CAPITOL OFFICE
General Assembly Building, Room 807
PO Box 406, Richmond VA 23219
Phone: 804-698-1009
Fax: 804-698-6709
Viewpoint Hotline: 800-889-0229
Email: DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov
DISTRICT OFFICE
PO Box 117, Glade Hill VA 24092
Phone: 540-576-2600
Fax: 804-698-6709
Email: DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov
CAMPAIGN OFFICE
PO Box 117, Glade Hill VA 24092
Phone: 540-352-9795
Email: Charles@votepoindexter.com
Charles@charlespoindexter.com
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
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ENDORSEMENTS & RATINGS
National Rifle Association - Endorsed with an A rating
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Rated 100% by The Family Foundation
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| State Capitol Report July 7, 2008 |
INTERIM TRANSPORTATION SESSION
As you know, the governor called the General Assembly into Special Session on 23 June 2008 to consider increased funding for transportation, citing a monetary shortfall that results in “maintenance” costs negatively impacting new construction projects. There is much more to the transportation issue than just raising more money.
Transportation includes not only roads but rail, mass transit, light rail, bridges, and airports. The problems vary in different areas of the state and within locales. For example, rural areas would like more emphasis placed on improving roads, while urban Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads face traffic congestion issues, which suggest increased reliance on mass transit, light rail, and similar considerations. Regional differences in needs, ability to pay, space availability for transportation corridors, and so forth lurk behind every proposal submitted to the General Assembly.
Past raids on transportation funds, which were used for other purposes, and the lack of a clear understanding of the term “maintenance” also confuse issues. For example, the “maintenance” part of the budget apparently includes everything in VDOT—salaries, benefits, computers, facilities, equipment, materials, and more—except new construction projects. If taxes are raised and money put into “maintenance,” where and how would the money be spent? Also note that maintenance is being performed and will continue to be performed per VDOT methodology and standards since, by law, maintenance must be funded prior to spending on new construction.
Then, too, untruths abound, such as that no new funding has been added to transportation since 1986. The fact is that last year’s “compromise” HB3202 is infusing around $480 million per year in additional funding statewide. And, the bill should produce another $800 million per year for NOVA and Hampton Roads if those who agreed to the compromise would now agree to fix the governor’s language changes to the original bill that resulted in the Supreme Court’s decision that invalidated a technical aspect of the bill. Northern Virginia alone is losing a million dollars each day until this technical correction is made or new, similar legislation is enacted.
A final background point I am compelled to identify is the formula by which transportation dollars are apportioned around the state. The formula is weighted for “lane miles, area size, and population.” This results in rural areas receiving equitable treatment. It is easy to say, for example, “just raise the gas tax to fix the problem.” The pitfall in that is if we raise the gas tax, votes might well exist to change the formula to emphasize the number of vehicles instead of lane miles, which would end up costing rural areas like the 9th District hundreds of millions of dollars.
So where does that leave us? The governor’s proposed package was introduced in the House. His proposal would a) raise the title tax 33% on a vehicle from 3% to 4%; b) increase yearly vehicle registration 25% to an additional $10 (license plates); c) increase the Grantor’s Tax on the sale of homes and property from 10-cents per hundred to 35-cents per hundred; and d) raise the sales tax from 5% to 6% in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. The bill met with tremendous opposition from legislators, especially those representing rural districts, and failed even to get out of Committee. With a stagnant economy and rising fuel prices having a negative impact on our citizens and businesses statewide, raising taxes and fees on citizens at this time seems unfair, if not untenable.
The governor’s proposal was never filed in the Senate, apparently because his majority party members there want an entirely different approach. The Senate passed a bill with its approach late in the day on June 25. This bill proposes a 6-cent per gallon statewide increase on gas, increases the sales tax statewide from 3.5% to 4% on vehicles, and contains separate tax and fee increases for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
This bill will come to the House floor on July 9. It will receive close scrutiny, not only because of the increases but also to explore and define where and how the money would be allocated as, for example, the bill allocates off the top some huge sums for Northern Virginia mass transit.
As always, the situation in Richmond is fluid and, thus, changes rapidly. Predicting what will or will not happen is impossible. In hindsight, it appears to me the Special Session should not have convened until at least some general consensus was formed among the Governor, the Senate and the House leadership to bridge the enormous regional differences. Additional preparation would have served Virginia far better. I have to conclude politics and future elections were instrumental in the timing.
Considering the magnitude of tax and fee increases currently proposed by the governor or the Senate’s bills, the citizens and businesses of the Commonwealth deserve to be assured their investment will result in a transportation system appropriate to meet their future needs. This will require several actions by the General Assembly and the Executive branch.
First, VDOT must be reformed, including their revenue forecast methodology, its maintenance budget revamped to reflect maintenance separated from overhead, and maintenance beyond interstates must be privatized to reduce costs. In addition, the 20 year plan, VTRANS-25, must be updated to reflect current and future fuel costs in the approach. Doing so should result in a vastly different plan for the next 20 years. I have signed on to co-patron an “audit” bill which would begin to address these and other issues.
Secondly, we have to put a lockbox on transportation funds since they have been raided in the past, and the governor’s submitted budget this year again tried to divert $180 million to new non-transportation programs. I am a co-patron on a bill to establish this lockbox. I am also co-patron of a bill to dedicate future offshore drilling royalty revenue to transportation. It is past time to remove the restrictions on the approximately 80% of America’s oil and natural gas supplies while we develop and deploy alternatives.
In closing, one interesting statistic to ponder is that while our population has increased 15-16% in the last 10 years, we’re spending 125% more on transportation. Could it be that “tax and spend” is not always the answer?
Charles
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News & Announcements:
Charles runs
for re-election!
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“Entrepreneurs and their small business enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States".
Ronald Reagan
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| Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library |
“Whatever else history says about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way".
Ronald Reagan
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