Drivers on clogged highways in Virginia may get some relief as a result of compromise legislation passed in a reconvened General Assembly session Wednesday.
Gov. Tim Kaine submitted a revised version of the transportation bill to the General Assembly after it failed to pass during January's session because of controversy about funding sources.
The new bill addressed the Commonwealth's transportation funding problem by appropriating $3 billion in bonds to fund projects. It also gives local governments in traffic-ridden Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads the authority to impose fees for transportation.
The compromise passed in the House of Delegates 85 to 15 and passed in the Senate 29 to nine.
The revised bill increased the amount of money that can be allocated statewide and fixed 100 technicalities in the original bill according to Del. David Toscano, D-Charlottesville.
Toscano said he gives the revised package a "passing grade," but will not fix the problems the state is facing.
"It does buy us a limited amount of time and some limited amount of new money statewide," he said, adding that "We will be back debating this within the next five years."
Toscano voted against the bill when it was first introduced into the House, but voted in favor of the revised version. He said fixing the problem of transportation depends on revenue and said the state will have to reach a compromise with either higher taxes or fewer government-funded programs.
"I think a lot of local governments were very concerned about this bill because they were going to have to raise taxes and they weren't getting much for it," he said.
State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, also voted in favor of the bill, though he noted the bill passed for political reasons rather than as a solution to Virginia's transportation problems.
"We have a bill now that's clearly inadequate," he said. "It's inadequate in the short run, it's inadequate in the long run, but it's something."
Deeds also noted problems with finding and appropriating funds to local governments. He said the bill sets a dangerous precedent by allocating the state responsibility of raising and appropriating funds to local governments in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
"We've had a statewide program since 1928; what we did here was we allowed those regions to create their own funding," Deeds said.
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