From the Desk of Bob Marshall

The man who should be Speaker had this to say about the transportation session (including the abomination known as HB6055):

Can Virginia fix transportation without raising taxes? Yes, but unless you contact House of Delegates members before July 9 you may be facing higher taxes and fees, not just from Democrats who want higher auto, sales, real property and gas taxes, but from Republicans too!

 

Tax/fee increases are in the Republican Transportation Bill, H.B. 6055 pushed by Republican Speaker Bill Howell. 

 

The bill authorizes Northern Virginia counties and cities to increase the sales tax on home and commercial property sales (grantor’s tax) of an additional $0.40 cents per $100 of the sale price.  Last year the Assembly authorized No VA localities to impose an additional tax on commercial real estate of $0.25 per $100 for roads and transit.    

 

This tax can never be rescinded by the local governments as long as there is any outstanding debt for Northern Virginia projects funded by this tax!

 

While HB 6055 provides that funds raised in No. VA are to be spent only for No VA transportation projects, it may be diverted to other uses and areas of Virginia “as may be required by any other law.”   HB 6055 also adds $100 to the cost of a new driver’s license. 

 

Hampton Roads residents will pay $20 more for a registration fee and $20 more for inspection fees.  HB 6055 authorizes a real estate tax increase on all property of $0.10 cents per $100.   It diverts up to $250 million in yet to be collected taxes from business and individuals in the cargo container business to Hampton Roads transportation projects.

 

With Virginia families facing falling home prices, increased real property taxes, skyrocketing gas and food prices, an 18% electric rate hike for Dominion, a 6.4% monthly increase in natural gas prices, almost five decades of federal deficit spending, and a devalued dollar, the General Assembly should not raise taxes and fees. 

 

If we say yes to a tax increase again, what happens when the next “crisis” happens a few years from now?  Enough is enough.  Taxpayers are not bottomless ATM machines.

 

Rather than raise taxes, the legislature should support changing work schedules, use toll and fare supported transportation bonds, set up bio-fuel capture centers in Virginia, make state government more efficient and spend the savings on roads and transit.

 

Here are some practical non-tax transportation proposals:  

 

HJR 6007:  Lock up the Transportation Trust Fund so transportation dollars are not diverted for other means.  More than $1.2 Billion has been diverted has been diverted to non-transportation uses over the last 18 years. This must stop.

 

HB 6030:  Fund major transportation projects using bonds paid by tolls or rider fares, i.e., Hampton Roads Bridge tunnel expansion, I-81 truck improvements (trucks pay tolls),  Tri-County –Prince William-Fairfax-Loudoun– Connector, expand commuter rail in No VA to Haymarket, buy more Metro Subway rail cars, etc. 

 

HB 6049: Allow naming rights in exchange for corporations and individuals paying for building roads and other transportation projects, just as is done for stadiums and school buildings.

 

Implement the 2002 Wilder Commission efficiency recommendations that were projected to currently save $1.1 Billion annually without reducing services.

 

Allocate a greater portion of state revenue to transportation.  Out of a 2-year budget of roughly $79 Billion, surely a greater percent could be allocated for transportation.

 

HB 6031: Require all tractor trailers (VA and out of state) to pay for a per mile road maintenance and damage charge which is now passed on to other Virginia drivers.

 

HB 6032:  Set up a permanent state oversight Commission, similar to the federal cost cutting BRAC Commission, to evaluate whether state holdings should be sold, identify duplicate programs, and cut unnecessary overhead while maintaining the same level of services.

 

HJR 6011: Stop burning food!  Request a waiver from the federal ethanol mandate.  Ethanol results in less miles per gallon and increases food prices from diversion of food to fuel.  (Speaker Bill Howell publically announced I would have all of 30 seconds—literally–to present this measure to his Rules Committee!)

 

HJR 6008:  Assess methane resources now being wasted in Virginia which could be converted to fuel for cars/trucks.

 

Unfortunately, despite Rule 37 of the House of Delegates which provides that: “The Clerk shall, under the direction of the Speaker, refer all such original papers (i.e. bills) to the proper committee…”  Nearly all bills introduced into the special session that would reduce expenses and use the money saved for roads and transit have been referred to the House Rules Committee, Chaired by Speaker Bill Howell, so he can kill them. 

