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Don't go back on your commitment!
VBT urges 2008 General Assembly to build on the current transportation funding package.
With the start of the 2008 General Assembly session, Virginians for Better Transportation (VBT) urges our representatives to meet their commitment of providing new and much-needed funding for the Commonwealth's deteriorating transportation system. In doing this, it is imperative that the 2008 General Assembly not dismantle and/or decrease the current transportation funding package that was set in place last year.
The present funding package is only a short-term solution to our transportation crisis. But with the existing landscape of our transportation system and the Commonwealth's ever-growing transportation needs, Virginians simply cannot afford to have revenue pulled from our current transportation funding package. If funding mechanisms from the current package are cut, they must be replaced with new revenue sources.
When working to fix the transportation package, members of the General Assembly need to keep the following in mind:
- The Commonwealth has a backlog of maintenance needs that exceeds $1 billion. This year the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will have to take more than $260 million from the construction program just to make the minimum maintenance commitment. That number will grow to over $500 million a year in less than five years if the General Assembly does not address this issue during the 2008 session.
- "Abuser fees" have proven to be controversial for Virginians. VBT supports generating new revenue sources for the Commonwealth's transportation system, but would like to point out that a mere one-cent increase in the statewide gas tax would raise almost as much money as the new "abuser fees" and would only cost the average driver a mere 50 cents a month. Most importantly, it would be paid by both in-state and out-of-state drivers.
- Regional funding packages must be addressed. If the General Assembly is not going to fulfill its obligation to provide a long-term, dedicated, sustainable, multi-modal transportation funding solution on the statewide level, then opportunities for the formation of additional regional authorities around the state, such as those in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, should be explored.
Other major transportation issues that make the need for solutions obvious include the fact that our local governments will receive less money for local roads than they did 10 years ago; Virginia's aging infrastructure, which is evident by the thousands of functionally obsolete or structurally deficient bridges all across the state; and that major statewide transportation corridor projects such as I-81, I-95, I-73, high-speed rail and Rt. 460 will remain unfunded.
The Commonwealth has waited more than 20 years for a significant transportation funding package and it is up to the 2008 General Assembly members to ensure that that no funding be cut from our current transportation package and that the Commonwealth develop new revenue sources for our under-funded transportation system.
VBT would like to encourage you to contact your local legislators and ask them to fix the current funding package during the 2008 General Assembly session. We cannot afford to wait any longer.
For information about how to contact your legislator, click here.
To go directly to the VBT It's Time Web site, click here.
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Regional authority in central Virginia proposed
A Richmond delegate, with the support of several area business leaders, has drafted a proposal for a regional authority that could raise $105 million annually for transportation projects in central Virginia. Del. Franklin P. Hall, D-Richmond, plans to introduce the proposal to legislators during the 2008 General Assembly session.
According to an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch, the $105 million would be generated through an additional two-percent gas tax, as well as new or increased fees on car registrations, inspections and repairs.
"We see the issue as important enough that the leaders need to at least give it some thought," said James W. Dunn, president of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce.
The proposed authority would be subject to the approval of local governments and would apply to nine localities; the cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, Petersburg and Hopewell, and the counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Hanover, Henrico and Prince George.
The authority could impose the taxes and fees if the governing bodies of at least five of the nine localities approve. However, the five approving localities would have to represent at least 51 percent of the area's population, and they would have to include at least two of the three most populous localities, which are Chesterfield, Henrico and Richmond.
It is also possible that the counties of Amelia, Caroline, Charles City, Goochland, Cumberland, New Kent, Powhatan and Sussex could opt in to the authority.
To read the entire story, click here.
To read more about the responses for the proposed authority, click here.
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Letter for General Assembly members
With the 2008 General Assembly session beginning today, January 9, it is imperative that we continue to push for a long-term transportation funding solution and urge the General Assembly members to build on the transportation funding package that was put in place last year.
Please click here to find a letter that VBT has drafted for our supporters to personalize and send on to their local legislators to reiterate the fact that the funding package in place needs to be fixed, but not dismantled or decreased. The letter can also simply be emailed to your legislator by following the instructions after clicking on the link below.
For information about how to contact your legislators, click here.
You can also send your letters directly to the General Assembly at:
House of Delegates
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, VA 23218
and/or
Senators
P.O. Box 396
Richmond, VA 23218
Thanks for your continued dedication toward finding a solution for Virginia's transportation funding crisis. It's Time Virginia.
For more information about the transportation funding crisis or Virginians for Better Transportation, call 804-237-1399 or click here to visit the It's Time Web site.
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