Issue Position: Transportation

Issue Position

The links below take you to charts, commentaries, and testimony I've prepared* related to Transportation. They are in order of relevance to understanding the problem rather than by date. (*Unless otherwise credited)

STATE TRANSPORTATION FUNDS

1. The gap between transportation needs and funding has gotten worse since I developed this Basic Gas Tax Revenue Chart in 2001 to answer legislators' objections to passing my bill (HB1984) to raise the gas tax. It'd look the same today, only the gap would be much wider. Note: The representation of NEED does not include growth in transit use. (See also: State Sources of Transportation Revenue 03-08 for an update on changes in state transportation revenue.)

2. Since Virginia last increased transportation funding in 1986, Demand Up Supply Down since 1986 shows the growth through 2004 in traffic (71%), transit riders (58%), car ownership (53%), licensed drivers (34%), population (28%), and expanded road capacity (7%). (Chart reflects statewide growth and was prepared by Fairfax County.)

3. The cost of highway and street construction rose 89.1% between 1986 and 2006.

(Source: U.S. Department of Labor's Producer Price Index for Highway and Street Construction. The 40% in Fairfax County's chart above is the general Consumer Price Index) Click here for a discussion of essential investments that must be made for an effective, safe transit system.

WHAT NORTHERN VIRGINIA GETS

4. If funds were available, Northern Virginia would get approximately 25% of the money spent on state construction and transit. We have approximately 27% of the state population. Over half of the share we get for construction grows with annual population growth. While Northern Virginia contributes over 43% of the general funds used for other state spending, we pay about 30% of transportation revenues.

5. Currently, we are getting no state road construction money for anything but Interstate (90% federal funding) and HOT Lanes (Private Funding of HOT Lanes / State Funding of bridge replacements and HOV ramp from I-95).

6. Besides not having increased state funding in 22 years, maintenance is being taken away from construction. Here is a technical discussion of Maintenance Funding that lays out why we must have a State Constitutional Amendment to prohibit maintenance funds from being taken from the construction fund (TTF) and why payments to cities for maintenance should be tied to what is spent by VDOT to maintain streets and roads in the counties. See also 2004 House Floor Speech and 2004 budget amendment.

7. My 2007 Newsletter discusses Northern Virginia getting our fair share for transportation. See also floor remarks on Fair Share for Northern Virginia.

INACTION

8. In My 2008 Newsletter, I reflect on the futility of repeated "easy" fixes and include the following observation that I wrote in December 2005:

"If nothing is done to increase state transportation revenues, the only projects will be those initiated by the private sector or the federal government (although we will soon run out of funds to pay the required state match.) I believe continuing down this path puts too much focus on mega projects and takes more and more control away from state and local decisions." See community HOT Lane concerns

My 2005 Newsletter (pages 1-2) lays out the need for sustained funding year after year on pages 1 and 2.

My 2006 Newsletter features the crisis of inaction.

My 2007 Newsletter discusses the inadequacies of what was supposed to be a comprehensive fix but was later unanimously declared un-constitutional by the Virginia Supreme Court.

9. Much of my advice to Governor Kaine upon taking office in 2005 from the perspective of being Secretary of Transportation during the 1986 Special Transportation Session still applies to achieving success in 2010. See also Transportation Commission Testimony.

10. As I observed in a "Close to Home" piece for the Washington Post, the politics of transportation funding are unique but elected officials must get on with the hard business of governing.

BACKGROUND

As a delegate in 1985, my work was key to changing the highway funding formula to more than double Fairfax's share of state funds. As Secretary, among other achievements, I increased Metro funding 4-fold, forged 80% private funding to improve 16 miles of Rt 28, negotiated VRE use of railroad right of way, crafted the private toll road legislation for the Greenway, and chaired development of the first Northern Virginia unified land use and transportation plan. These landmark initiatives continue to be models for most of the current "new" ideas to solve transportation problems.

