Tom Warne Report, 22 February 2013
RICHMOND – The [Virginia] Senate will get a second chance to pass a bill to fund transportation work in Virginia, but the plan will be quite different from the one advanced by the House of Delegates for Gov. Bob McDonnell.
The Senate Finance Committee approved a plan proposed by Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, with a vote of 9-6, which would hike the state gas tax at the pump as well as at the wholesale level to bring transportation $4.5 billion over five years.
“There are jurisdictions across the commonwealth where transportation is not a problem,” said Wagner, who carried a similar proposal that was rejected by the Senate last week. “But I know there are also locations where transportation is the single-largest issue, if not the only issue.”
The Senate rejected two other transportation bills last week, including McDonnell’s proposal, however Democrats who universally voted in a bloc against all measures have changed their tune with a ruling by House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, that essentially killed a political redistricting plan approved by Senate Republicans.
McDonnell supported the committee action as a step in the right direction for transportation funding, even though he did not agree with the Senate’s proposal using little existing sales tax revenue from the general fund and still relying on the gas tax to pay for road work.
“The Senate bill uses far too little in general funds, which is an essential part of a solution,” the governor said in a statement. “I remain convinced that the gas tax is a declining revenue source and therefore we must look for new ways to meet our growing transportation needs. The Senate bill, though, will raise gas taxes and gas prices for the consumer.”