For better or worse, Virginia has a divided government. That means anything that gets done happens because Republicans and Democrats agree on it.
But as what could well be the final act of the 2008 Transportation Special Session approaches, Democrats appear to be very much in the drivers seat when it comes to the issue of raising taxes for transportation.
Sen. Dick Saslaw, D-Springfield, is the author of the only revenue bill to pass either chamber, Senate Bill 6009. His bill would raise $1 billion or so a year by raising the gas tax by 1 cent per year over six years. It would also raise the general sales tax by 0.25 percent and lower the food tax by 0.5 percent.
That puts Saslaw is in the driver's seat for Democratic plans. Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's $1 billion per year plan was never introduced in the Senate and was summarily executed in a House committee.
That would normally be the fate of a gas-tax hike in the GOP-lead House, but GOP leaders have apparently grown tired of being labeled as obstructionists, and passed the bill on to the floor for an up or down vote, likely on either July 9 or 10.
Democrats in the House would need to peel off only six GOP votes to pass the measure, provided their caucus held together as solidly as their Senate counterparts did. And there are enough Republicans in Democratic trending districts in Northern Virginia to make any nose counts interesting.
A number of GOP delegates have said quietly that there could well be enough defections to push it SB 6009 over the top. But that depends on Democrats holding their 45 members in line to vote for a gas tax hike when gas is more than $4 per gallon.
Ben Tribbett's breakdowns of all 100 House districts here and here are a good place to see where members on both sides might get wobbly.
If the Democrats were to hold their caucus together and find the GOP support they need, the fight moves back into Kaine's front yard. With no bill in the Senate and a House version executed in committee, the governor hasn't had much official legislative input into the bills that are rattling around the square.
That could change quickly, though.
Kaine could amend SB 6009 to fit his own plan, most likely by sending down an "amendment in the form of a substitute," a relatively common practice. Kaine used the same procedure to make changes to last year's House Bill 3202. But there is a limit on how much "amending" can be done. If a majority of members in either House find that a package of amendments is not "specific and severable," they can disregard them and send back the original bill.
A re-write by Kaine would move the fight back to the Senate, where the Democratic majority would have to choose whose vision they wanted to implement -- Kaine's or Saslaw's. That could be an uncomfortable vote for Democrats, indeed.
Next week is going to be interesting.
But as what could well be the final act of the 2008 Transportation Special Session approaches, Democrats appear to be very much in the drivers seat when it comes to the issue of raising taxes for transportation.
Sen. Dick Saslaw, D-Springfield, is the author of the only revenue bill to pass either chamber, Senate Bill 6009. His bill would raise $1 billion or so a year by raising the gas tax by 1 cent per year over six years. It would also raise the general sales tax by 0.25 percent and lower the food tax by 0.5 percent.
That puts Saslaw is in the driver's seat for Democratic plans. Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's $1 billion per year plan was never introduced in the Senate and was summarily executed in a House committee.
That would normally be the fate of a gas-tax hike in the GOP-lead House, but GOP leaders have apparently grown tired of being labeled as obstructionists, and passed the bill on to the floor for an up or down vote, likely on either July 9 or 10.
Democrats in the House would need to peel off only six GOP votes to pass the measure, provided their caucus held together as solidly as their Senate counterparts did. And there are enough Republicans in Democratic trending districts in Northern Virginia to make any nose counts interesting.
A number of GOP delegates have said quietly that there could well be enough defections to push it SB 6009 over the top. But that depends on Democrats holding their 45 members in line to vote for a gas tax hike when gas is more than $4 per gallon.
Ben Tribbett's breakdowns of all 100 House districts here and here are a good place to see where members on both sides might get wobbly.
If the Democrats were to hold their caucus together and find the GOP support they need, the fight moves back into Kaine's front yard. With no bill in the Senate and a House version executed in committee, the governor hasn't had much official legislative input into the bills that are rattling around the square.
That could change quickly, though.
Kaine could amend SB 6009 to fit his own plan, most likely by sending down an "amendment in the form of a substitute," a relatively common practice. Kaine used the same procedure to make changes to last year's House Bill 3202. But there is a limit on how much "amending" can be done. If a majority of members in either House find that a package of amendments is not "specific and severable," they can disregard them and send back the original bill.
A re-write by Kaine would move the fight back to the Senate, where the Democratic majority would have to choose whose vision they wanted to implement -- Kaine's or Saslaw's. That could be an uncomfortable vote for Democrats, indeed.
Next week is going to be interesting.
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