Firmly rejecting the Virginia Senate’s determined — but unconstitutional — attempt to embed $3.5 billion in new taxes in the state budget, the House of Delegates finally prevailed in this year’s historic stalemate. A newly unified House led by Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford, insisted that the 2006-08 biennial spending plan due March 11 be based on existing revenues — not tax hikes that were never approved by either chamber. Last week, after a 133-day stare-down, the Senate finally backed down, as The Examiner predicted it would.

The Senate’s reluctant retreat is also a setback for Gov. Tim Kaine, who strongly backed the tax increases proposal and was reportedly making plans to seize additional power to keep the state running if no agreement was reached by the July 1 deadline. During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, Kaine promised he would seek no tax increases until a constitutional amendment limited use of the Transportation Trust Fund to transportation improvements only. That promise proved to be hollow.