Taxpayers deserve a faster, more straightforward refund system than the patchwork process put together by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority to refund the unconstitutional taxes it began collecting at the start of 2008.
Do you have any thoughts? Let us know. Make your comments below.
For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic.
TysonsTunnel.org, a coalition of McLean area businesses and residents, said today that the urgency of court action has been lessened by the Federal Transit Administration's announcement in January that it could not fund the $5 billion, 23-mile extension unless the contractor and state officials make fundamental changes.
"It seems like FTA has made the case back to Virginia that there are a number of concerns that need to be addressed," said Scott Monett, the group's president. "And we believe many of our concerns are addressed in what was mentioned."
For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
Waxpool Road is already difficult enough during morning and evening rush hour, but tonight a serious accident in front of the Embassy Suites closed the westbound lanes of Waxpool Road near Loudoun County Parkway for more than an hour. The roadway was finally cleared for all traffic around 7:40 p.m.The Waxpool Road study is looking not at safety, but at what could be done to improve traffic flow in the three lights between Rt. 28 and Loudoun County Parkway, where commuters are often backed up for long periods of time.
Supervisors said that stretch of road needs to be studied because the traffic problems are causing cars to be backed up onto the travel lanes of Rt. 28 on the Waxpool interchange, something they say is very dangerous.
It is anticipated the Waxpool Road study will be finished by May. For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
The 11 page study is available online at http://www.ibtta.org/files/PDFs/win08_Campbell.pdf.The 35 percent is TRN's estimate based on a fatality rate of 8.1 per billion vehicle miles traveled on all the nation's expressways which we get from FHWA's Highway Statistics 2006 publication and on Campbell's survey result of 5.2 fatalities per billion miles traveled.
Using the all expressways 8.1 fatalities/bVMT as the denominator the Campbell estimate for tollroads facilities of 5.2 gives 64% as the safety factor for being on a toll road as opposed to a tax road of the same general expressway class. Toll bridges and tunnels don't really have any large counterpart sample on the tax side since there are very few untolled major bridges and tunnels.
For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
Most of the work will take place between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The entire HOT lane project is not expected to be finished until 2013.
For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
"The big news for this week was the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling that the funding authority for last year’s transportation package is unconstitutional. I believe now, as I did when the bill became law, that the Court made the correct decision here.
"When I voted for the transportation package in February 2007, it was structured to allow the people’s elected representatives at the local level — members of the Boards of Supervisors — to vote on whether to raise taxes to fund transportation improvements for our region.
"As you may recall, the governor amended the bill in April 2007 to give that taxing power to the unelected members of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA). This was bad policy and unconstitutional and I voted against the governor’s proposed changes to the bill; however, the governor’s amendments passed despite my “no” vote.
"Giving the NVTA taxing authority was not constitutional and the Virginia Supreme
Court rejected that part of the bill based on the time-honored Constitutional principle that Virginians should only be taxed by people that they elect directly.
"Now that the funding for NVTA has been eviscerated by the Court’s opinion, the ball is back in the legislature’s court. One thing is clear — there can be no passing the buck. It’s time for the Assembly to step up and propose a solution that is neither solely regional nor shifted to localities. And somehow provides the $300 million annually envisioned by the original bill to specifically address needs in Northern Virginia. This won’t be easy."
For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
According to the study conducted by Cambridge Systematics, the $164.2 billion cost for crashes equates to an annual per person cost of $1,051, compared to $430 per person annually for congestion. These safety costs include medical, emergency and police services, property damage, lost productivity, and quality of life, among other things. For the latest Loudoun County traffic news and information, subscribe to Loudoun County Traffic
Today's Washington Examiner reports that the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is preparing to refund the millions of dollars of unconstitutional taxes it has collected since Jan. 1 and has halted tax collections.
?We have gotten the word out to all folks who have been collecting the taxes. That?s been done,? NVTA Chairman Chris Zimmerman said Tuesday. ?We have people working on the next question: What to do with the refunds.?
The agency advised taxpayers who rented, repaired, bought or registered cars, as well as anyone who stayed in a hotel room or sold a house to hold onto their receipts and documents to prepare for the coming rebates.
Although the NVTA could decide Thursday to ask the state?s highest court to reconsider its unanimous decision, Zimmerman said such a motion is unlikely.
WTOP Radio reports that about $8 million has been taken in so far, but none of it has been spent. Below is the complete list of the seven fees and taxes which can no longer be collected:
Meanwhile, in yesterday's Richmond Times-Dispatch, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said it was doubtful the problems caused by the courts ruling can be resolved by Saturday's scheduled adjournment of the Virginia General Assembly.
