Update from Richmond: Bad Transportation Bill is Back
Dear Smart Growth Supporters,
After spending a few weeks tracking important bills in the General Assembly, our Executive Director Stewart Schwartz is back with updates for you. We told you about bills, both good and bad, that could affect your communities. The good news is that two wasteful transportation bills died and a good land conservation bill passed, thanks to the emails you sent and Stewart's frequent conversations with Delegates and Senators.
The bad news? We have a “vampire bill.”
We defeated SB181 in the Senate. Now, the Governor has revived the bill in the House as HB1395. By tradition, the Governor is not bound by the legislature’s bill deadlines. This bill would allow VDOT to take sales and income taxes from any economic activity generated by a new highway and grant them to private toll road builders – who already receive lucrative deals to collect tolls for at least 75 years. This means VDOT would be raiding general funds used for education, health care, and public safety, even though we are already facing severe cuts to these critical services.
Email your Senator and Delegate to weigh in on HB1395.
Below is a quick summary of what happened on the other transportation, conservation, energy and local food bills we told you about.
Victory: We stopped wasteful transportation bills
The biggest news is that several bad transportation bills have died. These bills called for transportation projects shown by numerous studies not to provide any traffic relief, while costing taxpayers billions. Our limited transportation dollars should instead be spent on projects that will help commuters. Thanks to everyone who weighed in with their Delegates and Senators.
HB277: Prioritizes New Outer Beltway -- Dead (We opposed)
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HB277, HB779, and SB181 would have wasted taxpayer dollars and diverted money from key traffic solutions.
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This bill would have prioritized construction of a toll bypass around DC called the Washington Bypass and diverted limited resources away from projects that would help reduce congestion in Northern Virginia. Tolls wouldn’t be enough so this road could have cost taxpayers $1 billion or more. According to numerous studies, it also wouldn't have provided any traffic relief. Northern Virginia Delegates Jim Scott (D-District 53) and Scott Lingamfelter (R-District 31) deserve credit for asking hard questions about the cost of this proposal and for voting against the bill.
Status: HB 277 failed on a 2-5 vote in a House Appropriations Subcommittee.
HB779: Ignores our Regional Transportation Plan–Pushes New Potomac Bridges -- Tabled (We opposed)
This bill would have required VDOT to do costly, redundant congestion studies despite the fact that Northern Virginia has completed a comprehensive traffic analysis and transportation plan, and that the entire region will update its transportation plan this year. This bill also tried to justify Outer Beltway Potomac Bridges (20-30 miles from DC) as necessary for DC evacuation.
Status: “Passed by” (tabled) in House Transportation Committee, but letter to be sent to Governor McDonnell to include in his Commission on Government Reform.
SB442: Authority to Suspend Regulation -- Passed by indefinitely (We opposed)
This sweeping bill would have allowed a small group of 12 legislators and the Governor to suspend environmental, health, safety, consumer and numerous other rules and regulations developed through long-standing public procedures.
Status: SB442 was "Passed by Indefinitely" on a 16-1 vote. Translation: the bill is dead for this year.
Good Conservation Bill Passes
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HB447 will help protect conservation easements on farms, and natural areas.
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HB447: Funding for Easement Monitoring & Enforcement -- Passed both the Senate and the House (We supported)
Easements that conserve land, farms, and natural areas need to be monitored and enforced. This bill would fund monitoring and enforcement, by removing the $10,000 cap on the 2% fee imposed on the transfer arising from the sale of land conservation tax credits.
Status: This bill passed the House on a 96-3 vote and just passed the Senate 40-0. It will be sent to the Governor.
Update: Bills on Energy Efficiency, Land Conservation, Local Foods
We're disappointed that good bills on energy efficiency and local foods didn't survive. Virginia’s continued failure to support energy efficiency to the extent of other states and countries could cause us to lose out on new energy efficiency manufacturing and investment.
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We're disappointed important energy efficiency initiatives to keep Virginia competitive failed to get passed.
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HB441: Community Renewable Energy -- Carried Over (We supported)
The bill would expand opportunities for small-scale renewable generation, and make it easier for homeowners to produce energy, taking pressure off of the grid.
Status: This bill was "carried over," meaning it didn't pass this year but will be considered again in 2011.
SB71: Energy Efficiency Standard -- Dead (We supported)
This bill would jumpstart energy efficiency initiatives in Virginia, and sets reasonable, enforceable goals for reductions in energy consumption over the next twelve years.
Status: This bill was voted down on a 3-11 vote in the Senate Commerce & Labor Subcommittee.
HB398: Purchase of Virginia-Grown Food Products by Schools and State Agencies -- Dead (We supported)
This bill would establish procedures to facilitate the purchase of Virginia-Grown food products for use in local public schools and state agencies.
Status: HB 398 did not make it out of a House Appropriations Subcommittee because of concern about the potential financial impact amid budget challenges. It is dead for this year. A simple bill to designate Farm to School week, HJ95, did survive and is before the Senate Rules Committee.
Going forward, much of the debate in the General Assembly will be over the budget and if there are critical updates on transportation and conservation in the budget, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, you can track the status of bills and read their full text on the General Assembly website by entering the full bill number in the search box.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Perring
Coalition
for Smarter Growth
action@smartergrowth.net
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