Had Congress the courage to impose a price on carbon, these positive changes could have been achieved years ago -- and without the side effect of pouring fresh money into the government coffers of Iran, Venezuela and Russia. Instead, the financial squeeze at the pump brought on by global increases in oil prices finally brought about the change in behavior in the driving public that could not be achieved by appealing to citizens' better natures. The next attitude adjustment should come in Detroit, where the free fall of bottom lines ought to prompt a decisive shift away from the production of SUVs and other gas guzzlers.

With a carbon tax, the price of gas might be even higher than it is now. But as we have seen, high prices encourage less driving and a demand for more efficient vehicles and energy alternatives, which result in reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. More important, the billions generated by a carbon tax could help fund projects that would reduce U.S. dependence on petroleum imports from unfriendly or unstable countries. Yes, we know: A carbon tax is a non-starter on tax-averse Capitol Hill. But with debate on a cap-and-trade bill from Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John W. Warner (R-Va.) starting next month, some price on carbon may be coming. Finally.

"Finally" is right.  We should have done this in the early 1990s; if we had, by now we'd be well on our way to ending our "oil addiction" AND to solving global warming AND to enhancing our national security AND to transforming to a 1st century "clean tech" economy.  But nooooo...that would have taken brains and political courage, can't have that now can we?!? (snark)

We need at least a billion dollar a year in new roads in No Va. alone and have needed that amount of investment for more than a decade.  Anything less is a band-aid.  

We've been here before.  See Dominion of Memories by Susan Dunn.  Our beloved Commonwealth has an humiliating legacy of inadequate transportation infrastructure that dates back 200 years.

I remain unconvinced that Kaine truly gives a whit about this issue or Northern VA. but rather sees both as an abcess he has to lance.  His polls numbers in No Va. suggest I'm not alone in that suspicion.

This package re-enforces that suspicion.

We already pay additional taxes that no other localities in the state of Virginia have to pay.  I want absolute certainty that every dollar of that additional tax collected from us goes to transportation projects in NoVA and Hampton Roads.  I would prefer we find some way to make the RTAs work.  If we need to make those elected bodies so that a delegation of tax authority to them could work, then let's do that.

The ideal would be as you say, Lowell: a statewide tax that is directly related to transportation.  Besides just a gas tax, we could toll the interstates like Maryland and Delaware do.  What better way to pay for road maintenance than user fees?

Governor Kaine can be so disappointing at times.

Kaine wants regional funding plans to pay for new road construction projects in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, the state's most populous, fastest-growing and traffic-congested regions. They would supplant similar regional roads, rails and transit packages that were approved just a year ago but struck down as unconstitutional by a unanimous state Supreme Court decision on Feb. 29.

Need some more info before further commenting.  Regional plans might work... but how will they be administered.  Like the rest of you, I do not trust the money to be funneled to the state first.

Republicans aren't interested in a statewide tax.  So, let's do a proper delegation of taxation authority and go back to the RTA solution that Republicans liked.  I feel pretty strongly that if it is going to be local taxation, then it must be local control.  But I also realize that a lot of folks are willing to accept anything at this point.

GOVERNOR KAINE UNVEILS TRANSPORTATION PLAN

~ Calls for June 23rd special session to address transportation ~

RICHMOND - Governor Timothy M. Kaine today released details of his transportation plan and called for a special session of the General Assembly to address transportation on June 23. The Governor's plan fills our growing road and bridge maintenance deficit to promote safety, provides relief for regional transportation needs, and invests in innovative approaches to Virginia's transportation challenges. The plan raises over $1 billion annually by fiscal year 2012 and contains no gas tax increase.

"During the past several weeks I have talked to legislators, local elected officials, business leaders and other citizens about addressing our transportation problems," Governor Kaine said. "Today, based on those discussions, I am offering a plan that is simple, statewide and sustainable to address the growing shortfall in our maintenance needs and provides dedicated funds to address our statewide and regional transportation needs."