Kaine stopped short of calling for a special session and said he was encouraged that the leaders were talking with "a sense of urgency." But he said at a news conference that more time likely will be needed.
Kaine also threw cold water on a solution offered by House and Senate Republicans that would let local elected officials impose the taxes authorized by regional transportation authorities. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday that an unelected body could not impose taxes.
The special authorities had been set up in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
"The court said, 'General Assembly, if you want to do this, you got to do it yourself,'" Kaine said. "Asking local governments to take the hard work of getting somebody else to do your job, ain't a solution."
Kaine said the legislators need to address two issues: finding money for the regional transportation authorities and finding statewide maintenance money.
The paper added that although the state supreme court ruling did not directly apply to Hampton Roads, Kaine said it made any proposed taxes from the Hampton Roads authority moot. The Hampton Roads authority has not yet begun collecting taxes.
The Washington Examiner reported on Saturday, that "contractors for the endangered Dulles Rail extension reached an agreement Friday that will allow them to continue engineering and utility work for another month despite grave doubt over the rail's ability to receive crucial federal funds."
"It's a gamble that banks on the 23-mile track's first phase receiving $900 million from the Federal Transit Administration, which the federal agency says is unlikely. The project is too expensive to justify the comparatively modest number of people who will ride it, according to the agency, which also cites disputes over management and Metro funding as reasons to withhold the funding.
"Three Maryland members of Congress and D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton urged U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters in a letter Wednesday to approve Dulles Rail. A source said the decision could come in the next two weeks.
"But in the meantime, the airports authority has taken the risk of allowing contractors to continue work as if the project were on track.
Stay tuned as the saga continues.
Here's more media coverage of Friday's ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court against the NVTA's right to tax for traffic/transit projects (see our Friday afternoon post).
The Bond Buyer, the public newspaper of public finance, reports today that the court's ruling extends beyond Northern Virginia.
"It also effectively invalidates bonding and taxing powers given to similar regional authorities that are being formed in Richmond and the Hampton Roads region, which includes Virginia Beach, according to the attorney representing the group that challenged the NVTA."
Saturday's Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the ruling could also mean a special legislative session.
"In a potentially devastating blow to last year's hard-fought transportation fix -- and one that could force the General Assembly into another special session -- the court threw out as unconstitutional the portion of the plan allowing an unelected panel in Northern Virginia to collect taxes for highways and mass transit."
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, meeting with reporters before flying to Kansas and Texas for political events, stopped short of calling for a special session, but he said "it will be hard to do it next week and do it right."
"I think we've got a long spring in front of us," said Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan.
The ruling came as Kaine and the legislature, approaching the close of its annual session, try to unravel another of the transportation plan's controversial features: unpopular driver fees that were supposed to generate $65 million a year.
Meanwhile, Inside NOVA.com reports the ruling means $497 million in approved projects are now on the rocks, with the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority looking to a divided state legislature for a fix.
Filling that gap needs to happen quickly, said NVTA officials. Without the cash, ?the great economic engine that people have taken for granted, perhaps, will start to break down,? said NVTA Chairman Chris Zimmerman.
The transportation authority can?t move ahead with projects ? $44 million worth scheduled in the Prince William area ? until the General Assembly takes action.
?Folks in Northern Virginia have been screaming for meaningful transportation solutions for almost a generation,? NVTA Vice Chairman Marty E. Nohe said on Friday.The death of NVTA?s taxing authority also means Virginia isn?t going to have the $50 million in annual Metrorail contributions or the $25 million promised to Virginia Railway Express.
"I am disappointed by the Supreme Court?s finding that the limited authority to impose taxes granted by the General Assembly in 2007, by an overwhelming vote by both bodies, was unconstitutional," said Governor Kaine. "I remain committed to working with the General Assembly to ensure that the Commonwealth provides adequate funding for our transportation needs. Over the next few days, my legal staff and I will work closely with the Attorney General?s Office and members of the General Assembly to determine what alternatives are available to provide adequate transportation funding."
And in a press release (PDF) issued by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Authority Chairman Chris Zimmerman of Arlington County urged quick action by the General Assembly. "It is critical that the General Assembly act expeditiously to address this problem so that the vital transportation solutions we are prepared to implement are not delayed any further."
The Sun Gazette reports the "court's opinion, written by Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, overturned the Arlington County Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Kendrick's ruling last year that allowed the NVTA to collect several new taxes and fees."
?The General Assembly has failed to adhere to the mandates of accountability and transparency that the Constitution requires,? Goodwyn's opinion read. ?If payment of the regional taxes and fees is to be required by a general law, it is the prerogative and the function of the General Assembly . . . to make that decision.?
Subscribe in a reader
| Lowest Gas Prices in Ashburn, Leesburg, Sterling |
| Virginia Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com |
