Divided Virginia Senate Approves Transportation Overhaul

By Stephen Nielsen, Capital News Service

A divided Virginia Senate has passed Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature issue of the 2013 legislative session—a bill to overhaul the state’s system for funding transportation.

Just hours before the session’s end, the Senate voted 25-15 for House Bill 2313, which will raise about $880 million a year more for roads and mass transit by increasing sales taxes while lowering the fuels tax. The debate over how to increase revenue continued right up to the vote.

Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) voted against the legislation; Sens. George Barker and Dick Saslaw, D-Alexandria, supported it.

“This isn’t any bill. This is the only bill,” said Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, R-Williamsburg. He said it’s the only way to provide the revenue Virginia’s transportation system needs—and to ease traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Tidewater.

HB 2313, which was negotiated by a conference committee and approved 60-40 by the House Friday, would:

• Eliminate the 17.5-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax that consumers pay at the pump. Instead, the state would impose a 3.5 percent tax on gasoline at the wholesale level. The wholesale tax on diesel fuel would be 6 percent.
• Increase Virginia’s sales tax from 5 percent to 5.3 percent.
• Raise the motor vehicle sales tax from 3 percent to 4.3 percent.
• Charge a $100 annual license tax for electric and alternative fuel vehicles.
• Allow a 0.7 percent sales tax increase in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia to fund transportation projects there.

HB 2313 also would boost the proportion of the state’s general fund revenue dedicated to transportation from 0.5 percent to 0.675 percent. And it would prohibit tolls on Interstate 95 south of Fredericksburg without approval from the General Assembly.

“Do I feel like we have anyone in this body that can make a perfect plan? No,” Sen. Charles Carrico (R-Galax) said. But he said the transportation plan was close enough and a product of a great deal of compromise between parties.

Others disagreed.

“To me, the final bill represents bad economics and bad transportation policy,” said Ebbin, who said he believes the state should raise its gasoline tax to address the problems.

A dozen Republican senators and three Democrats voted against the bill.

HB 2313 now goes to McDonnell for his signature.

In a press release, the governor said "the annals of history will recognize this session as the year that vital transportation funding reforms, substantively ignored since 1986, were enacted to address the decades-old issues that have left Virginia unable to maintain our existing road, rail and transit infrastructure and unable to pay for needed new transportation services.”

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How They Voted

Here is how the Senate voted Saturday on HB 2313 (“Revenues and appropriations of State; changes to revenues collected and distribution, report”).

Floor: 02/23/13 Senate: Conference report agreed to by Senate (25-Y 15-N)

YEAS – Alexander, Barker, Blevins, Carrico, Colgan, Deeds, Edwards, Favola, Herring, Howell, Locke, Lucas, Marsden, McEachin, McWaters, Miller, Norment, Northam, Puckett, Puller, Ruff, Saslaw, Stosch, Wagner, Watkins – 25.

NAYS – Black, Ebbin, Garrett, Hanger, Marsh, Martin, McDougle, Newman, Obenshain, Petersen, Reeves, Smith, Stanley, Stuart, Vogel – 15.

What do you think is the best way to fund transportation? Let us know in the comments below.