Governor McDonnell’s transportation package is rolling through the General Assembly, having so far encountered only minor legislative huffing and puffing. Even Senate majority leader Dick Saslaw had a few kind words to say about the deal. But is it the best deal in the long-term?
Probably not. The reason this measure has earned plaudits and praise is because it’s an election year and 140 members of the General Assembly will be on the ballot. No incumbent wants to go before voters and have to explain why they did nothing to make commutes less harrowing. It might be smart politics, but can lead to terrible policy.
The last time there was such near-unanimity on a road plan was just before the big election year of 2007, when the worthies proudly embraced a tax-and-spend regime to ease congestion across the commonwealth.
And a few months later, the state supreme court gutted the transportation law on constitutional grounds.
It’s highly unlikely that same fate awaits this bill, which relies upon borrowing, money-shuffling, rosy expectations and a bit of razzle-dazzle to make it all work. And ultimately, all this borrowed and shuffled cash will be deposited in VDOT’s hands — and recent audits have shown that’s not the wisest thing to do.
What better course might there be? As much as my libertarian instincts rebel against the thought, it might be a higher gasoline tax. Virginia’s tax hasn’t changed since the Baliles administration in the 1980s. Inflation, improved fuel economy and greater regulatory demands have severely eroded the tax’s buying power. In the long term, the tax-per-gallon model will have to be scrapped. But near-term demands can’t wait for that other model to surface.
Before anyone writes me out of the movement, though, there are a few things that must be done before the gas tax can rise. Among the most important is to ensure that the General Assembly can no longer raid the transportation trust fund to pay for other government programs. Constitutional amendments to put the fund off limits have been introduced, but have failed, because Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on the particulars of how it would all work.
Let’s set something straight: Democrats do want higher taxes. Republicans prefer more borrowing. These are two sides of the same coin. Man-up and admit your both chasing after more money. And then put the trust fund off limits so whatever monies you do raise can’t be diverted to other programs.
Next, overhaul VDOT. The current system is a Byrd machine relic that insists on the state having to maintain local roads. This isn’t just inefficient, it’s insane. Harry Byrd is dead. It’s time to put his road agency in the urn along with him and replace it with one that puts the responsibility for local roads in local hands.
After that, the General Assembly needs to stop using gas tax money to pay for mass transit. This is a wealth transfer, plain and simple. Worse, it breaks the implicit contract between the drivers and the government that their gas taxes will be used to maintain roads. It’s time for transit to pay its own way and stop leeching off the guy stuck in traffic.
When these things are done, then raise the gas tax. Use the money to erase the construction and maintenance backlog. At the same time, begin experimenting with the next tax regime – whether it’s a miles-driven tax, congestion fees, tolls or something else – that will replace the per-gallon tax.
And one last thing: raise the gas tax all you like. But attach a sunset provision to it, too, so that after two, five or seven years, it has to be revisited to see if the extra money — if it indeed materializes — has made a difference.