 

See http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?083+com+H20N01 for all bills referred to the House Rules committee for the special transportation session.  For Delegate Marshall’s bills see http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?083+mbr+H57C.

 

To find out how to contact your state delegate and senator (or learn who they are) go to:

http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

Cross-posted to Bloggers 4 Bob Marshall 4 Speaker

Day Four: Appalling (UPDATED)

Well, that didn’t take long.  Mere hours after my latest warning about what Bill Howell would do, Phillip Hamilton goes out and proves me right (Washington Post):

House Republican leaders are expected to move ahead today with a proposal to reestablish regional transportation plans in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, setting up a potential split within the GOP caucus.

Del. Phillip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News) said his proposal, which is expected to be embraced by the House leadership after it is heard by a committee today, will include a mix of state-imposed and locally enacted taxes, a concession for GOP leaders who previously had ruled out state-imposed taxes.

In Northern Virginia, the plan calls for a 2 percent rental car tax, a $5 a night hotel tax and a 40 cent grantors tax. There would also be a $100 initial vehicle registration fee. All of the money raised would stay in Northern Virginia to build roads.

“All along, we have said we are willing to address the regional components,” said Hamilton, noting all the new taxes in Hampton Roads would be state imposed.

Here we go again.

The bill itself (HB 6055, co-sponsored by Dave Albo) would do the following (read it and weep):

• Impose a rental car tax (2%) on Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads
• “Allow” localities in Northern Virginia to impose a grantor’s tax (0.4%), but once imposed, it can never be repealed so long as the NVTA is building something in the locality (and the NVTA gets all the dough)
• “Allow” localities in Northern Virginia to impose transient occupancy tax (2%), but once imposed, it can never be repealed so long as the NVTA is building something in the locality (and the NVTA gets all the dough)
• Allow localities in  Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to impose a real estate tax (0.25% in NoVA, 0.1% in HR)
• Any localities in Northern Virginia that refuse to impose the fees get no NVTA road projects (just like HB3202 last year, it puts a gun to the head of the localities)
• Allows all other localities with a population over 500,000 - or any jurisdiction bordering it, or any city with a population of 265,000 to impose a local income tax (pursuant to a referendum)

That’s just the taxes.  Get a load of where the money goes (besides for “transportation”).

• The NVTA can be “an advocate for the transportation needs of Northern Virginia before the state and federal governments,” in other words, they can use taxpayer money to lobby for more taxpayer money
• The funding in Hampton Roads will be determined by the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Organization (another appointed group).  In other words, Hampton Roads trades one regional government for another.

In short, Hamilton and Albo brought back HB3202 - and worse.

In response, Bill Howell sent it out of his Rules Committee and on to the floor by 10-5 vote (all eight Republicans back the monstrosity).

To make matters worse, Howell also had the Senate multi-tax disaster sent to the floor on an 11-4 vote (once again, all eight Republicans voted aye).

Meanwhile, all of Bob Marshall’s bills to reduce spending (and Jeff Frederick’s bill to download local roads) are still buried in committee.

Simply put, this is appalling.  Bill Howell has revealed himself to be a weak, cowardly, tax-hiking cipher (again).  If there was ever any doubt about the need for new leadership in the House of Delegates, that doubt is gone.

Cross-posted to Bloggers 4 Bob Marshall 4 Speaker

Bill Howell’s plans, and the GOP’s choice

The House of Delegates (or, to be more precise, the House Rules Committee) will take up the multifaceted tax increase (including the hidden, secret ones) passed by the Senate Democrats last night.  Odds are, the bill will die, which would be a good thing.  That’s not the end of the story though.

Amidst the whirl and rush over the Senate bill, people are beginning to notice that the House GOP has (publicly, at least) presented nothing.  As the session drags on, the calls for the House to show “leadership” will continue to grow.  I’d normally, start ripping MSM and the Democrats for this (they’ll be making said calls), but for my certain belief that Speaker Bill Howell has anticipated this all along - and is merely waiting to spring the return of HB3202 as his “compromise” solution.