Consistent with past proposals, all funds that the Governor proposes for transportation will include a lockbox mechanism, specifying that the fund shall expire if it is used for any purpose other than transportation.

Safety First

Virginia currently faces a shortfall in highway maintenance funding, which drains money each year from dollars intended for road construction. Most of the highway maintenance funding goes to addressing safety issues - repair and operation of bridges, tunnels, traffic signals, and streetlights, as well as installation of guard rails and rumble strips, and plowing and paving the third largest highway system in the U.S.

Governor Kaine's proposal addresses the safety issues Virginians currently face by stabilizing the funds needed for highway maintenance. His proposal also frees up dollars for new investments in road construction that can help address the safety hazards in urban and rural areas.

To address the highway maintenance deficit, the Governor's plan

·        Increases the existing statewide motor vehicles sales tax from 3% to 4% and dedicates all motor vehicle sales tax funds to maintenance;

·        Increases the statewide annual vehicle registration fee by $10 and dedicates those funds to maintenance.

·        Both of these increases were previously approved for regional purposes in HB 3202 by the 2007 General Assembly.

Regional Relief

To address traffic in the two most congested regions of the state - Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads - the Governor's plan invests in critical, targeted projects through new funds that are raised and invested in the regions. In addition, by correcting  the maintenance deficit, the Governor's plan will increase local road construction funding statewide, restoring support for construction projects across the entire Commonwealth.

To address traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, the Governor's plan

·        Increases the retail sales tax in both regions by 1% (does not apply to food or drugs);

·        Dedicates regional sales taxes to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, consistent with current law; and

·        Dedicates regional sales taxes to seven regional projects in Hampton Roads, including the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, and abolishes the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority.

Governor Kaine is also proposing the abolition of the current local option income tax in both regions.

Transportation Change Fund

Virginia's transportation challenges range from severe congestion in areas like Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to much-needed infrastructure to support economic development in rural parts of the state. While new construction can help relieve congestion, traffic challenges cannot be solved through road construction alone. And Virginia's transportation challenges are not just limited to traffic. Governor Kaine's plan recognizes the need for a change in our approach to transportation funding by creating a Transportation Change Fund.

The Governor's Transportation Change Fund will increase investment in transit, rail, and innovative solutions to reduce traffic congestion like teleworking and ridesharing. Three-quarters of the Transportation Change fund will be dedicated to transit and rail projects, increasing transit and rail investment by over 30%.  The fund also makes dollars available for transportation projects to support economic development through aviation, port, and innovative highway investments.

To invest in the Transportation Change Fund, the Governor's plan

·        Increases the statewide grantor's tax by 25 cents. The General Assembly previously approved a 40 cent grantors tax as part of the regional package in HB 3202.

"I look forward to working with both parties in the Senate and House of Delegates to address the serious transportation challenges and opportunities we face," Governor Kaine said.

More information on the Governor's transportation plan can be found at www.transportation.virginia.gov.

Gasoline prices are high and probably going higher, so it isn't a great political plan to slap on a few more cents when voters are already angry about the prices.  Right?  I suppose if you're looking for the easy way out.

Is there a leader in Virginia who is going to step forward with the most responsible, most fair, approach?  Any leader who has the courage to lead rather than pander?  Any one who will take on the flat-earth idealogues?

JUST RAISE THE GASOLINE TAX.  

*Twelve drummers drumming
*Eleven pipers piping
*Ten lords a-leaping
*Nine ladies dancing
*Eight maids a-milking
*Seven swans a-swimming
*Six geese a-laying
*Five golden rings
*Four calling birds
*Three French hens
*Two turtle doves
*A partridge in a pear tree

I don't think it is a lack of leadership, or simply taking the easy way out, as much as it is a recognition of politics as the "art of the possible."

Now, that being said, from the start it has been Kaine's strategy to raise as much money as possible from the fewest number of people. That is what last year's transportation bill was all about, and it seems that is what this proposal is all about.

