The 2007 session of the General Assembly was uncharacteristic of recent sessions in two ways. One, the legislators came home on time, and two, they passed a transportation funding bill.
"The good news is we have a modest transportation bill that passed," said Del. Ken Plum (D-36). "The bad news is we’re going to have to revisit this in a year or two."
Although the General Assembly and Gov. Tim Kaine managed to agree on a transportation bill, the plan leaves much to be desired. "Stability we had provided for our general fund program has been seriously undercut," said state Sen. Janet Howell (D-32). The general fund provides money for public education, health programs and public safety among other programs. The transportation bill, which passed on April 7, provides $3 billion over 10 years and takes $68 million per year from the general fund for transportation.
Howell and Plum briefed Reston residents on the 2007 session on Thursday night, April 26. The post-session briefing attracted about 15 residents to Reston Community Center at Lake Anne, while the pre-session hearing held in January packed full the community room at RCC Hunters Woods.
Those in attendance on Thursday wanted to know more about how the transportation money would be spent. Reston resident Al Carrozza said $3 billion is a lot of money. "What oversight have you put into this bill," said Carrozza.
"There will be another level of accountability," said Plum.
Carrozza, however, had other concerns regarding transportation spending. As someone who is skeptical of the Virginia Department of Transportation, Carrozza said road projects, such as street repaving, in the community are not managed well. "I see a lot of small things that are costing us a lot of money," he said. A 16-year resident of Reston, Carrozza moved to the area from New York. He said roads in Reston are starting to deteriorate. "I am seeing happen in Reston what happened in New York City," he said.
Plum warned that the repaving schedule for streets would get longer, rather than shorter. The problem, he said, is that the state is dealing with a declining amount of revenue. Also, the gas tax, which provides some of the money for the VDOT projects, is set at 17.5 cents per gallon. As price of gas increases, the state collects the same revenue from the tax, said Plum.
THE POST SESSION briefing also entertained questions on what the 2007 elections may produce in terms of the partisan balance in the General Assembly. Every seat in Richmond is up for election in November. Reston resident Dave Edwards said there were at least three moderate Republican senators retiring, and he wondered if more conservative legislators would replace them.
"I’m very concerned about the way the senate is going," said Howell. "This could be a major shift in the senate." Howell, however, remains optimistic that the balance may shift in the other direction. Brooks Cressman asked what the chances are that the elections put the General Assembly in Democratic control. Currently there are 17 Democrats and 23 Republicans in the senate. "We think it’s possible," said Howell.
Plum said Democrats in the House of Delegates hope to gain control in two rounds of elections. However, he said: "Our objective is to get to a moderate, problem-solving legislature, not a Democratic legislature."
The two representatives also had an opportunity to discuss some of the bills they introduced during the 2007 session. Plum talked about the reregulation of the electric utility industry in the state. Virginia’s regulation imposed a cap on what the customers could be charged for electricity, and therefore homeowners’ electric bill had not gone up since 1999. That cap was set to come off in 2010, allowing the providers to charge what they felt necessary. Plum said a similar situation in Maryland caused increases of 50 to 70 percent in electric bills. The reregulation, he argued, would force the providers to be more efficient and to use renewable energy to lower their costs.
Cressman said acting on reregulation in 2007 was perhaps too early, given that the science of renewable energy is not completely understood yet. "The cap comes off in 2010, we still have time to deal with it. We need to still learn what the answers are," he said.
Long time Reston resident Joe Leighton wanted to know how far the state has come in banning indoor smoking. Plum said the legislators needed to continue to put that bill in for debate, and the public needed to continue to pressure its representatives to act on it. Plum added: "The leading export from Virginia is no longer tobacco. As of this year it’s microchips."