Why do I say this?  Simple; every other option to fund transportation has been quietly killed by Speaker Howell.

To see what I mean, take a look at the bills presented by Delegate Bob Marshall (LIS).  He has a measure to implement the Wilder Commission’s recommendations for efficiencies in government (HJ 6061), a bill to find efficiencies in the Transportation Department (HB 6032), and one near and dear to my heart, a bill that closes the door on adding subdivision streets to the maintenance grid (HB 6041).  They all share two things in common: they can hold down the cost of government in order to enable existing transportation needs to be met, and they are all languishing in Bill Howell’s House Rules Committee.  Bills 6061 and 6041(the better two, IMHO) haven’t even made it to a Rules Committee docket.

In other words, Howell is buring any alternative to tax increases. To me, that’s simply more evidence that he has his own tax increase waiting in the wings.  I’m not alone either (DC Examiner):

(University of Mary Washington Professor Stephen J.) Farnsworth expected any compromise to be centered on a patch for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, the two regions that won millions of dollars in new transportation funding last year only to see the mechanism for collecting those taxes thrown out by the Virginia Supreme Court in February.

Lest anyone forget, none other than Attorney General and presumtive GOP gubernatorial nominee Bob McDonnell told the Washington Post, “I think the regional fixes are doable.”

So while the attention will be on the Senate bill today, I’m guessing the time will come when Howell will ask the Republican Delegates to swallow some form of tax increase.  Then the Delegates will have to ask themselves: Who is more important to them, their Speaker or their voters?

Cross-posted to Bloggers 4 Bob Marshall 4 Speaker

Welcome to the general election, Barry

The Audacity of Hype is has been getting a taste of what a real campaign is like (as opposed to the coronation MSM is insisting he’ll have).  It actually started last week, when he decided to come to Northern Virginia to bask in the adoration of the region’s lefties.

There was only one problem: Barry went to Bristow, which is in Bob Marshall country.  So he shouldn’t be too surprised about the underwhelming turnout (Virginia Virtucon) - Democrats have been imagining thousands of lefty voters in Marshall’s district for years, only see them disappear on Election Day.

Meanwhile, John McCain has fired what could (and should) be the line of the campaign (VV again):

Sen. Obama says that I’m running for a Bush’s third terms.  It seems to me he’s running for Jimmy Carter’s second.

Nicely done, John; nicely done.

Why the Virginia Republican convention MAY matter

I always write with trepidation when I have to differ with Jim Bowden, even slightly (as is the case here), but here goes.

Jim has a blog post on the GOP Convention, and why it matters in his view:

The nomination of Gov. Jim Gilmore as candidate for the U.S. Senate and the election of Del. Jeff Frederick to Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia may not seem really revolutionary. Yet, it is as clear a choice, not an echo, as what candidate Ronald Reagan presented to The People in 1980. It ‘s as sharp a contrast of solutions as Newt Gingrich contracted with America in 1994. It’s the important issues to citizens that Jim Gilmore defined in ‘No Car Tax’ and Jeff Frederick defended against HB 3202 with its punishing taxes and unconstitutional regional governments. It’s all based on a shared and uncompromising, unapologetic, unsurpassed understanding of Conservative principles.

I’d love to agree with this; I really would, but I can’t - at least, not yet.

It’s in Jim’s next paragraph that the reason why I’m holding back is revealed:

It’s the end of politicians running on the Virginia Republican Creed and governing as tax and spend Democrats. It’s the end of Republican tax hikes. It’s the end of Republican special interest spending – like Congressional pork fat-filled earmarks. It’s the restoration of the brand label “Republican” to provide a “Republican” product. Republican will mean Conservative in content as well as limited-government Libertarian in fact. It’s making elected Republicans accountable to all Virginians through the Republican Party. It’s about trust.

Will it really be “the end of Republican tax hikes”?  From what I hear, we’ll see another one of those in this month’s special session on transportation.  However, the special session itself could be the moment that ratifies everything Jim has written - if Frederick and Gilmore are prepared to stop a tax hike.

