Admitting he was “born without a reverse switch,” Gov. Tim Kaine unwrapped a plan Thursday to raise $850 million a year for transportation statewide using many of the same sources the House of Delegates rejected last year.
Kaine’s plan relies mainly on bringing the current 3 percent sales tax on automobiles to 5 percent, which is the level at which other goods are taxed.
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“We are either serious about funding transportation or we are not,” Kaine told about 200 business and government leaders during a speech in Herndon. “You can’t be serious about finding transportation revenue and have a discounted sales tax on automobiles.”
Other facets of his plan include raising the vehicle registration by $15, bringing it to $44.50 this year and by another $5 in 2010, and increasing fines for drunken driving and other offenses.
Kaine said he hopes that constituent pressure and the coming election will force lawmakers who opposed the tax increase last year to switch positions, but acknowledged he faces a tough task. Many House Republicans are vehemently opposed to tax increases.
“Those who say you can solve the transportation problem without raising taxes and fees either don’t understand the economic rule that there is no free lunch, or they are just trying to demagogue the issue,” he said.
House leaders predicted Kaine’s 2007 plan would meet a demise similar to the 2006 package. House Republicans would rather see the commonwealth use its strong bond rating to borrow money for transportation that would be repaid from the general fund.
“If he doesn’t propose anything new, he shouldn’t be surprised when he gets the same response,” said Delegate Leo Wardrup, R-Virginia Beach, chairman of the House Republican Caucus.
Among Northern Virginia lawmakers, opposition to a statewide plan would take money from the region and put it into a pot that would be divided statewide. The concern is that Northern Virginia would contribute much more than the region would receive.
“[Kaine’s] just recycling old stuff he knows won’t work,” said Delegate David Albo, R-Springfield. “The problem with a statewide plan is that is has to be one that does not require my people to pay for someone else’s roads. I am not building someone else’s roads.”
