Senator Whipple's

Richmond Report

Two years ago the House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia were at loggerheads over tax reform. At stake then was funding for “core services” of education and health care, maintaining Virginia ’s AAA bond rating, and fiscal integrity. The 60 day session was extended and lasted for 118 days when 17 House Republicans finally broke from their caucus to approve the plan supported by the Senate and the Governor.

This year the two houses are again at odds. This time the stakes involve transportation funding, which was put on the shelf in 2004. This time, as before, Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, House Democrats and the Governor are in accord. As before, the House Republican majority refuses to budge. This stalemate is again forcing the General Assembly into extra innings with no clear end in sight.

The dispute is not over whether current transportation funding is inadequate. There is wide agreement that an additional $1 billion annually is required to fund transportation needs. Without more funding, construction dollars will be diverted to maintenance and we will lose federal matching funds in a few short years. Lack of a long-term fix to transportation will choke off economic growth, waste both fuel and commuter time in traffic congestion, and make our highways less safe.

The debate is over how to pay for these critical transportation needs.

The House would effectively unravel the 2004 Tax Reform Plan. It would take money from higher education, public education, public safety, natural resources and other needs and go into debt to cover the balance. For example, among other things, the House would take $259 million in higher education capital funds to pay for one time transportation projects. The House relies on tax-supported debt to finance the higher education building projects incurring debt service payments each year for twenty years, in good times and bad.

To pay for transportation, the House would also cut $82.4 million in operating funds from public and higher education, the community college system, natural resources and public safety. In contrast, the Senate preserves these funds and adds $85.6 million to these important core programs.

Teachers would get paid $48 million less in the House plan and state aid for police departments, Commissioners of Revenue, Circuit Court clerks and Treasurers would also be cut. Prosecutors across Virginia would lose $15 million needed for additional staff.

In contrast, the Senate leaves in place funding for these “core services” and funds transportation separately by a combination of additional revenues directly related to transportation use. The Senate provides a long-term “fix” based on a permanent, dedicated, reliable source of funding.

The issue is whether funds for higher education, public education, and public safety should be diverted to road building, or whether transportation funding should have a dedicated, reliable, long-term revenue source directly related to transportation.

As Yogi Berra said, “It’s d‚j… vu all over again.” As in 2004, the Senate Republicans and Democrats, the House Democrats and the Governor are in accord on how to solve the problem. Only the Republican caucus in the House of Delegates stands in the way. Two years ago, 17 House Republicans broke from their caucus and made a bare majority in the House to close the deal. This year with more Democrats in the House, 11 House Republicans are needed to close the deal.

There is still time for reason to prevail before the approaching spring turns into summer, and Virginia faces the new fiscal year on July 1 without an approved budget.