This may seem odd to ask Gilmore - a candidate for federal office - to stop a state tax hike, but his would-be predecessor (John Warner) has always been willing to stick his neck out for tax increases (he backed both the tax referenda of 2002 and the hideous HB3202 last year).  So Gilmore certainly has a precedent for speaking out.  Moreover, given that Bob Marshall will be fighting all tax increases in the House of Delegates, Gilmore - by joining him- can make it clear to all Virginians that the tax-hikers in the GOP are the exception, rather than the rule.

As RPV Chairman, Jeff Frederick can have an even greater impact.  Much as GOP unit chairmen can have an influence on Supervisors, Frederick can have at least some sway with the delegates.  He can certainly make it clear that the party is shifting in a low-tax direction, away from Howell et al.

If Gilmore and Frederick are ready to take a risk and cross swords with Howell and his ilk (perhaps they could even consider backing a change in leadership), then the convention that nominated them can indeed be the epochal moment Jim thinks it is.

However, if they stay silent in the face of higher taxes (or worse, meekly sign on), then all of the momentum from Frederick’s win will be lost, and Gilmore will be in big trouble (if he actually backs a tax hike, he’ll get deservedly waxed in November).

We will see what happens over the summer, which will certainly  be a pivotal moment for all Virginia Republicans.

Another original Gilmore bloggers supports Bob Marshall for Speaker

Just last week, I launched the Bloggers 4 Bob Marshall 4 Speaker blog.  I was pleased to see (and note) that at least one blogger who was a longtime supporter of Jim Gilmore’s senate campaign (Jim Bowden) had signed on.

Well, today, none other than Spank That Donkey - the lead Gilmore blogger for nearly a year - has signed up for the campaign for Change in Richmond.

Welcome, STD!

A new Marshall Blog

Some of us who supported Bob Marshall for the Senate nomination (and at least one who did not) are launching a new effort to bring badly needed change to the Virginia House leadership.  Here’s why we think Bob Marshall can bring that change.

Where we go from here

In what was one of the closest convention votes I’ve ever seen, Jim Gilmore defeated Bob Marshall by less than 1%.  On the plus side, Jeff Frederick was elected Chairman by an undisclosed landslide.

I’ll have more on the nominee in a later post, but for now, I want to look at the roles the defeated candidate and the victorious Chairman can have on next month’s special session.

As I’ve discussed earlier, both the Democratic Governor and the Republican establishment are looking to raise taxes.  Marshall was going to be a leading opponent of tax hikes before today’s vote, but as the guy who came within an eyelash of beating Jim Gilmore, his words will have far more impact.  This is especially true if Chairman Frederick will join him in demanding fellow Republicans stop voting for tax increases of any kind.

For those of us who supported Marshall, this is the next fight.  We must take all our energy, our strength in numbers, and our goodwill from this convention, and aim it squarely at Bill Howell and Bill Bolling (as well as, if he joins them in their tax-hike agenda, Bob McDonnell).  How many Delegates will be so willing to cross Bob now, given the support he garnered across the state?

This is not up to Marshall; he will be the happy anti-tax-hike warrior he has always been; this is up to us.  We have to stand with Bob Marshall in this special session, and let our Delegates know that we stand with him and we expect them to stand with him, too.

We may not have nominated a Senator, but if we hold together, we may just stop a tax increase.

My choices at the convention (shouldn’t be surprising by now)

Tomorrow morning, I will drive down to Richmond to participate in the Virginia Republican convention.  It will be my first in fourteen years, and I’m looking forward to see old friends, including many in the blogosphere.

For those readers who will join me, but are still unsure as for whom they will vote, I will offer one more post on behalf on my choices: Bob Marshall for Senate and Jeff Frederick for Party Chairman.

I’ll start with the Senate race.

Marshall is the only candidate with legislative experience: He has been a legislator for seventeen years, which means he knows how to get good legislation through and - far more importantly - how to stop bad legislation cold.  No one else in the race (in either party) has that, and given the likely reduced minority of the Senate Republican caucus, we need someone who will know how to maneuver the legislative labyrinth on Day One.

Marshall is the candidate with the consistent position on Iraq: He has held true to his position and refused to abandon the war.  He has called for greater Iraai participation in their own liberation, and recent events have shown (in Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul) that the Iraqis are doing so, but only because they know the United States will not abandon them.  Only Bob Marshall has steadfastly refused to throw the President and the Iraqi people under the bus.