"Our message all through this has been the package before the voters was the wrong package," said Piedmont Environmental Council president Chris Miller. "It had no incentives for smart growth. It had no disincentives for sprawl.

Are there any significant incentives for smart growth or disincentives for sprawl in this package?

its more business as usual

As Jim said in his piece in another 10 years we will be back at square one again

The increasing traffic is a direct result of increased development without increased infrastrucutre

Now there is the tricky part who is to blame and we all know politicians love playing the blame game

1.  The locals for approving development
2.  The state for not keeping up with maintanence
3.  The locals in the next county over for apporving development and then having the roads in our county become clogged due to all of those commuters from the next county over coming
4.  A mix of 1-3  

Left to their own devises, too many local governing bodies would cul de sac all roads at their jurisdiction's boundary.  That already happens too much, hindering connectivity and posing a threat to access by ambulances and fire trucks (see nimby complaints about "cut through traffic" on their "neighborhood" streets.)

HB3202 won't do anything on this because there is no enforcement mechanism to stop the blatant "snob zoning" "beggar they neighbor" schemes of most suburban jurisdictions.

I wouldn't argue there is ever a good time to raise gas taxes, but I would argue that there are circumstances that are worse than others, and circumstances under which the inevitable demagoguery that it would cause would have more resonance than others, like now, when prices seem to be rising especially fast, wages aren't keeping up with inflation, and unemployment is rising.

And don't get me wrong -- as a matter of public policy, I think an increase in the gas tax is the right thing to do.

As for the grantor's tax, I just don't think that is the kind of tax people really notice or think about until, of course, they sell their house. I don't mean to suggest the money isn't real, or the tax isn't, just that is has a different visceral reaction than a gasoline tax. People personally see and feel the cost of gas every day -- they see or feel the effect of a grantor's tax maybe a few times in their lives.  To me, that is the different of the politics of it.

As for the sales tax, it may be problematic.

And as for your final point about why Kaine signed the repeal of the estate tax, I don't know why. The populist appeal of eliminating the estate tax is baffling from any kind of self-interest perspective -- the vast majority of us will never even come close to having to pay it. But the GOP has been effective at characterizing it as a "death" tax and falsely appealing to an emotional desire to keep government away from perhaps the most personal moment of our lives -- our demises.

But you are correct that it is inconsistent with my thesis that he is trying to raise the most he can from the fewest number of people. The best I can offer by way of speculation is that when Kaine did that, he simply did not think we would be in the fix we are in today.

But there comes a time when we need leadership strong enough to break through the political B.S. and make difficult decisions that may be unpopular but necessary.   As the transportation situation (among others) grows worse and worse, I for one have grown tired of waiting on a politically safe or expedient solution.  We need a leader who will step up and do the right thing, even if it is not so popular.  The strength in leadership will come not only from ramming the "right" solution through an unfriendly legislature, but also in winning back the people who are under the (incorrect) impression that they were screwed.

Keep in mind, the "art of the possible" changes based on what someone is trying to do and how well they do it.  If Kaine never even tries to pass a gasoline tax increase then it is impossible.  If he tries, he's got a tall hill to climb, but at least it is a remote possibility at that point.  And the stronger he is, the better the possibility.  

A gas tax is a further subsidy for metro and bus riders which are already subsidized.  A sales tax hits everyone regardless of which mode of transport they use.  It is the true "user fee"  In NoVa around 33% of funding isn't going for roads so this is very fair to me.

Also, all the tourists will pay for the sales tax as well which makes sense since they will be using metro and road transport most likely

Not withstanding A gas tax in the current environment is political suicide

I am curious to see what the definition of NoVa is.  If I was a legislator that would have a big impact on my vote.

I'm roughly split on the sales tax vs gasoline tax issue, but I fall more on the gasoline tax because there is a real easy connection between roads and gasoline.  The sales tax is a bit further off but still reasonable.

The loss of tourist sales taxes would be counter balanced by the gasoline tax on people driving through Virginia.  Maybe not a 1 to 1, but I don't think it's too far off.  Most trade offs will be similar.

