frustrated legislators spent Wednesday and early Thursday embroiled in name-calling and parliamentary maneuvers as Republicans and Democrats tried to blame each other for the session's failures.

The General Assembly ended its session at 1:32 a.m., after the Senate killed a remaining House bill that would have diverted proceeds from possible offshore oil drilling into transportation.

Despite nothing getting done, both Republicans and Democrats said the session was worth it.

"You certainly know where everyone stands now," Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said. "We did the best we can. I did my job and got a bill off the floor of the Senate that dealt with the problem. It didn't get out of the House."

Del. Timothy Hugo countered that it was the House Republicans who tried hardest.

"I hope people realize we tried and will continue to try to pass a bill that provides significant money to Northern Virginia," Hugo said.

"We should be ashamed of ourselves," House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry) said on the House floor. "Are we proud of what we are doing? . . . This is silly. This is gamesmanship."

The failed special session, the second on transportation since 2006, caps an effort to address one of the state's most pressing issues. Officials estimate that the state will face about a $3 billion shortfall over the next six years in the part of the budget used to maintain highways and bridges and that money devoted to new construction would instead x have to be used for maintenance.

It appears unlikely that an agreement will be reached until leadership changes in the Governor's Mansion or General Assembly. The issue may dominate the 2009 election, when Virginians will select a governor and all 100 members of the House of Delegates

In all, three major tax bills and a slew of other transportation proposals were considered. But not a single significant bill passed both chambers.

The House of Delegates revived a proposal by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) to raise $1.1 billion a year in taxes and fees, but this time his fellow Democrats helped kill it in the hopes that they could amend and pass another tax bill they preferred. After rejecting Kaine's bill, however, the House then defeated the Democratic-preferred Senate bill that would have raised additional taxes. Before killing the Senate bill, the House stripped out a provision to raise the gasoline tax. Only one Republican, Thomas Davis Rust of Fairfax, voted for the bill.

The Republican-controlled House approved a proposal late Wednesday that calls for hundreds of millions from the general fund to be diverted to transportation needs in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, but the Democratic-controlled Senate quickly killed it in committee.

"The House and Senate Democrats rose to the challenge and came together to move Virginia closer to a meaningful transportation solution," Kaine said in a statement. "But House Republican leadership, once again, stood in the way, rejecting legislation that originated in the Senate. The citizens of Virginia deserved better."

Kaine could call legislators back to Richmond again to consider transportation funding, but House Republican leaders hope he would not do so unless he forged a compromise first. "A governor ought to have his plan laid out in advance. A governor ought to have support of his own party from both houses," House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said. "We are not down here in a special session to play games to the tune of the puppet-master Kaine."

There was little negotiating behind the scenes before the session -- or during the two weeks since the session began.

Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) and Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) spoke by phone Wednesday morning but the two decided that they were too far apart to reach an agreement.

"It just went nowhere," Saslaw said.

"There's not a whole lot of common ground," Howell said.

Howell said again Wednesday that he had not spoken to Kaine. "I'm always available. . . . Did he call?" Howell said before pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Look, no calls."

The impasse over transportation funding stems from stark philosophical rifts between the House and Senate, between Republicans and Democrats and even within chambers and parties. The issue also highlights divisions between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state.

Democrats want to boost taxes statewide, saying Virginia's future depends on solving gridlock.

House Republicans oppose statewide tax increases, saying Virginians cannot afford to pay more during an economic downturn. Instead, they passed bills to find savings through an audit of the Virginia Department of Transportation, use proceeds from possible future offshore oil and gas drilling for transportation and encourage public-private partnerships, in which companies would pay for some projects and in return could collect tolls.

House Republicans also passed a plan to provide millions for projects in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

The original plan for Northern Virginia would have brought in $156 million in new revenue a year through taxes and fees.

But the bill was changed after local officials, who would have had to vote to impose many of the new taxes before they could take effect, argued that they should not be expected to assume responsibility for what they view as the state's duty.

Under the new plan, 30 percent of revenue from future growth in traffic at the Port of Virginia in Norfolk and Dulles International and Reagan National airports would be diverted to highway projects in those areas, so local officials and legislators would not have to vote for significant tax increases. That money traditionally goes to the general fund and is used to pay for government services throughout the state. A Senate committee killed the bill early Thursday.

The General Assembly passed a landmark package last year to add $1.1 billion annually for transportation needs across Virginia. Regional authorities were set to collect taxes in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, but the state Supreme Court ruled that the authorities could not constitutionally levy taxes and fees.

Instead of addressing the state's road problems, much of the two-week special session centered on politics and the issues Republicans and Democrats plan to use in the 2009 elections. After five full days of meetings, the session has cost taxpayers more than $80,000.

Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle (R-Virginia Beach) predicted Wednesday evening that the issue will continue to be a major factor. "I think it will be revisited in every political speech until 2009, so I think we will be forced to address it," Stolle said.