Monday, February 20, 2006
House, Senate unveil budgets
Whether to use general fund dollars to pay for transportation remains a point of contention.
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roanoke.com/politics
RICHMOND -- The General Assembly's budget-writing committees issued competing spending plans for the next two years on Sunday, reflecting stark differences between the Senate and House of Delegates over how to pump new money into transportation and preserve funding for other government programs.
The Senate and House will vote later this week on the proposals, which contain revisions to the two-year, $72.2 billion budget that former Gov. Mark Warner introduced in December. The new spending plan will take effect July 1.
The money committees in both houses cited transportation funding as a top priority, but the House and Senate panels took very different approaches to the issue.
"Transportation is in the forefront and is the issue of the day,' said Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "The question is going to be, 'How are we going to fund it?' "
The Senate Finance Committee endorsed a package that will increase transportation spending by $1.8 billion over the next two years, largely through a combination of tax and fee increases that would include a 5 percent sales tax on gasoline. Gov. Tim Kaine also has proposed tax increases to create new, dedicated funding for transportation.
The House Appropriations Committee's plan would increase transportation funding by $1.2 billion over the same period, relying on a combination of revenue from the state's general operating fund and increased fines for driving violations. Roughly half of the transportation spending in the House budget is a one-time payment from the state's general fund, some of which is diverted from items in Warner's proposed budget.
The House plan would reduce or eliminate $185 million worth of college building and parks projects to free up money; and use debt, rather than general fund revenue, for another $237 million worth of college and parks projects. The House plan would eliminate about $10 million earmarked for building renovations and equipment at Virginia Tech.
Leaders in the Republican-controlled House remain convinced that the state can make significant investments in transportation without the tax increases.
"With back-to-back record-breaking surpluses, it would have been irresponsible for us to ask our citizens to pay more in taxes," said House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County.
A Kaine spokesman said the House transportation proposal does little to help areas outside of Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads beyond a one-time infusion of $600 million for specific projects such as improvements to Interstate 81. Much of the sustained revenue on the House plan is targeted toward the two fastest-growing regions of the state.
"Except for one-time, upfront money, the House plan simply authorizes a credit card for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, but sends the bill to the rest of the state," said Kevin Hall, Kaine's press secretary.
Sen. John Chichester, R-Northumberland County, said the state's transportation problems require long-term, sustainable funding sources. Surplus general fund dollars won't meet the state's needs, he said.
"By its very definition, a surplus is inherently unpredictable and unreliable," said Chichester, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "We concluded that this is not how we want to fund transportation in Virginia."
Transportation is not the only contentious issue in the budget process. The House spending plan includes language that would prevent the use of public funds for abortion services "except as otherwise required by federal statute." House Democrats protested the inclusion of that language and a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia called it "a slap in the face of poor women."
Ben Greenberg, the director of government relations for Planned Parenthood, said Virginia already places strict limits on abortion services that qualify for Medicaid reimbursements. He said the budget provision "will force the poorest women in Virginia to carry a pregnancy to term even when facing serious health conditions."
In higher education, both houses scaled back the $4.5 million Warner proposed for a planned college in the Martinsville area. The House plan includes $2 million for the proposed New College Institute and the Senate budget has just $1.4 million, further underscoring how the project has struggled to gain the support of legislators.
"It's reduced, but it's enough to keep going, so we're all right," said Sen. Charles Hawkins, R-Chatham, a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
Neither house proposed more funds to increase law enforcement of Smith Mountain Lake. The Senate budget calls for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to study the need for additional enforcement and, if necessary, request additional funds next year.
The House plan includes $500,000 for additional overtime costs for state police troopers in the Interstate 81 corridor, allowing the agency to further increase patrols on the highway. Lawmakers increased overtime spending for I-81 corridor patrols by $110,000 last year.
Both budget plans include money for museums and cultural attractions in the Roanoke and New River valleys, including $2 million for the Art Museum of Western Virginia in Roanoke.
mike.sluss@roanoke.com (804) 697-1585 mason.adams@roanoke.com (804) 697-1584