And if a gas tax subsidizes metro and bus I'm even more for it.

That isn't really a fair solution

The sales tax hits everybody (drivers, mass transit users, walkers etc)

This is fair because if you look at the proposals Metro gets funding, VRE gets funding, NVTA gets funding (of which a decent chunk goes to places other than roads), and then there is this new mass transit slush fund

_______________________________________________________

I can here the arguments that we should be encouraging mass transits and alternate modes of transport but with a gas tax you are basically providing users of these systems free upgrades on the backs of riders which isn't fair.  

Now there is some benefit because you are taking people off the roads but I think it should be balanced between all the people regardless of what mode they are using

As a compromise maybe we could somehow index metro and bus rates with the gas tax so they would increase in sync with each other.  

Regardless try and focus on the points above the line

Personally, I would still be in favor of the subsidy.  We should create economic incentives for people to choose mass transit over driving.  In my case, for example, it is faster for me to drive to work than take public transportation.  The time savings I get from driving make up for the cost differential between parking & gas and the bus & metro.  The factors for everybody are going to be different.  But I think you would set a point where the value proposition for most people would be to take public transit when commuting.  Less cars on the road, also means less road maintenance to some extent.  So, you should recoup some of the subsidy in savings.  And, of course, you are saving the planet, and that is priceless.  Thus, the cost-benefit analysis always favors a subsidy for mass transit.  =P

I'm still back to Regional Transportation Authorities.  They don't have to be dead.  We can revive them, make them better.  And if we bestow the taxation authority on the counties, we meet the VA Supreme Court's definition of a constitutional delegation.  And it sounds like a workable solution since it is only a slight change to what Republicans were proposing a scant year ago.  Plus, local control!  Did I mention local control?  Because local control would be awesome.  I feel much more comfortable with the responsiveness and amount of influence we can have on county governments than VDOT and the state government.  And then we wouldn't need to raise any statewide taxes, but consequently the Transportation Fund would not get additional revenues (which would be okay for Hampton Roads and NoVA because we would have our RTAs).  

I understand that the transportation in NOVA and Hampton Roads is growing worse and worse, and I understand that has an economic impact throughout the state, but what ticks you off and what would be at the root of popular support for a politician that broke through the BS on this issue -- the quality of life issue -- is not affected anywhere except NOVA and Hampton Roads.

I mean, I can understand that economically the transportation woes of NOVA affect me (even if I lack the intelligence and knowledge to quite define how) here in Charlottesville, but I certainly don't "feel" anything about them, or have any frustration over tham whatsoever (except for the occassional time I up there and sitting in traffic on 66).  

You may already have this.  I apologize if someone else posted it earlier.

GOVERNOR'S TRANSPORTATION TOWN HALL PUBLIC SCHEDULE    

Governor Timothy M. Kaine will hold a series of statewide town hall meetings to discuss the upcoming transportation special session on June 23.

Staff from the Unclaimed Property Division of the Virginia Department of Treasury will also be in attendance (except May 13 Woodbridge and June 7 Danville) to help citizens check for money, stocks, bonds, dividends, utility deposits, insurance proceeds and tangible property being held by the state.

No sign-in is required to attend or ask questions. All town hall meetings are open to the public and media.

Tuesday, May 13

Woodbridge Town Hall Meeting. (Note: No Unclaimed Property Division.)

When:           7:00 P.M - 8:30 P.M.
Where:       Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building Auditorium
            15941 Donald Curtis Drive
            Woodbridge, Virginia

Thursday, May 15

Peninsula Transportation Town Hall Meeting.

When:           7:30 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.
Where:       Hampton Roads Convention Center, Conference Rooms A&B
            1610 Coliseum Drive
            Hampton, Virginia

Tuesday, May 20

Marion Transportation Town Hall Meeting.

