As the General Assembly gears up for the final scheduled week of its yearly session, the pressure is on to do something to relieve the traffic jams that plague the commonwealth, but especially in Northern Virginia.
Eleven legislators (only one of whom is from Northern Virginia) are trying to hammer our differences between House and Senate versions of a funding bill. They have until Saturday, the session’s final day.
The sticking point is whether fund part of the package by taking $250 million a year out of the state’s general operating fund,which the House supports, or whether to levy a Senate-proposed $150 fee the first time a vehicle is registered in Virginia.
If no agreement is reached, Northern Virginia jurisdictions will not have the ability to raise revenue for local transportation projects, there will not be a dedicated funding stream for the Metro system and the state will not have the additional transportation money it needs to pay for a host of transportation projects big and small.
“If nothing happens, by 2009 we will face some very difficult choices,” said Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer. “We will have to decide whether to leave federal funds on the table or let our bridges and pavement deteriorate. There is no middle ground.”
Besides transportation, legislators will also consider legislation dealing with denying in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, banning teen drivers from using cell phones, rescinding the requirement that restaurants offer non-smoking sections and an increase in Virginia’s minimum wage.
