Virginia House Democrats threw another curve into the special session by proposing an amendment to SB6009S1 that would take out the gas tax hike (Fred2Blue). The Dems would keep everything else in the Senate Bill - which would be a hike in the auto and sales tax statewide plus the regional tax hikes for Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Fredericksburg, and Richmond. Oddly enough, there’s no mention of the SWAC area, which would qualify for a regional tax hike under the 8.5 million daily vehicle miles traveled requirement (see last page of the details).
More importantly, the amendment has Saslaw’s backing (F2B):
This is a step forward. This action will bring us closer to a real transportation solution. If the House Republican leadership is serious about addressing our transportation needs, they will allow this bill to be debated, amended and voted on.
You know what scares me the most? This line: “This action will bring us closer to a real transportation solution.” That sounds like Saslaw is opening the door to working it out with Howell. Given how much flak Howell is taking over HB6055 (this is just the latest), he might just decide to hold off any votes and cut a deal, in which case, we’re up the creek.
Of course, if we had a real leader in the House who made clear that no tax increases were acceptable, we wouldn’t be in such dire straits in the first place.
Cross-posted to Bloggers 4 Bob Marshall 4 Speaker
July 8, 2008 at 10:29 pm |
[...] Senate Democratic bill is awaiting a vote on the House floor; it was the House Democrats that have driven stake through its heart (though, to be fair, that was after Fisher wrote the column). More to the point, the House [...]
July 9, 2008 at 5:10 pm |
[...] goes SB6009S1 By a vote of 59-39, the House rejects the state auto tax hike/sales tax hike/regional tax hikes for Nova, HR, Fredericksburg, and Richmond [...]