Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Assembly has to get its wheels moving
Shanna Flowers
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Last year, state lawmakers were all too willing to maintain the state's roads on the backs of little old ladies and other traffic scofflaws hit with outrageous fines.
But when the folks back home started squealing like a pack of scalded rats, the governor and the General Assembly quickly scrapped the boneheaded "abusive driver" fees. Now they're forced to go back to the drawing board to figure out a way to maintain old roads and build new ones.
Gov. Tim Kaine has come up with yet another proposal that includes -- yikes! -- raising taxes. Republicans in the House of Delegates in Richmond are spewing their same old, tired edict. On top of that, Democrats are conflicted about which taxes to raise.
People, what's it going to take for Virginians to finally get an adequately funded transportation system?
In a column unrelated to Virginia politics last week, Washington Post writer Eugene Robinson wrote: "Evidence suggests that Americans are tired of a government that is slavishly beholden to a rigid do-nothing ideology..."
Robinson's reference aptly applies to Virginia's inability to move from the slow lane when it comes to transportation.
How to pay for it has been a sticking point in the General Assembly for years.
The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce was among a group of 25 business and advocacy organizations that recently sent a letter to Kaine and lawmakers urging them to approve transportation tax increases.
And why not?
Transportation affects Virginia on so many levels -- commerce, tourism, jobs and merely getting from Point A to Point B. Virginia's future economic prosperity hinges on a comprehensive transportation system that can move goods.
Equally paramount in the transportation debate is public safety. We all recall the horrific photos emanating from Minnesota last year when a bridge collapsed. No one wants to think about it, but road upkeep requires money. Roads don't last forever -- and simple maintenance is affected by inflationary pressures, too.
While the General Assembly fiddles on how to pay for roads, the state finds itself in a hole over transportation. A sluggish economy and rising costs would force Virginia to divert $388 million in highway construction funds to repair existing roads.
Kaine has warned the deficit could grow to $575 million in six short years.
Democrats and Republicans need to come together and end this annual transportation logjam.
Avoiding the issue is not governance. It is an abdication of responsibility.
Shanna Flowers' column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
