RICHMOND,
September 28, 2006–
Virginia’s House
of Delegates today approved an extensive package
of transportation-related legislation initiated
and successfully championed by House Republicans.
The
bills, including measures to provide additional
funding increases for transportation totaling over
$2.5 billion, won
bi-partisan approval in the House.
The package of 23 bills is now headed to
the State Senate for consideration in the
final days of the special session dedicated to
transportation.
“When
our first transportation plan won bi-partisan
support in the House in February, we were proud to
have offered
the only comprehensive package of bills that
targeted multiple aspects of our transportation
challenge,” remarked Speaker William J. Howell
(R-Stafford).
“Since enactment of the state budget
without a tax
increase in June, House Republicans have been hard
at work getting our new ideas and initiatives
ready for legislative action.
For
this week’s special session, House Republicans
undertook a bolder, broader approach to fix fundamental
flaws in the organization, workings and
financing of Virginia’s antiquated Byrd-era transportation system.
“Our
package is ambitious in its scope and has
addressed head on not just the challenges, but
also the opportunities
available to reform and modernize, improve and
invest in Virginia’s
transportation system.
We proposed eleven new bills to
transform the way Virginia
delivers transportation services – requiring
more accountability, better performance measures
and stronger partnerships with the private sector
and local governments.
We advanced eight bills representing the
largest financial commitment for our roads,
railways, and mass transit in 20 years. And, we
initiated a serious legislative dialogue that I am
confident will soon result in fundamental and
positive changes in the way Virginia
handles growth through its land use policies.
“House
Republicans are the only Caucus in either chamber
of the General Assembly to propose a comprehensive
package of transportation legislation for this
special session.
Disappointingly the Governor and his allies
chose not to introduce any transportation bill
package for consideration during this session,
instead sticking with his $1 billion
annual tax increase on auto sales, insurance,
and registration that was debated and defeated
eight months ago.
Nevertheless,
I am hopeful that the Virginia Senate will hold to
their recent pledge of finding ‘common ground’
with us on transportation and take positive action
on our package of nearly two dozen bills.
This opportunity for progress on
transportation need not be squandered.”
The
following is a list of key Republican- sponsored
bills, the bulk of which were passed today by the
House of Delegates and now go to – or
“crossover” – to the Senate of Virginia for
their action.
Transportation
Reform Component
House
Republicans’ are advancing a comprehensive,
three-pronged plan to more completely address
transportation needs.
The first component focuses on transforming
the delivery of transportation services. The
legislative package points VDOT away from its
current 1930s-approach towards 21st
Century solutions.
Focused on strengthening accountability,
instilling meaningful, measurable performance
measures, promoting safer drivers and roadways,
and expanding
opportunities for private sector involvement,
these bills continue efforts to overhaul
Virginia
transportation.
HB
5034 (Del.
Rust,
R-Fairfax)
Imposes
civil penalties on chronic abusive drivers because
accidents contribute greatly to traffic
congestion, and
dedicates collected revenues to the Highway
Maintenance and Operating Fund for highway
maintenance purposes.
Passed House:
61-34
HB
5047 (Del.
Lingamfelter, R-Prince William)
Requires
VDOT to reconsider and reassign the various
highways, bridges, and other facilities comprising
the state primary, secondary, and urban highway
systems based on their functionality.
Passed House:
53-44
HB
5062
(Del.
Wardrup,
R-Virginia
Beach)
Provides
that quantifiable and achievable goals relating to
congestion reduction and safety, as well as other
important performance measures, be instituted and
considered by VDOT/CTB in project selection.
Passed
House: 96-0
HB
5063
(Del.
Cosgrove,
R-Chesapeake)
Requires
VDOT to take proactive role in solicitation of
private investment opportunities by requiring the
Commissioner to provide an action plan on how VDOT
will expand the use of public-private partnerships.
Passed
House: 94-1
HB
5064
(Del.
Wardrup,
R-Virginia
Beach)
Makes
the Commonwealth Transportation Board responsible
for promoting increased private investment in
Virginia
's
transportation infrastructure and planning to
ensure maximum private investment on projects.
Passed
House: 95-0
HB
5065
(Del.
Wardrup, R-Virginia
Beach)
Provides
for election of non-at-large representatives of
Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) by the General
Assembly, providing necessary oversight and
responsiveness.
The power to hire the VDOT Commissioner,
promoting better continuity and performance in
that role, would remain the responsibility of the
CTB.
Passed
House: 56-41
HB
5066 (Del.
Welch, R-Virginia
Beach)
Requires
that state agencies' comments on highway
construction projects be completed and submitted
to the Secretaries of Transportation and Natural
Resources within 15 days.
Passed
House: 93-4
HB
5067 (Del.
Welch, R-Virginia
Beach)
Requires
Virginia toll facilities to become capable of fully
automated electronic operation, employing
innovative technologies and procedures to reduce
traffic delays.
Passed
House: 92-1
HB
5068 (Del.
Marshall, R., R-Prince William)
Provides
that no agreement or contract to transfer
responsibility for control, maintenance, and/or
operation of any
toll facility from VDOT to public or private
entities can be entered into without General
Assembly approval.
Passed
House: 49-47
HB
5069 (Del.
Lingamfelter, R-Prince William)
Requires
VDOT to take steps as may be appropriate to
outsource or privatize the Department’s
functions while allowing departmental employees to
bid to continue any specific function or functions
that might
reasonably be provided by the private sector, in
order to achieve efficiency.
