A key Senate committee rejected a compromise transportation plan negotiated by top Republican leaders today, opting instead to endorse a new measure that would impose a one-time, $150 vehicle registration fee on car sales and people moving into Virginia.The measure, approved by the Senate Finance Committee by a 9-6 vote, also would prohibit the legislature from diverting revenues to transportation that are now earmarked for other government services.
As Ben Tribbett so correctly writes, "The robbery of the general fund is nixed in the Senate's version." Great job, Senate Finance Committee!
In contrast, Chief Flat Earth Republican William Howell is mad about the Senate's fiscal responsibility, almost literally threatening to take his ball and "go home." Yes, go home Howell, and let's hear what the voters have to say in November about what you tried to do to them this year. But it might not be pretty...
Just wanted to let you know, I lived through that era.
(c) The right of newly arrived citizens to the same privileges and immunities enjoyed by other citizens of their new State-the third aspect of the right to travel-is at issue here. That right is protected by the new arrival's status as both a state citizen and a United States citizen, and it is plainly identified in the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities Clause, see Slaughter-House Cases, 16 Wall. 36, 80. That newly arrived citizens have both state and federal capacities adds special force to their claim that they have the same rights as others who share their citizenship. Pp. 12-14.(d) Since the right to travel embraces a citizen's right to be treated equally in her new State of residence, a discriminatory classification is itself a penalty. California's classifications are defined entirely by the period of residency and the location of the disfavored class members' prior residences. Within the category of new residents, those who lived in another country or in a State that had higher benefits than California are treated like lifetime residents; and within the broad subcategory of new arrivals who are treated less favorably, there are 45 smaller classes whose benefit levels are determined by the law of their former States. California's legitimate interest in saving money does not justify this discriminatory scheme. The Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause expressly equates citizenship with residence, Zobel, 457 U.S., at 69, and does not tolerate a hierarchy of subclasses of similarly situated citizens based on the location of their prior residences. Pp. 14-17.
2. PRWORA's approval of durational residency requirements does not resuscitate ยง11450.03. This Court has consistently held that Congress may not authorize the States to violate the Fourteenth Amendment. Moreover, the protection afforded to a citizen by that Amendment's Citizenship Clause limits the powers of the National Government as well as the States. Congress' Article I powers to legislate are limited not only by the scope of the Framers' affirmative delegation, but also by the principle that the powers may not be exercised in a way that violates other specific provisions of the Constitution.
Also, it is another 'silent constituency' tax, thosle least likely to complain.
This is very much like the gas-guzzler tax for vehicles with low gas mileage. The owner pays once and then for the life of the vehicle can guzzle all the gas they want. Not very effective IMO.
The same can be said for a one time tax - on new residents or even existing residents.
Oh well, at least they did a good job by shooting down the diversion of other funds.
What's Virginia's share of a trillion dollars? (That's the current "low" estimate of current plus future costs from the war.) Let's see. 7.6 million people. We're at about $3300 a person right now in per capita war costs. About 25 billion dollars. If you want to be real conservative and go with current war costs of $366 billion, it's about $1200 per capita or a bit over $9 billion.
Thanks!