Marshall is the only candidate who opposes amnesty, that’s why Tom Tancredo endorsed him.

Marshall is the better candidate on taxes and spending: It takes quite an effort to be better on these issues than Jim Gilmore, but Marshall has pulled it off.  Gilmore is best known for the last tax revolt of the 20th Century, but Marshall is best known for leading the first tax revolt of the 21st Century.  Given the fact that these issues will once again be front-and-center during the special session this summer, Marshall will be able to endear himself to taxpayers and independents (since both partiy establishments prefer tax hikes) in a way no one else can.

Marshall has won in Northern Virginia: Since 1991 (the first year Marshall ran for Delegate in Prince William County), no Republican has won more elections in Northern Virginia than Bob Marshall (although Tom Davis and Frank Wolf have won more often if we include the 1980s).  He has been elected in re-elected in good Republican years (1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, and 2001), iffy ones (1995 and 2003), and downright awful ones (2005 and 2007).  Voters up there know him already, and those who admire him won’t be swayed by whatever the Democrats try to throw at him.

Marshall is the pro-life candidate: As much as I have insisted the GOP can’t win elections with only social conservatives, they can’t win without them either.  Marshall appeals to the base in a way no one else can - something vitally important in a year when said base needs motivation - badly.

All of these reasons also add up to one more: Marshall is the only candidate who can beat Mark Warner.  Will it be easy?  Heck no, but it will be possible - and much more possible than conventional wisdom holds (remember, that would be the same conventional wisdom that gave Marshall no chance at being nominated).

As for the Chairman’s race, here’s why I support Frederick.

We desperately need a change.  Over the last four years, the Republican Party of Virginia has become Tax-Hiking Party B.  We have become indistinguishable from the Democrats on economic issues, and we’ve been hemorrhaging votes and seats ever since.  It is no coincidence that all of our losses in 2007 were concentrated in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, the two areas that suffered under the HB3202 debacle.

We must become the party of lower taxes and limited government, and we need to start now.  The upcoming special session is the perfect opportunity for RPV to start repairing the damage of the last few years, but it won’t happen unless we have a Chairman that undersatnds the damage that has been done.  Only Jeff Frederick realizes that the party has lost its way.  Unless he wins, the party will continue to defer to Bill Howell, Walter Stosch, Ken Stolle, and all of the legislative “leaders” who have brought us to this point.  We cannot allow that to happen.

We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

National Review publisher backs Bob Marshall (UPDATED)

Jack Fowler, publisher of National Review, had this to say about our little Senate race in a Comment on Jim Bowden’s blog:

I am the publisher of National Review, so I believe I have some conservative credentials. And a long time ago I was a member of the Spotsylvania Republican Party.

That said, I support Bob Marshall as THE conservative candidate, and I have put my money where my mouth is. Go Bob!

Indeed, the record shows he gave $250 to Bob’s campaign.  Many thanks, Jack!

UPDATE: Here’s what Fowler said on NRO’s Corner Blog:

Former Governor Jim Gilmore and State Delegate Bob Marshall battle it out at the state GOP convention in Richmond – the winner gets to take on Dem Mark Warner to replace U.S. Senator John Warner. Gilmore is in the role of Goliath, but Underdog Bob is pretty accomplished with the political sling and the policy rock. He’s principled, pro-life, and populist (while Tom Davis and his brand of Republicans have been sucking wind in northern Va., the election day numbers for Bob, who represents Manassas, have been growing annually). He’s also a very deft legislator / politician. F’reggzample: from Day One he fought the crazy, voter-detested “Abusive Driver” tax legislation, and after it passed (over his diligent efforts), Bob led the legal fight to kill it (the VA Supreme Court declared the scheme unconstitutional this February).

What’s the support of National Review’s publisher worth? Yes, a club soda on an NR cruise. But whatever its worth, I hope it helps: I’m backing Bob Marshall, and I hope to heck he wins tomorrow and in November to become the Commonwealth’s next senator.

Cross-posted to Bloggers 4 Bob Marshall