Gov. Tim Kaine promised members of the General Assembly’s tax and budget committees on Friday that clogged roads are the commonwealth’s “most urgent problem,” but some Northern Virginia lawmakers wondered after the speech if the governor was serious about his commitment to resolving traffic congestion.
In releasing his proposals to spend about $1 billion worth of budget surplus Kaine reiterated his plan Friday to devote about half of that to key transportation projects, including creation of high-occupancy toll lanes on the Beltway.
Republicans in the House of Delegates believe the plan does not go far enough. They have proposed spending about $200 million more on transportation than Kaine.
“The governor’s actions have to speak louder than his words,” said Del. Jeff Frederick, R-Prince William. “If transportation is really his biggest priority, then he has to act like it.”
Kaine would use the remaining $500 million for a variety of initiatives, including reducing income tax rates for lower-income workers and funding economic development projects and health care initiatives.
“Transportation is the most important thing, but there are a lot of other things that are important and deserve attention,” he told reporters after his speech.
During his annual budget address, the governor said he would introduce a plan next month to raise additional revenue to fund new transportation projects. His plan to generate money through increasing the sales tax on automobiles died in the House earlier this year, as did a Senate plan to hike the gasoline tax.
“While we may disagree over how to pay for transportation, there is unanimous agreement that we need sustainable, long-term funding for our transportation system,” Kaine told legislators.
Del. Frank Hall, D-Falls Church, said he understood the governor’s need to fund more than transportation in his spending proposal and predicted that more money could be coming for roads and mass transit.
“We can move some of that around when we start in January,” he said.
Del. Vincent Callahan, R-McLean, was upset about something that was not in the governor’s speech. Unlike House Republicans, Kaine opposes selling bonds, which have to be paid off over many years with interest, to fund transportation.
“The people I represent can’t afford to have their leaders leave a vital and already-available transportation funding tool sitting idle on the table,” he said.