In 2005, I supported the use of the budget surplus funds to fund transportation; however, most of this money had to go to pay off the debt from the last administration. Even worse, because we've run out of maintenance funds, Northern Virginia transit and construction funds are now diverted to fix potholes throughout the state.

If transportation had continued to be funded at the level established when I was Secretary under Governor Baliles, Virginia would have spent over $3.5 billion more from 1995 to 2005 on transit and road improvements, making congestion substantially less than it is today

INCREASED SHARE
The formula I helped get passed in 1985, automatically increases funding for local secondary roads with annual population growth. The formula I got passed as Secretary dedicates 15% of all construction funds to transit. I continue to push to change the formula for regional primary roads.

Despite bi-partisan co-sponsors when my formula change didn't include a gas tax increase, I lost HB2194 in 2009 and similar bills in 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002. All of these bills would have doubled funding for Northern Virginia primary roads (ie, Rt 123, Rt 236, and Rt 50) by tying the funding to the number of vehicles miles traveled per lane mile. I refer to this as the "congestion factor."

I did a bill passed in 2002 (HB771) to ensure that Northern Virginia's needs are fairly considered on an even playing field. It requires that transportation priorities be established using the same criteria statewide and that transit and road needs be considered side by side.

PROTECTING SCARCE TRANSPORTATION DOLLARS
I am not only fighting for increased funding, I believe it is crucial to prevent transportation dollars from being siphoned-off to fund other needs. I co-patroned HJ527 in 2005 to protect all transportation funds through a constitutional amendment. I also patroned budget amendments in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 to stop Northern Virginia construction and transit funds from being used to fund maintenance statewide. Maintenance Funding

COORDINATING TRANSPORTATION AND LAND USE
In 2007, we passed measures to tie land use more closely with owners paying for the transportation impact of new development. The effect of these new tools will depend on local governments having the discipline and sophistication to avoid court challenges if they divert funds or make inconsistent zoning decisions. As Secretary, I chaired a year-long, unprecedented regional effort of top local officials, staff, and citizens that brought land use and transportation plans together for the first time to create a coordinated Northern Virginia Transportation Plan. I fully support the 2020 update of that plan, which includes a transit corridor between Springfield and Tysons Corner and rail out I-66.

REFORMING VIRGINIA'S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

In August 2010, an audit reported on monies VDOT hadn't spent -- mostly out of un-certainty about the economy which led to a 6 month reserve rather than 3 month. By December, the spurt in spending had all been put to contract. For more details here's a one page fact sheet to help you understand what the audit really said -- yes, I read all 137 pages! VDOT Audit Fact Sheet

Over the last decade (1999-2009), we have had 8 separate audits of VDOT. As Secretary, I cut construction time by 20% and increased employee efficiency by over 30%. However, after a decade of increasingly poor performance during the 1990's, it was crucial that reform efforts begun by Governor Warner in 2002 were continued. We now have accurate reporting of on time and on budget performance rather than politically convenient promises. In 2002, fully 1/3 of the projects that had been promised in the next 6 years by the previous Governor had to be cut because funds never had existed to fund them.

In 2003, I was pleased to be the chief co-sponsor of legislation (HB2259) to put changes into law to plug prior abuses and allow us to hold VDOT accountable for on-time and on-budget performance. Part of this financial management reform can be found by going to dashboard.virginiadot.org. These reforms have produced over 80% on-time, on-budget performance year after year.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR
I believe in finding win/win opportunities to make business full partners in funding their needs. 80% of the cost of widening 16 miles of Rt 28 from 2 lanes was paid for by a tax on business property that I negotiated. Phase 2 to build additional grade-separated interchanges was approved in 2008. This is the finance model that is part of extending rail to Dulles, supplemented by federal funding and by Dulles Toll Road revenue. I am, however, concerned about the public accountability of projects that are owned privately and introduced a bill in 2008 calling for a study of competitive bidding under Virginia's Public Private Transportation Act (PPTA).

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