Legislative Kick-off Event Focuses on Budget, Transportation & Energy
Each January, the Prince William Regional Chamber of Commerce holds a joint Legislative Kick-off in cooperation with the Prince William County-Greater Manassas Chamber. This event connects business leaders with the General Assembly members that representative the Prince William region, providing an update on legislative challenges and priorities in the coming months, as well as an opportunity for members to voice concerns and ask questions of our state representatives.
Senators Charles Colgan, Toddy Puller and George Barker and Delegates Bob Marshall and Jackson Miller were present. A majority of the dialogue focused on budgetary and transportation concerns. Following is a highlight of comments from the Kick-off:
The Budget
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Senator Puller said that the legislature has had to cut things that it feels deeply about, and still needs to cut more.
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Despite cuts, they are have thus far protected K-12 education, public safety and Medicaid funding, but this may not be possible this year.
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Delegate Miller agreed that there are more tough decisions to made regarding budget cuts, but that these cuts prevent the raising of residential and commercial taxes.
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Senator Colgan said that replacing the car tax with a 1 percent increase in the income tax would result in a net gain of nearly $1 billion.
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Privatizing ABC stores could also generate additional income.
Transportation
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Virginia is in danger of losing matching Federal funds if it does not dedicate more money for transportation.
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40 percent of roads in Northern Virginia do not meet state standards.
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$2 million per day is taken from the transportation construction budget to fund road maintenance.
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Senators Colgan and Puller said that taxes are needed to raise revenue.
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Colgan supports an increase to the gas tax, putting part of the burden on out of state travels that drive through our state.
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Marshall and Barker both recommend include a levy on overweight trucks.
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Other possible revenue generators include selling naming rights for roads, tolling new additions and tolling new roads.
Energy
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All of the legislators agreed that Virginia should pursue use of alternative energy sources; wind energy legislation was introduced last session.
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A cap on CO2 emissions is also being explored.
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Virginia is rich in energy resources, such as goal, gas and nuclear.
For more on legislative updates that impact the way we work and live in Prince William, visit the public policy page at www.RegionalChamber.org.
