Gov. Timothy M. Kaine stood with members of the House and Senate Thursday and released his proposed transportation legislation to be considered during the upcoming special session of the General Assembly.

Kaine’s legislation will provide much-needed funding for our growing highway maintenance needs; fund congestion relief in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads; and invest in more innovative, energy-efficient transportation solutions.

“Since January of 2006, I have worked closely with the General Assembly to improve the coordination of transportation and land use, to provide needed funding and budget reforms to how we spend transportation dollars, and to improve accountability and efficiency at VDOT and the other transportation agencies,” says Kaine. “The legislation I am introducing will continue those reforms and provide funding to sustain and improve Virginia’s critical transportation infrastructure.”

Kaine was joined at the announcement by Del. Ward Armstrong, who will patron the bill in the House, Sen. Charles Colgan, and other members of the House and Senate.

“In May, the governor presented his proposal for a comprehensive statewide solution to Virginia's transportation crisis. Over the past weeks he has worked with legislators and leaders from around the state to incorporate new ideas and address concerns," says Armstrong. "I'm hopeful that our colleagues in the General Assembly will take this crisis seriously and come together on a transportation solution now."

“Clearly there is a need for an adequate transportation solution,” says Colgan. “That’s why the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, among many others, unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the General Assembly to adequately fund the transportation and transit needs of the state.”

Kaine has held nine town hall meetings across the Commonwealth over the last six weeks to talk to Virginians about his transportation plan. The tenth and final meeting is Thursday night in Fredericksburg. The Governor’s bill includes the same basic structure and revenue streams that he first announced on May 12, but also includes more detailed proposals to improve land use and transportation planning, to employ innovative technology to reduce congestion, and to invest in mass transit.

The Governor’s bill:

- Incentivizes more efficient land use patterns by providing dedicated funding for transportation improvements in urban development areas.

- Provides start-up grant funding to increase passenger rail service through the Transportation Change Fund.

- Clarifies local government flexibility to use secondary and urban road funding for transit projects.

- Provides incentives for cities and towns to take responsibility for their road construction programs.

- Provides funds for innovative public-private technology projects to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion on existing roads.

Kaine’s bill addresses the highway maintenance deficit, increasing local road construction funding and restoring support for construction projects statewide; invests in targeted projects to reduce traffic congestion in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads; and creates a Transportation Change Fund.

The Transportation Change Fund will increase investment in transit, rail, and innovative solutions to reduce traffic congestion, like expanded ridesharing. The fund also makes dollars available for transportation projects to support economic development through aviation, port, and innovative highway investments.

Kaine’s bill:

- Increases the existing statewide motor vehicles sales tax from three percent to four percent with a ½ percent increase in January 2009 and another ½ percent in July 2009, and dedicates all motor vehicle sales tax funds to maintenance.

- Increases the statewide annual vehicle registration fee by $10 and dedicates those funds to maintenance.

- Increases the retail sales tax in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads by one percent (excluding food and drugs) for targeted projects, dedicating the funds to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, consistent with current law, and to seven regional projects in Hampton Roads, including the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, with the regional revenues to be held by a trustee in the region.

- Abolishes the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority.

- Increases the statewide grantor’s tax by 25 cents, dedicating the funds to the Transportation Change Fund.

Consistent with past proposals, all funds that the Governor proposes for transportation include a lockbox mechanism, specifying that the fund shall expire if it is used for any purpose other than transportation.

To read more about Kaine's proposed legislation and to see the distribution of funding for the next six years, please visit the links below this story.

The following localities have passed resolutions urging the General Assembly to pass a statewide, sustainable transportation plan:

Cities

Alexandria
Bristol
Buena Vista
Charlottesville
Falls Church
Galax
Harrisonburg
Hopewell
Newport News
Portsmouth
Richmond

Counties

Albemarle
Arlington
Augusta
Bath
Buchanan
Buckingham
Clarke
Essex
Floyd
Greene
Greensville
Isle of Wight
King George
Lee
Loudoun
Mecklenburg
Montgomery
Nelson
Northumberland
Page
Powhatan
Prince William
Roanoke
Rockingham
Shenandoah
Washington
Wise
Wythe
York

Towns

Christiansburg
Farmville
Leesburg
Middleburg
Quantico
Vienna
Wytheville

Organizations

Virginia Municipal League
Virginia Association of Counties
Virginia First Cities