BY SHARON TULLY
STAFF WRITER
THE CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE
The Senate Finance Committee voted 9-6 to pass a transportation plan that calls for a 5 percent increase on gas tax.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr., R-Clarke, killed the Republican transportation compromise, something many top lawmakers are not happy about.
Senate Majority Leader Walter A. Stosch, R-Goochland, was among the six legislators to vote against the plan, which would implement a 5 percent increase per dollar on gasoline and allow local taxes in traffic-congested areas such as Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to be raised in order to fund other transportation projects.
Stosch was not available for comment, but his spokesman, Scott Leake said the
senator was clearly disappointed in the outcome.
"He worked for months on the compromise that could be successful," Leake said, "so consequently it is a disappointment."
The plan must survive the Virginia Senate, before which Leake hopes there will be another chance to resurrect the compromise, he said.
"What we've seen is the further into the legislative session you go, sometimes it becomes more apparent what can and can't succeed," Leake said. "There's a hope that those who voted against the compromise plan and for the more comprehensive plan might come to recognize that this is not realistic."
The major difference in the plans, in addition to the tax increase, is the dependency upon the general fund, which provides funding to public education, safety, and health care.
Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-Gloucester, the sponsor of the House-Senate compromise, warned that the House of Delegates would kill any plan that called for gas tax increase. The compromise avoided a statewide tax increase by calling for $250 million a year from the general fund, whereas the Senate plan would only use about $66 million.
"This is a rough time to talk about raising prices at the pump," Leake said. "People are extremely sensitive about it."