|
Governor Kaine announces transportation funding plan
Yesterday Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced a bold new transportation funding plan he will propose to the General Assembly in a special session, which will begin Monday, June 23. The plan focuses on statewide and regional solutions for: safety, congestion, improving the maintenance of our existing transportation infrastructure; transit, rail, ports and airports; economic development; and local roadways.
The plan includes the following components:
- Statewide
- 1 percent increase in the motor vehicle sales and use tax
- 10-cent increase in annual registration fees
- Funds raised from these increases will be dedicated to highway maintenance
- Regional
- Northern Virginia
- 1 percent increase in retail sales and use tax
- Funds raised from this increase will be dedicated to local projects, metro funding, Virginia Railway Express and other regional projects
- Hampton Roads
- 1 percent increase in retail sales and use tax
- Funds raised from this increase will be dedicated to the widening of I-64, the Midtown/downtown tunnel, the Third Crossing, the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, Route 460, etc.
- Transportation Change Fund
- 25-cent increase in the Grantor's tax, which will raise 909.5 million through FY 2014
- Money from this fund would be used for transit and rail capital and operating expenses; airports, ports and the transportation partnership opportunity fund
Governor Kaine's plan will potentially raise $859 million in new transportation funding in FY 2009, which will grow to $1.085 billion by FY 2014. It fully funds maintenance through FY 2014; provides $200-300 million more per year for highway construction because of the elimination of the maintenance drain on the construction program; utilizes revenue sources that grow every year; and, provides more than $500 million a year in new funding for NOVA and Hampton Roads.
To read more about the Gov.'s plan, click here.
00000
Town Hall meetings announced
Gov. Kaine is hosting a series of statewide town hall meetings to discuss the upcoming transportation special session.
All town hall meetings are open to the public and media. View the meeting schedule.
00000
Why you should attend the Town Hall meetings and show support for the Governor's plan
For the past three years Virginians for Better Transportation (VBT) has been fighting for a long-term, dedicated, statewide, sustainable, multi-modal transportation funding solution. Most of last year's much-needed transportation funding legislation (HB 3202) was derailed in the past six months, so we are now right back where we started.
Virginia still faces a 20-year transportation funding shortfall of $74.2 billion in unmet road needs and $30.7 billion in unmet transit needs.
With a special session focusing on transportation funding planned in the near future, it is more critical than ever that Virginia adopt a statewide transportation funding package immediately. The following are just a few of the many reasons a transportation funding solution must be implemented:
- Although our population, miles traveled on Virginia's roadways and the cost to build transportation projects have all increased, there has not been a significant increase in transportation funding since 1986.
- Coupled with already growing maintenance needs, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will have to take more than $350 million a year out of the construction program just to cover basic maintenance. This means new construction projects are being cancelled all across the state.
- Almost 1,800 of the Commonwealth's bridges and culverts are structurally deficient. It will cost the Commonwealth more than $3 billion to fix them.
- With the elimination of transportation funding mechanisms granted in last year's HB 3202 and the recent downturn of the economy, Virginia will now lose almost $1 billion annually in transportation funding.
- Without additional funding Virginia will lose its share of the Federal gas tax to other states in just a few years.
- Congestion and poor road conditions currently cost the average Virginia driver more than $900 per year.
- A billion dollars in transportation construction spending would create more than 35,000 jobs and generate more than $2.6 billion in economic activity in Virginia.
- Economic growth brings the need for additional transportation infrastructure and services – roads, buses, rail, port and airports and our dedicated transportation funds cannot keep up with these demands.
- More than 1,000 people died on Virginia's roadways last year - triple the Commonwealth's murder rate.
The Commonwealth simply cannot afford to get any further behind. Contact your legislators and let them know that you expect them to fix our transportation funding needs during the upcoming special session.
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.
VBT operates www.itstimevirginia.org. VBT regards the privacy and security of user information as a critical component of the service we offer. The following information explains our information gathering and dissemination practices. If you choose to register your company or organization as a supporter, your company or organization name may be included in campaign materials. We use Registration Data to send you information and to keep you informed. VBT also uses Registration Data to tailor our Web site to your particular needs. We use demographic and profile information to tailor your experience at our site, showing you the content that we think you might be interested in as well as displaying the content according to your preferences. You may choose to stop receiving future communications from us. Please see the Privacy Policy on the It's Time Web site. |
