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GENERAL
ASSEMBLY ACCEPTS GOVERNOR’S AMENDMENTS TO
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING LEGISLATION
By a vote of 85-15
in the House and 29-10
in the Senate the General Assembly accepted
Governor Kaine’s amendments to the transportation
funding legislation (HB
3202). The
passage of the bill with the Governor’s amendments
marks the largest transportation funding in the
Commonwealth in 20 years.
The legislation provides for:
- A $3 billion bond package for
transportation.
$100 million in bonds would be issued this
year, with up to $300 million a year for the next
9-10 years.
- A dedicated funding source,
1/3 of the tax on insurance premiums, to pay the
debt service on the bonds.
- More than $375 million a year
in new
statewide transportation revenues beginning in FY
2009 and growing to more than $420 million a year in
FY 2013.
- Regional transportation
funding packages, which would allow
Northern Virginia
and Hampton Roads to raise $420 million and $200
million a year respectively.
- 2/3 of any future budget
surpluses for transportation.
- More that $200 million a year
of the funding for highway maintenance.
- More than a $1 billion in new
transportation funding a year, assuming that
Northern Virginia
and Hampton Roads pass their regional transportation
funding programs.
While
additional sustainable funding will be necessary in the
future address highway maintenance and major corridor
initiatives, the Governor's amendments to HB 3202 were a
substantial improvement to the legislation, and provide
a significant and workable beginning to solving the
Commonwealth's transportation funding crisis.
The
attached file summarizes the land use and VDOT reform
provisions in the bill and provides a detailed breakdown
of revenues and expenditures for the statewide
transportation funding as well as the
Northern Virginia
and Hampton Roads packages.
In
addition, the budget allocates $500 million for
transportation (approximately $325 million for roads) of
surplus funds from the past two years.
HB
3202 becomes law on July 1, 2007. |