When:           6:00 P.M - 7:30 PM
Where:         Hemlock Haven Conference Center
              Hungry Mother State Park
              2854 Park Boulevard
              Marion, Virginia

Thursday, May 22

Staunton Transportation Town Hall Meeting.

When:           6:30 P.M - 8:00 P.M.
Where:         James D. Francis Auditorium
              Pearce Science Center, Third Floor
              227 E. Frederick Street
              Mary Baldwin College
              Staunton, Virginia

Tuesday, June 3

South Hampton Roads Transportation Town Hall Meeting.

When:           6:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Where:         Virginia Beach Convention Center
              Suite One, Second Floor
              1000 19th Street
              Virginia Beach, Virginia

Wednesday, June 4

Radford Transportation Town Hall.

When:           6:00 P.M. - 7:30 P.M.
Where:       Hurlburt Student Center Auditorium
            Radford University
            Radford, Virginia

Saturday, June 7

Danville Transportation Town Hall. (Note: No Unclaimed Property Division.)

When:           3:00 P.M. - 4:30 P.M.
Where:       Executive Auditorium at The Institute Conference Center

             The Institute for Advanced Learning & Research
             150 Slayton Avenue
             Danville, Virginia

Wednesday, June 11

Leesburg Transportation Town Hall Meeting.

When:         7:00 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
Where:       Harper Parker Middle School Auditorium
            701 Potomac Station Drive Northeast
             Leesburg, Virginia

Monday, June 16

Hopewell Transportation Town Hall Meeting.

When:           6:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M
Where:       The Beacon Theatre
            Flannagan Family Grand Ballroom, Third Floor
            401 North Main Street
            Hopewell, Virginia

Thursday, June 19

Fredericksburg Transportation Town Hall Meeting.

When:         7:00 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
Where:       Jepson Alumni Executive Center Ballroom
            1119 Hanover Street
            Fredericksburg, Virginia

Senate Democrats Laud Kaine  for Recognizing Need for Statewide Solution

Caucus Has Concern Over Some Aspects of the Plan but is United in Trying to Find a Transportation Solution

(Richmond, VA) - Today, Governor Tim Kaine released his transportation plan that he will introduce in the General Assembly on June 23 when the special session on transportation begins.

"We are pleased Governor Kaine recognizes the need for a statewide solution when it comes to transportation funding," said Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-Arlington).  "Democrats are united in trying to find an effective and workable solution to our ever-growing transportation problems."

Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax), who will lead the Senate negotiations with the House during the upcoming special session said, "We want to ensure that any transportation plan is fair to every region of the Commonwealth, provides enough funding, and has out-of-state drivers paying their fair share for the roads they use.

"As he made clear during his press conference, continued Saslaw, the Governor does not expect this to be the final plan.  We understand this will most likely not be the final plan but hopefully we can use this as a starting point for discussion."

Senator Phillip Pucket (D-Tazewell) added today, "I am glad we have a plan on the table.  We all agree we need a statewide transportation solution and I want to be certain that every area of Virginia benefits, including rural Virginia."

"We must make sure that any transportation plan is funded in a fair manner," said Senator Mary Margaret Whipple.  "We will take a very close look at this plan and work with the House of Delegates and the Governor to provide a real transportation solution for Hampton Roads, Northern Virginia and the rest of the Commonwealth."

That works as a positive incentive to drive less, which helps with traffic, the environment, community... in encourages a market solution to developer sprawl, a government stimulated market, to make up for the decades of government suppression of this market by subsidizing roads and not subsidizing public transportation equally.

Sales tax is the wrong way to go. It is regressive.  It uses ALL shoppers to subsidize road users.  Don't try to tell me that it will be used for public transit, it will not, not unless public transit is funded separately from roads..

The only reason I voted against the Warner plan years ago was because they could not guarantee a percentage would NOT go to roads.  Roads are not the only freaking answer.  Yes, I know they need to be included too, but I am sick and tired of the short term solutions which only beget more traffic.

I completely agree with transferring more funds to maintenance rather than building new roads.