RICHMOND -- The General Assembly's special session sputtered toward a conclusion Wednesday with rancor and finger-pointing but no fix for Virginia's road and transit funding problems.

The Republican-run House of Delegates defeated a last-ditch effort by Democrats to impose new taxes for statewide highway maintenance and regional taxes to ease congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. The 59-39 vote against a Senate-sponsored bill appears to have killed any hope Gov. Tim Kaine had of prodding lawmakers into approving new taxes and fees for transportation this year.

The House voted down the bill after Democrats successfully pushed to strip a proposed gasoline tax increase from the legislation. Senate Democrats had favored a gas tax increase of 1 cent per gallon over each of the next six years, but reluctantly agreed to have the bill amended to gain the support of Democrats in the House. But the bill (Senate Bill 6009) still called for increases in the retail sales tax and vehicle sales and rental taxes and a reduction in the sales tax on groceries, making it an impossible sell to House Republicans.

"To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never have so many Virginia Democrats offered so many flawed plans for inflicting so much economic misery on working Virginians and their families," said House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County.

Kaine blamed House Republicans for the impasse, even though his own plan never gained traction in the legislature and was never introduced in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

"When I called the special session, I asked that the legislature work together to find a solution to our transportation funding challenges," Kaine said in a statement released after the House vote. "The House and Senate Democrats rose to the challenge and came together to move Virginia closer to a meaningful transportation solution. But House Republican leadership, once again, stood in the way, rejecting legislation that originated in the Senate. The citizens of Virginia deserved better."

Republicans accused Kaine of calling the special session for purely political purposes and for failing to build consensus around a specific proposal.

House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said the ordeal "reflects the clear triumph of partisanship over statesmanship at the highest level of the Kaine administration."

"The session was a futile effort from the beginning -- and it was so understood by virtually every participant and observer -- because the governor's self-proclaimed objective was to posture for future elections, not to solve problems," Griffith said.

Kaine had proposed a package of statewide tax and fee increases, largely to address a maintenance funding shortfall that is forcing the state to divert money from its road construction budget to cover the gap. The governor also wanted regional tax increases for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to replace previous funding plans that were invalidated by the Virginia Supreme Court.

Kaine's administration estimates that the state will shift $388 million from its road construction budget during this fiscal year to cover a maintenance deficit caused by rising costs and a slowing economy. But the governor had only shaky support for original plan.

The House Rules Committee voted to kill Kaine's plan (House Bill 6026) two weeks ago, but abruptly revived it Wednesday and sent it to House floor. But Democrats refused to waive procedural readings, denying Republicans the four-fifths majority needed to accelerate a final vote on Kaine's bill. They also voted against an amendment that would have changed the Senate bill into an identical version of Kaine's proposal.

House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, D-Henry County, said Democrats preferred to vote on the Senate bill after reaching an agreement to remove the gas tax increase from the bill. Kaine also supported the compromise, Armstrong said.

"I think we showed a great deal of unity," said Armstrong, who sponsored Kaine's bill.

But not all Democrats supported the Senate bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw. Six Democrats voted against it, including Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke. Ware said his constituents feel "psychologically beaten down" by rising gas and food prices and could not handle tax increases.

"Policywise, I agree that the only way we're going to find sustainable revenue is through some kind of tax, but now is not the time to put an additional burden on people," Ware said.

The House did pass a series of targeted bills Wednesday night, including a bill that would dedicate a portion of future new state tax revenues generated by Hampton Roads ports and two major airports in Northern Virginia to transportation needs in the two regions. But Senate leaders have indicated they will oppose targeted regional bills that lack new statewide funding.