KERR: Progress on transportation?

BY DAVID S. KERR
FOR THE STAFFORD COUNTY SUN
Published: July 11, 2008

When Gov. Timothy Kaine called a special session of the legislature to discuss transportation many observers thought it was a political ploy. The Democrats want to make transportation their wedge issue for 2009 and a special session is a good way to keep it in the headlines. However, the other side of the argument, given the gridlock in Richmond earlier this year, is that transportation is far too pressing an issue to be left until the start of the 2009 session. 

One of the advantages of a special session, no matter what your views on why the governor called it, is that it gives the delegates and senators the chance to focus on just one issue—something that during a regular session is almost impossible. Unfortunately, the gridlock over transportation, even with the luxury of a special session, has been tough to crack. Many in the legislature see transportation and its funding not as a matter of a problem to be solved but rather as an ideological issue to be fought over. They aren’t that anxious to compromise. This complaint, by the way, applies to both sides, and is source of growing voter frustration. This is something that should worry both Democrats and Republicans. However, the special session, while not producing any breakthroughs, has offered a few signs of hope. 

The Senate sent a bill to the House for a six-cent a gallon increase in the gas tax. It would be an efficient source of revenue or as Ronald Reagan said when he supported an increase in the national gas tax 25 years ago, a “user fee.” But this is politics and its fate in the House doesn’t look good.  House Republicans are sure to oppose it and many Democrats, scared of being tagged with having raised the gas tax in an era of four dollar a gallon gas, may bolt on supporting it as well. At the same time, many still have a soft spot for the governor’s proposal, something of a hodge-podge approach, which included increasing a host of different fees and taxes.  To them it’s less of a lightening rod than a gas tax. Unfortunately, the senate didn’t give the governor’s proposals much of an airing.
This is encouraging.

However, the good news is that this isn’t the only bill on the table. Politics, it’s been said, “is the art of the possible.” And what’s possible right now is not a perfect or ideal answer. In this case the most viable option on the table is funding road improvements on a regional basis. The Republicans, with Democratic support, want to revive the notion of having the hardest hit areas, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, raise their own revenues to support regional projects. The prior incarnation of this notion ran into problems when the Virginia Supreme Court said the earlier legislation was unconstitutional. This time there is strong support for a more constitutionally correct structure that would allow these regions to pay for their own road improvements.

However, at the same time, there are some other concerns and agendas brewing just below the surface. The House of Delegates, the GOP majority in particular, have problems with VDOT.  They don’t trust it. They hear the arguments about how it’s out of money, but they don’t quite believe it. They want an audit. This may be a sideshow, but there is no reason their request for a comprehensive analysis of the state’s long term transportation resources shouldn’t be on the table.   

The GOP is also anxious to pursue more public/private partnerships on road and mass transit construction.  This is not new, it’s done in Europe, it’s been done in the Midwest and though cut short by the governor, almost became a reality on the Dulles Toll Road.  As much as some Democrats balk at the notion, in a balanced transportation formula, it almost certainly has a place. 

However, for all of its flaws, if a regional package does pass, while not perfect, it would at least be a step in the right direction. However, having said that, no one should declare it a victory. That will only come when the legislature, working together, and that means across party lines, has the nerve, and the political courage, to find a way to guarantee a steady source of funds to support our roads—not just on a regional basis, but statewide. Unfortunately at the moment, even with all the hubbub of a special session, the legislature is a long ways from reaching that point. Until then, make sure you find a good radio station, or bring plenty of CDs, because the traffic jams are only going to get bigger. 

David S. Kerr is an Aquia resident and a former member of the Stafford County School Board. Contact him at info@stafford countysun.com.