Why has it been difficult to pass laws regarding transportation? Like Minnesota, Virginia has also faced difficulties in how to budget the money for transportation. Improving transportation seems to be causing the General Assembly much debate. Should Virginia impose more taxes to meet the transportation needs of the state? Governor Timothy M. Kaine believes they should. He is asking the legislature for a $1 billion increase in taxes to do just this. While he’s not pushing PRT’s in his state, he has ambitious goals to improve roads and bridges, eliminate congestion, and expand hurricane escape routes.
Unfortunately, the track record for this kind of tax increase is not a good one. Since 2003, Virginia has denied 62 bills for a sales tax increase, eight bills to raise the car sales tax, and two attempts to increase grantor’s tax on home sellers.
Other tax increases initiated by legislators in Virginia have not been successful either. The attempt to raise the gas tax has been rejected 31 times since 2003, and the eight bills to raise the recordation tax paid when a new home is being built have been turned down as well. The GOP leaders adamantly oppose these new taxes, and most of these bills have died in the House of Delegates.
a.
it would cause too much of a tax increase
c.
they don’t have enough money to fund it
b.
people disagree on whether or not there should be PRT’s
d.
budgeting the transportation allocated funds