Bacon's Rebellion

The House of Delegates may have killed legislation to clean up air pollution earlier today, but the House leadership has put forth a plan to put more money into cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. According to a press release from the Speaker’s office:

Virginia House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) today announced a major financial commitment – $50 million annually for the next 10 years – to the Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF). It would be the largest infusion of dollars to the WQIF since its inception in 1997. House Republicans will include an amendment to the 2004-2006 Budget that will dedicate $50 million from general funds to the WQIF, with priority being given to those “point source” water and waste-water treatment plants whose current discharges most exceed proposed environmental regulations to ensure that the worst dischargers will be cleaned-up first.



Fifty million bucks a year — that ain’t chopped liver. Let’s see how the state Senate and the Governor’s office handle this one!

Voting 17-5 this morning, a House of Delegates committee killed legislation that would have required the owners of 15 coal fired power plants in Virginia to drastically reduce emissions. EPA studies indicate that power plant emissions are responsible for 1000 deaths, 140,000 lost work days and 23,700 asthma attacks annually in Virginia, according to reports by the Associated Press. The power companies in Virginia are already facing EPA emissions reductions not as stringent as those proposed by Delegate Jack Reid (R-Henrico). Tommy Hudson, president of the Virginia Coal Association, said passage of Reid’s bill would put 6.5 million tons of coal and 1000 Virginia jobs at risk, resulting in devastating economic consequences for southwest Virginia.

In an otherwise predictable Washington Post editorial skewering of the Republican House of Delegates car tax proposal is this surprising line:

There’s a fair argument to be had about how much of this year’s unanticipated revenue to spend, return to taxpayers or put in reserve.

The Danville Register & Bee reports that SB 893, sponsored by Sen. Charles Hawkins, R-Pittsylvania, was unanimously passed by the Senate Committee on Local Government. The measure calls for a meeting in Southside to discuss rural economic development and formulate a strategic plan.

There was no mention in the article of “Virginia Works,” Gov. Warner’s plan for Southside. I hope there’s some coordination.

When Governing Magazine gave Virginia all A’s in its survey of state performance, it certainly did not support my contention that Virginia’s government could be more efficient. Barnie Day was probably too polite to mention this in our recent discussion.

Well, along comes Norman Leahy of One Man’s Trash to remind us of the Virginia report card filled out by “Professor” Doug Wilder and the Wilder Commission. Not many Wilder Commission recommendations were implemented, so it’s probably safe to say that Mayor/Professor Wilder might continue to grade a little tougher than the magazine and give me at least a crumb of sustenance as I tilt at windmills.

To date, 865 budget amendments have been filed by members of the House of Delegates during this session of the Virginia General Assembly. Requests for new spending total $3,861,517,482. Requests for spending cuts total $16,907,129. Do the math. The net new spending requests in this biennial total $3,844,610,353. Keep in mind that this total is for House budget amendments only. They do not include Senate budget amendments nor the fiscal impacts found in a couple thousand bills that have been filed.

Without any notice and without giving commuters a hearing in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), an unelected and unaccounted body, is scheduled to raise tolls from 50 to 75 cents at the main plaza and 35 to 50 cents at each exit on Feb. 16-17. This increase wil ostensibly finance the Dulles Rail project–which will not be built to Reston until 2011 at the earliest and which will not take cars off the roads to ease congestion. The new fares could be in effect as early as spring!

This means that for those who use the Toll Road every work day, their annual costs will jump from $204 to $400… Add that to the price of gasoline and tolls for the Greenway, and suddenly, Virginia is more than doublinng Northern Virginia’s commuters costs to get to work–but is providing nothing in return.

At least the Greenway, which is a private toll road, held hearings in Loudoun County on its fare increase in 2003. The same should apply to the Toll Road controlled by the State. The Toll Road was financed by the taxpayers of Virginia, who were promised that the tolls would be lifted once the road is paid off. Instead, tolls could eventually go to $2.25 each way to pay for Dulles Rail!