Passed
House: 96-1
HB
5070 (Del.
Saxman,
R-Staunton)
Creates
the Joint Commission on Transportation
Accountability to enhance legislative oversight of
state agencies with transportation
responsibilities.
Passed
House: 97-0
HB
5071 (Del.
Scott, E.,
R-Madison)
Requires
the VDOT Commissioner to explain the methodology
used to determine maintenance needs and justify
proposed maintenance funding by source.
Passed
House: 96-0
HB
5016 (Del.
Marshall, R., R-Prince William)
Provides
that one single county may construct a toll road
within that county's borders and also makes clear
that counties separated by a body of water are
considered to be connected.
Passed
House: 95-1
HB
5061 (Del.
Oder, R-Newport
News)
Increases
the penalties for drivers of trucks exceeding the
height limits through tunnels to at least $1,000
for the first offense and at least $2,500 for a
second offense.
Passed
House: 89-6
Land
Use Reform Component
House
Republicans understand that any plan to improve
transportation that ignores one of the root causes
of clogged
roadways – namely,
Virginia’s
70-plus-year-old government land use policies –
is inherently inadequate, shortsighted and flawed.
This
is why we proposed an ambitious and far-reaching
plan to modernize outdated policies that date back
to the 1930’s Byrd era and – for the first
time – directly ties land use and
transportation.
HB
5093
(Del.
Frederick,
R-Prince William)
Allows
counties who choose to establish Urban
Transportation Service Districts to assume
responsibility of the maintenance of secondary
roads, with a funding stream of current
maintenance expenditures, the ability to collect
impact fees on by-right development and other
incentives to encourage enhanced efficiencies and
effectiveness.
Assigned to Special Subcommittee for
Action during 2007 Session
HB
5094
(Del.
Athey,
R-Warren)
Requires
counties to designate Urban Development Areas in
their comprehensive plans to properly and sensibly
plan for projected growth, incorporating new
urbanism principles in development to address
sprawl.
Assigned
to Special Subcommittee for Action during 2007
Session
HB
5096
(Del.
Marshall, R., R-Prince William)
Prohibits
taking additional streets into the state secondary
highway system in order to better coordinate land
use decisions with the responsibility of
maintenance costs as well as allow VDOT to gain
greater control over the growing maintenance
budget.
Assigned
to Special Subcommittee for Action during 2007
Session
Transportation
Investment Component
House
Republicans understand funding is necessary to
provide improvements to support a modern
transportation
system.
To achieve that goal, House Republicans
provide an investment package of $2.44 billion in
new funding over
the next six years without higher taxes.
Northern
Virginia
would receive
over $800 million. Hampton Roads would
receive $400 million.
Rural Virginia
and those
outside major urban areas would receive $750
million.
HB
5006 (Del.
Carrico,
R-Grayson)
Authorizes
the CTB to issue bonds in an additional amount not
to exceed $120 million to fund certain
specified
transportation projects, including the Hillsville
Bypass, in the Route 58 Corridor.
Passed
House: 69-28
HB
5050 (Del.
Scott, E.,
R-Madison)
Solidifies
the widely successful local matching Revenue
Sharing Program at $50 million per year, up from
$15 million, to satisfy requests by localities for
matching funds.
Passed House:
95-0
HB
5082 (Del.
Wardrup,
R-Virginia
Beach)
Dedicates
an additional $60 million of state recordation tax
revenue each year to localities for transportation
purposes
and an additional $10 million each year to the
U.S. Route 58 Corridor Development Fund.
Passed
House: 68-27
HB
5086 (Del.
Cosgrove,
R-Chesapeake)
Requires
the CTB to impose tolls for the use of U.S. Route
17 in the City of Chesapeake. The
bill becomes
effective
upon concurrence and approval of the Federal
Highway Administration.
Passed
House: 84-12
HB
5092 (Del.
Wardrup,
R-Virginia
Beach)
Allocates
the $339 million in the Reserve Fund to specific
multi-modal transportation projects throughout the
Commonwealth, pursuant to language from the
current 2006-2008 state budget.
Passed
House: 80-13
HB
5095 (Del.
Hugo,
R-Fairfax)
Dedicates
Northern Virginia
’s share of the additional $60 million in
recordation taxes to be distributed to
localities
in the NVTD Program to match federal funds for
Metro.
Passed
House: 92-2
HB
5097 (Del.
Callahan,
R-Fairfax)
Dedicates
surplus revenues, after required payments to Rainy
Day Fund and Water Quality Improvement Fund, to
transportation and non-recurring capital projects.
Fifty percent of surpluses reserved for
each activity.
Passed
House: 91-3
HB
5098 (Del.
Callahan,
R-Fairfax)
Provides
for Nov. 2007 referendum on issuance of $1.5
billion in debt for transportation construction
projects within the National Highway System
statewide with dedicated debt service from auto
insurance premium funds. Also dedicates $20
million out of auto insurance premium revenue to
match federal funds for Metro.
Passed
House: 66-32
HB
5099 (Del.
Callahan,
R-Fairfax)
Appropriates
$70 million from unappropriated balances to fund
provisions in other transportation financing
package. Also
appropriates $23.9 million to fully fund a 3
percent teacher pay raise in FY 2008.
Passed
House: 92-3
For
more details about any bill listed above, please
contact the office of the delegate who patroned
the measure or click on the bill number, which is
linked to the General Assembly’s Legislative
Information Service.
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