A group of anti-tax activists have filed a lawsuit in Richmond Circuit Court challenging pretty much every aspect of the state’s transportation plan, from the abuser fees to the Transportation Authorities that were established in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads:
A group of prominent conservatives and anti-tax activists, including a Northern Virginia legislator and a former Virginia GOP chairman, has challenged the constitutionality of the state’s landmark transportation plan, including its high fees for egregious driving offenses.
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The group’s lawsuit, filed Monday in circuit court in Richmond, goes beyond the driver fees, arguing that many of the major sources of revenue for the $1 billion-a-year-plan violate either the U.S. Constitution or Virginia’s.
Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that regional transportation authorities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads should not be permitted to assess taxes and fees, as lawmakers allowed in the bill. Last month, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority approved $300 million a year in new spending financed by regional tax increases.
The lawsuit also said that $3 billion in statewide road bonds should not be issued without approval from state voters. It also says developers should not be forced to pay new “impact fees” for roads and other transportation improvements.
And right at the center of this fight is one of Prince William County’s own:
Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) is among the 18 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed by former state Republican Party chairman Patrick M. McSweeney. Five years ago, Marshall and McSweeney were part of a group that filed a similar lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a proposed transportation sales-tax referendum.
McSweeney, a Richmond lawyer, submitted a separate court challenge Monday in Arlington County challenging the powers of the NVTA.
Marshall, who voted against the legislation in April, said yesterday that he has twice asked Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R) for formal opinions on the transportation plan, which was approved to pump more money into the state’s aging transportation system. Marshall said he has not received an opinion.
It will be interesting to watch this case make it’s way through the legal system, along with all the other challenges to the transportation plan. While it’s true that the Virginia Supreme Court has traditionally been reluctant to overturn legislative decisions like this, the lawsuit itself is also a political weapon in what is clearly an on going battle to undo the mistakes of January.