Commonwealth Conservative has a good round-up of coverage on the burgeoning state “surplus.” The comments section shows us that the various political positions don’t really even agree on what the surplus is.

… pretty soon it adds up to real savings.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has developed a teleconferencing capability as a tool to cut down on the expense of VDOT officials traveling to Richmond for meetings all the time. According to a recent communication I received from Commissioner Philip Shucet, the state has spent $1.025 million on teleconferencing technology since 2001. VDOT “conservatively” estimates a savings of $10.475 million in avoided travel and time costs. That’s a 10 to 1 ratio. Not bad.

Better things are to come. That $1.025 million includes significant upgrades only now being put into place to improve coverage as well as the quality of the video and sound equipment. Shucet may be in charge of building and maintaining roads, but he also believes that any rational transportation strategy includes implementing alternatives to using the roads.

There has been some discussion on this blog regarding the potential for squeezing more efficiency out of state government. If VDOT can save money through teleconferencing, so can most other state agencies. And teleconferencing is only one idea of many.

by Will Vehrs

Will Car Tax Can the Comity?



Back in December, Gordon Morse worried in the Daily Press that that the Governor and General Assembly might be too “lovey-dovey.”

Just last week, Virginian-Pilot columnist Margaret Edds noted that “camaraderie reigns” and wondered, “Can the good will last?”

After House Republicans unveiled a new plan for ending the car tax, the answer, Margaret, is “No.”

The car tax sets teeth on edge like no other issue and Gordon Morse was the first major pundit to signal, albeit indirectly, that the comity is dead. In the Washington Post, Morse wrote, “The folks pushing this deal don’t give a hoot about the numbers so long as they can once more sing ‘end the car tax’ into November.” Questioning the motives of your opponents is guaranteed to interrupt any tranquility that has taken hold in the General Assembly. More.

by Nikki Rovner and Mary Heinricht

Development is rapidly consuming Virginia’s farmland and forests. The Commonwealth needs to invest more in preservation of open space.

“It shall be the Commonwealth’s policy to protect its atmosphere, lands and waters from pollution, impairment or destruction for the benefit, enjoyment and general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth.”

–Article XI, Constitution of Virginia

Experts predict that if current trends continue, over the next 25 years Virginia will develop an area equal to that developed since the Commonwealth was settled by Europeans. The rate of loss is accelerating and is now more than two times faster than our population growth. Vitally important resources like prime farmlands are being lost at the greatest rate, with forestland loss close behind. More.

by Michael Thompson



The General Assembly is considering several bills that would improve the efficiency of state government. We’ll find out soon how serious legislators are about getting them passed.

This year’s session of the General Assembly, with a little luck, will continue moving Virginia toward the formation of a better, more accountable and more business-like state government. We’ll know a lot more in a few weeks when this year’s session ends. Right now there is lot to be excited about. More.

by Steven Sisson



The Blue Dog walks Chap Petersen and Leslie Byrne through the burning issues of the day, from transportation funding to state budge surpluses.

Del. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, and former state senator Leslie Byrne, both mounting candidacies for the Democratic nomination to run for lieutenant governor in the fall, recently interviewed with the Blue Dog about their prospective campaigns. More.

by Steven Sisson



Stop whining. If Tim Kaine is raising big bucks from out-of-state contributors, go out and find your own money. Or fix the campaign finance law.



It’s big news in the state. Tim Kaine is the “Five Million Dollar Man.”

Rumors had been floating around about a huge contribution windfall earmarked for Kaine’s gubernatorial campaign, which is looking more and more like the frontrunner in the race.

Contribution-wise, that is. More.

by Phillip Rodokanakis



State senator Russ Potts… for his memorable portrayal as a tax-and-spend liberal in the 2004 legislature, when he proposed $2 billion in new state spending.

Ronald Reagan is universally given credit for having reincarnated the conservative wing of the Republican Party. Unfortunately, a lot of he what he stood for is being widely ignored by a number of current Republican office holders. This is particularly true in the Virginia State Senate where the tax-and-spend Republicans outnumber the few fiscal conservative Senators by about 18 to six. More.