Last night, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority met in Falls Church and approved $ 300 million in new taxes for residents of Northern Virginia:
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority last night passed the largest increase in transportation-spending in a generation, approving $300 million a year in new expenditures funded by a set of regional tax increases.
But even those who voted in favor did so without enthusiasm, saying they were raising local taxes to make up for the shortcomings of state government.
“The pain of acting is immediate; the pain of failing to act is in the future,” said Chris Zimmerman (D), chairman of the authority and an Arlington County Board member.
“Today’s problems, bad as they are, are nothing compared to the future,” Zimmerman said. “Congestion, pollution, degradation of quality of life would be worse if we failed to act now.”
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) praised the approval of the regional tax increases. The vote “reflects the bipartisan consensus of this region’s leadership to address this longstanding set of transportation challenges,” he said in a statement.
Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, also praised the vote.
“Politics is the art of the possible, and at the end of the day, we have to make tough choices,” Connolly said. “I choose to act.”
Opposing the plan, which included seven votes on revenue measures, were Loudoun County’s representative, Scott K. York (I), and Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R-Prince William). Frederick opposed all seven measures, and York voted no on five, approving increases in rental car and hotel taxes.
In the meantime, at least one Virginia politician thinks that the NVTA might be illegal:
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority last night passed a package of local taxes and fees that could generate $300 million a year for road and rail projects, despite public challenges on whether the board has the legal power to do so.
State Republican lawmakers have led the challenge, saying the 16 members from across the region are mostly elected officials but were appointed to the board, not elected to it.
“There are some clear provisions in the state constitution that the [authority] has to overcome,” said Delegate Robert G. Marshall, Prince William Republican. “Only governing bodies can levy a tax, and the [authority] is not one.”
Marshall is encouraging Loudoun County to lead a legal challenge to the authority, and he just might be right.
July 13th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
[...] Note that Below The Beltway is tracking this issue too (here). [...]