House Republican leaders said yesterday that they're not budging on their proposed diversion of new cash from schools, cops and health care.
House Republican leaders said yesterday that they're not budging on their proposed diversion of new cash from schools, cops and health care.
Under their transportation plan, the GOP proposes to use $250 million a year from the state's general fund budget to help pay debt service on $2 billion worth of bonds for road, rail and transit improvements around Virginia.
In addition to assisting transportation with tax collections used for other state services, the GOP's program annually would use half of any budget surplus for transportation.
"This bill has been crafted to pass," said Del. Clifford L. Athey Jr., R-Warren, policy chairman of the House caucus. "It has a lot of moving parts, and trying to make wholesale changes may unravel it."
Education groups have criticized the proposal to use money from the general fund, raised largely from sales and income taxes. Other critics have argued that it would hurt teachers, who have been clamoring to boost their salaries to the national average.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who has threatened to turn GOP inaction on transportation into an election-year issue, has major questions about the general fund use.
Despite qualms about the diversion, he has called for compromise. "It's a little soon for anybody to be adopting non-negotiable positions," said Kevin Hall, the governor's press secretary. "There should be a discussion that is bipartisan and includes the public."
Meanwhile, the Legislative Black Caucus revealed its own two-year, $2 billion road-financing plan yesterday. It relies chiefly on a 10-cent-a-gallon rise in the state gasoline tax. A gas-tax rise from the current 17.5 cents to 27.5 cents a gallon could generate more than $1 billion.
Other components include earmarking almost $500 million from budget surpluses, a $10 annual increase in the vehicle-registration fee and transferring $241 million in auto-insurance premiums to transportation.
Del. Kenneth R. Melvin, D-Portsmouth, justified the reliance on a gas-tax boost, a proposal dismissed by the House GOP majority. "If you use the roads, you pay for their construction and maintenance," he said. It would also capture dollars from out-of-state motorists traveling in Virginia.
Although the caucus voiced concerns about the proposed use of general fund dollars for transportation, it would not commit to opposing it.
Athey and Del. Terry G. Kilgore, R-Scott, defended the annual use of $250 million in general taxes for roads.
"It's not that big of a deal," Kilgore said. "If we were using $10 billion to $12 billion, the governor would have something to complain about."
About $35 billion of the state's $74 billion budget is discretionary general funds that largely support services ranging from education to public safety. The rest is earmarked for specific programs, such as transportation.
Source: Richmond Times Dispatch, Jan. 24, 2007
