Dear Friends and Neighbors,
First of all, a quick point of pride.
Congratulations to 37th District resident
and Robinson Secondary graduate Andrew Dumm
for winning the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon
with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 44
seconds. Coming in 5th place was
Andrew’s brother Brian, and not very
far behind was his father, Ken.
Congratulations as well to Senator Chap
Petersen, who also survived the marathon.
Your State Delegate enjoys an occasional
race, but prefers the kind with one less
digit in the number of miles.
This Saturday, November 8th, will
be my last informal coffee of the year.
Please join me at Main Street Bagel
from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. to chat about
the issues or to share your ideas for
potential legislation. As always, I am also
more than happy to schedule individual
meetings.
Reading through the Governor’s
recently released plan to deal with the $973
million shortfall for FY2009 reminded me of
an important issue that is frequently
discussed – but somehow never survives
the legislative process. That issue
is whether to enact a constitutional lock
box on transportation revenue so
that it cannot be diverted for other
purposes. For instance, §58.1-2289 of
the Code of Virginia says that the tax on
gasoline is specifically dedicated to the
Commonwealth Transportation Fund. In
Virginia, however, the budget is actually a
piece of legislation. As a result, the budget
bill can be used to temporarily override
other parts of the Code. Like most of my
colleagues in the General Assembly, I
strongly support the lock box concept.
What prompted the thought is a proposal to
divert $100,000 from the Litter and
Recycling Control Fund. $100,000 is
a small amount when compared to
transportation funding, but the principle is
the same. The Litter and Recycling Control
Fund is supported by special taxes
established for a specific purpose. In this
case, revenue is generated by taxes imposed
on soft drink sales and grocery and
convenience stores. The point isn’t
whether litter control is more or less
important than other programs. Rather, it is
a matter of ensuring that when the General
Assembly says we are raising revenue for a
specific purpose that we honor that
commitment.
So what is the problem?
As with most issues, the devil is
in the details. In general, the House
prefers a single lock box where
transportation revenue cannot be diverted
for other purposes. The Senate, on the other
hand, prefers a double lock box that would
also preclude the use of General Funds to be
used for transportation. Another twist that
has been proposed is to create sub-lock
boxes. Under the other two scenarios,
transportation construction and maintenance
would be lumped together. Sub-lock boxes
would prohibit construction funding from
being diverted for maintenance, and visa
versa. I prefer the single lock box since
there are times when it may be necessary or
prudent to use the General Fund for
transportation. I also oppose the sub-lock
box approach, since it would interfere with
the core principal that maintenance of
existing infrastructure should always come
before building new infrastructure.
One thing for sure is that we
need to finally come to resolution on this
issue – and this is the year
to do it. Constitutional amendments must be
passed twice by the General Assembly with an
election of the House of Delegates in
between before the measure can even be
brought to Virginians for a vote. While
there may not be money available for new
transportation projects, it is critical that
we address these underlying issues.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you
in Richmond. I hope to see you for
coffee this Saturday!
Sincerely,
David Bulova
