Transportation special session will likely be bumpy

By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: March 11, 2008

I got a taste of the upcoming road battle in the General Assembly.

Unable to fix last year’s transportation plan that has unraveled over the past 8 months, the General Assembly left transportation on the table at the end of this session. Governor Kaine told me today, he will call a special session for later this year to address only our roads. It’s the first time we’ve seen a transportation-only special session since the 1980’s, which was also the last time our leaders truly tackled and fixed our road problems.

The core debate is over how to pay for easing congestion in NOVA and the Hampton Roads areas while also maintaining our roads across the commonwealth. Today, Kaine left open the option of a tax increase. When I asked him about possibly raising the gas tax, Kaine said, “There are all kinds of ideas on the table and nothing should be off the table.”

And that’s where the special session will hit a roadblock. While Kaine and the Senate Democrats seem to be open to, if not embracing some type of tax increase, House Republicans are NOT. I really can’t state that more emphatically. There is little support, if any in the House and among Senate Republicans for any type of tax increase. This is particularly true of a gas tax increase.

So, the special session about our roads will likely be just as much about taxes. Buckle in, this could be a bumpy ride.