VA Republicans agree on transportation deal

Just breaking this evening. The new plan will not technically add any additional taxes, but it will however impose additional fees on Virginians including raising traffic ticket penalties, fees paid at the DMV, and a new $100 fee on Virginians applying for a driver's license.

BREAKING UPDATE: Local CBS affiliate says the plan also includes $1.3 billion in bonds over the next five years, and "self-help" for Northern Virginia, and Hampton Roads. The "self-help" will allow those regions to raise money through a "grantors tax" on home sales.

UPDATE #2: Via WTVR CBS 6:

They felt pressure to provide an alternative to the nearly $1 billion-a-year transportation plan Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine submitted in December or be blamed before November's legislative elections for worsening the transportation crisis. The GOP proposal includes $1.3 billion in bonds over five years, drastically higher fines against dangerous drivers and assorted fee increases.

It does not include Kaine's proposal to boost the sales tax on new cars from 3 percent to 5 percent, said Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach. The package also includes a self-help component for northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, allowing those regions to raise money through a "grantors tax" on home sales and other fee increases, Stolle said. The agreement came one day before Friday's deadline for filing legislation for 2007.

UPDATE #3: The deal will reportedly increase the per-gallon tax on diesel fuel from 16 cents to 17.5 cents (worth about $20 million). The traffic ticket fees I mentioned earlier will be worth about $61 million and raise fees and penalties on overweight trucks.

Sounds to me like the Virginia Republicans were just fishing for a plan to "tax" Virginians without ever actually imposing a tax (with the exception of the diesel fuel tax hike, which will not affect most Virginians). Hm, how clever of them.

The $1.3 billion in bonds I mentioned above, will be broken down over a period of time, $1.3 million from 2008-2012, and $700 million after that.

UPDATE #4: Ben over at Not Larry Sabato reports that this plan looks a lot like the Gilmore Transportation Act of 2000.

UPDATE #5: From the Richmond Times Dispatch article I quoted earlier, this excerpt is worthy of note too:

Republicans called the plan an "agreement in concept," not necessarily a finished product. It was not discussed with Kaine before details were made public at a news conference, nor is there room for sweeping changes, they said.

UPDATE #6: Bearing Drift has reaction from Governor Tim Kaine, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, and Attorney General Bob McDonnell.

Developing...

What's at stake in the 2007 General Assembly Session

Governor Tim Kaine's email that went out today regarding the upcoming session of the Virginia General Assembly which begins on Wednesday:

Strong, effective Democratic leadership has Virginia headed in the right direction. In 2005, we were named Governing Magazine's "Best Managed State." In 2006, Forbes.com called Virginia the "Best State for Business." Just last week, Virginia's kids have been named Education Week's "Most Likely to Succeed."

On Wednesday, another General Assembly session begins. I've offered a strong legislative agenda that will strengthen our education system, reduce traffic, protect the environment, and give more Virginians access to health care. I'm going to fight for this agenda because making investments in Virginia's future is the right thing to do.

If you're with me, click here to contribute to Moving Virginia Forward, my leadership PAC, right away.

Once the session starts on Wednesday, I won't be able to ask for your help - Virginia law rightly prevents state elected officials from accepting contributions while the General Assembly is convened. That's why I'm asking for your help now - and why it's so important that we receive your contribution by midnight on Tuesday.

Time is short - we need your help today! Please contribute by clicking here by midnight Tuesday.

Here's what's at stake:

- Public Education. We must move our focus from competence to excellence. We need to make pre-kindergarten available to all Virginia 4-year olds, and we need to raise teacher pay to the national average.

- Transportation. We need greater accountability in our transportation system, with a focus on measurable improvements. We also need better connections between land use and transportation planning, and smart investments in road, rail and public transportation infrastructure.

- Health Care. We need to continue to improve the health of our citizens, and creating better access to the health care network.

- Protecting the God-given beauty of our Commonwealth. As we approach Virginia's 400th anniversary next year, I know we can make the commitment to preserve 400,000 acres of open space, farms and forests by the end of the decade.

Our winning campaign in 2005 created a covenant with Virginia voters. Keeping that pledge requires more than a vision - it demands that we work together to keep Virginia moving forward.

If you're ready to join me in securing Virginia's future, please make an online contribution today.

Together, we'll make Virginia an even better place to live and work. Yours,

Tim Kaine

2007 Virginia General Assembly bills

Via both Richmond Times Dispatch, and Pilot Online here's a brief look at some of the bills that Virginia's General Assembly will tackle in 2007 (bills are in bold, my comments are not):

- Revisions to the state's two-year, $78 billion budget, including a 3 percent teacher pay raise and an income tax cut for the state's poorest earners.

- Increase vehicle registration fees and the state sales tax on new cars to raise money for transportation. I talked about this in depth yesterday.

- Allow certain sex offenders to choose surgical castration instead of commitment to a secure treatment facility upon release from prison. This is ridiculous, and barbaric.

- Prohibit sex offenders from entering school or day-care center property without court permission. This bill is garbage, and will serve no purpose but to negatively impact the lives of the CHILDREN OF SEX OFFENDERS (keep in mind, there are WIDELY varying degrees of sex offenders too).

- Relax the capital murder statute's "triggerman rule" by allowing the death penalty for accomplices who share the intent to kill but do not actually commit the slaying. I'm against the death penalty, so obviously oppose this bill.

- Tighten restrictions on payday lenders.

- End the state's five-year experiment with electric utility regulation.

- Allow embryonic stem-cell research at Virginia's colleges, universities and laboratories and ban the use of the cells for cloning. Support the first part, oppose the latter.

- Require that facilities where abortions are performed be licensed and comply with state regulations that apply to outpatient-surgery centers. Shocked to learn this wasn't a requirement to begin with.

- Prohibit the use of cell phones by drivers who hold provisional licenses, learner's permits and motorcycle learner's permits except in an emergency or if the vehicle is parked or stationary.

- Make it harder to have no-fault divorce. I'll be shocked and disgusted if this passes.

- Expand the definition of adultery. Clarify that offenders may be guilty of adultery regardless of the gender of the person with whom they engage in such conduct. First thing that I thought of when I read this was they want to write in hate amendments banning gay marriage, and defining marriage as "one man, one woman" but also want to write ridiculous laws just to be sure gay affairs "count" as adultery. Republicans are hateful, hateful people indeed.

- Ban any open container of alcohol from the passenger areas of trucks or cars.

- Let localities adopt ordinances to ban guns at local libraries. Why not just ban guns in libraries? Why do people need to be carrying weapons into libraries?

- Designate the ginger gold apple as the official fruit of Virginia. Not sure why they're wasting their time with this.

- Require the Virginia Retirement System, under certain circumstances, to divest itself of investments in companies meeting criteria gauged to be related to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.