They held their ground, fending off fierce political attacks from Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and state senators who hoped to raise taxes by a billion dollars again, this time for transportation. But now a Gang of Six GOPers in the House of Delegates are pushing a plan to dump a disproportionate share of the burden on Northern Virginians — who already pay more and receive less back from Richmond than any other area of the state. Del. David Albo, R-Springfield, would double auto registration fees and hike the new vehicle sales tax, but only in Northern Virginia, which already pays more to Richmond and gets back less.
One of the six, Del. Thomas Rust, R-Herndon, was among the 17 maverick Republicans who helped former Gov. Mark Warner pass the largest tax increase in Virginia history in 2004. This year, House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford, held his troops together until just two days before a looming government shutdown — by refusing to let the Republican-controlled Senate embed an unconstitutional tax hike in the $72 billion biennial state budget. It was a victory for all Virginia taxpayers.
But the $578 million transportation plan recently presented to local business leaders by Albo nullifies the Virginia House’s principled opposition to tax hikes while the state has a $2 billion surplus. The plan also undermines the principle that Richmond should get no more money until taxpayers are guaranteed new funds will only pay for transportation. After all, using the Transportation Trust Fund to pay for the legislature’s over-spending is what got the commonwealth into this pothole in the first place. The politicians like tax hikes that let them avoid prioritizing transportation in the state budget.
Despite a campaign promise not to seek any tax hikes until the General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment putting the Trust Fund off-limits, a billion-dollar tax increase suddenly became Kaine’s first-year legislative priority. There’s still no amendment, but thanks to the House of Delegates, at least there’s no huge tax increase either. Now, the Gang of Six’s back-sliding threatens to undo all that.
A few important points to keep in mind:
1. While cities and counties can and do choose to supplement what they get from the state, transportation funding in Virginia is fundamentally Richmond’s responsibility.
2. Northern Virginia voters previously rejected a referendum for a regional sales tax for transportation that would have let Richmond off the hook. But this latest scheme does just that.
3. The state has a long history of either ignoring transportation or raiding the Transportation Trust Fund to avoid the unpleasant — but necessary — task of making budget cuts elsewhere. Politicians from both parties who muffed a perfect opportunity to reserve $2 billion in surplus revenues for critical transportation improvements can’t be trusted with any more money.
By all means, let them hold a special session on transportation in September. But the very first item on the agenda should be the constitutional amendment Kaine himself promised us — and has yet to deliver.
