Gov. Mark R. Warner earned an important political victory when the General Assembly reconvened Wednesday and approved a Northern Virginia sales tax referendum that could alleviate traffic congestion in the region.
The proposal to increase the region's sales tax by a half-cent, to a level of 5 percent, incited strong partisan conflict early in the legislative session, when House and Senate lawmakers insisted that a portion of the funding be earmarked for education. Unable to reach a compromise before the close of the session, Warner resurrected the proposal as an amendment to a similar bill for the Hampton Roads region in southeast Virginia.
"This is a historic step, allowing voters in two traffic-clogged regions of the state exactly what I promised in my campaign," Warner said in a statement. "They now have the right to decide for themselves the best way to speed up new transportation projects for their region."
If Northern Virginia voters opt for the tax increase, a projected $5 billion could be raised over the next 20 years to pay for carpool lanes, mass transit projects and plans to widen sections of the interstate.
During the final session, legislators in the Republican-dominated Assembly also narrowly upheld Warner's veto of a bill that would have banned late-term abortions. Though the House of Delegates had enough votes to overturn the veto, the Senate failed to garner enough votes to override it.
Wednesday's session "was a mixed bag" for Warner, Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato said. "He got his top priority [with the tax referendum] but he suffered some setbacks."
One such setback came when the Senate shot down the Democratic governor's last-minute push for a $5-per-ton fee for dumping garbage in state landfills.
"I am disappointed, of course, that my proposal for a fee on trash disposed in Virginia was defeated," Warner said in the statement. "We knew this would be an uphill battle when we proposed it, and it was."
The House also voted down a last-minute proposal that would have toughened laws against open alcohol containers in the passenger areas of cars and trucks.
"To the extent that Warner provided a sharp, focused message related to his campaign, he did well" in achieving his policy goals, said Robert Holsworth, professor and chair of international and public affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. "The lesson for the Warner administration is that they do best when they lay the foundations and groundwork for the session."
Warner chose to focus on the positive, long-term progress achieved over the course of a session wracked by partisan conflict and a looming budget deficit.
"We closed a $3.8 billion budget shortfall in a way that will position Virginia to enjoy a strong economic recovery," Warner said in the statement. Moreover, "we avoided the budget impasse of last year."
The situation, however, may not get any easier for the Democratic governor.
"The pattern is set for his four years," Sabato said. "He has a Republican legislature and a weak economy, so he doesn't have a lot of money to spend and he doesn't have a lot of support"
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