Sen. Ken Cuccinelli‘s SB1420 “requires counties with populations of 50,000 or more…to take over from VDOT responsibility for planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of state secondary highway system components within their boundaries prior to July 1, 2012.” Harry F. Byrd be damned.
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What is wrong with people? Even most of the hard-core Libertarians think the government should maintain roads.
What the hell? I’m as right-wing a limited-government wacko as the next guy, but even I believe that the government (the state in particular) should maintain the roads.
The list of Counties with populations >50,000 includes MANY districts represented by delegates and senators who think they are safe from the Transportation funding shortfall and make political hay by opposing taxes to pay for it. This bill would put them in the uncomfortable position of agreeing to state-wide transportation funding, or agree to pay their own way locally. Currently many of these Transportation funding troublemakers live in Counties that get more money for transport than they take in, and their budget has no room for new costs. This bill seeks to spread the pain, and the reality. Hardball!
I’d like to know the partisan breakdown of the affected counties, in terms of their representation in the General Assembly. That might be revealing.
The Speaker is from Stafford County, and the Majority Leader is from Roanoke County, both locales would be adversely impacted by SB 1420. The County budget burden necessary to assume the highway system would require a local tax increase. This bill exposes the nature of rural revenue dependency in Virginia. Well done Mr. Cucinelli!
Wouldn’t this help level the playing field for larger counties and cities (which already pick up this burden)? Yes, the counties would have to raise their taxes, but many people leave the cities for lower county taxes, yet are more than happy to take advantage of things such as city funded parks and entertainment venues. Maybe such a move would help maintain the balance of population many cities in Virginia are dealing with as the more affluent leave and the less affluent move in to take advantage of the services and infrastructure that are typical of city governments.