The amendments that Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine proposes to the Republican-authored transportation-funding bill in the next few days seem destined to affect how the history books will view his administration.
The changes Kaine has promised, which must be delivered by Monday, will determine whether the governor will see any progress this year on his administration’s top goal: solving the state’s transportation problems.
“In any analysis after the fact, whether we did something meaningful about transportation will be a key part of it,” Kaine, a Democrat, said of his legacy. “If we can do something this year, that would be best. If we can’t, our efforts are not going to stop until we do something about transportation.”
Republicans, however, have repeatedly issued public warnings to the governor that if he proposes too many significant amendments to their legislation, not only will that bill die, but so will any chance of coming up with significant transportation funding for the final two years of Kaine’s term.
Kaine’s major concerns about the bill — that it does not do enough for rural areas, and takes $120 million to $184 million from the state’s general operating fund and a commercial real estate tax to raise $200 million for Northern Virginia — are not easy to fix without a major rewrite of the bill. Such revisions will likely include other ways of raising money that will not sit well with conservatives.
“We want to be very careful about anything that impacts this carefully crafted deal,” said Del. Tim Hugo, R-Fairfax, who spoke with Kaine about the bill for 30 minutes Sunday afternoon. “Especially with revenue sources, we do not want to do anything to jeopardize the overall package.”
Legislators will return to Richmond on April 4 to consider Kaine’s proposed amendments. Iflawmakers reject too many changes, Kaine has warned he might veto the bill.
“I am going to do what I feel is right,” the governor said. “There are going to be a lot of fixes to the bill. I have to turn the bill into a real solution.”
