News

Delegation: Assembly Session Went Well, 'Considering'

April 13, 2010

By Erika Jacobson Moore

Leesburg Today


The members of Loudoun's delegation to the General Assembly who attended the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce's post-session breakfast Wednesday morning did not carry high hopes when they headed for Richmond three months ago. Facing a $4 billion hole in the state budget, increased need for transportation improvements and economic development as well as a new administration and 21 new members of the House of Delegates, members of the delegation believed they were headed for disaster.

Instead they were pleasantly surprised, they told members of the Chamber Wednesday.

"We went down there with extremely low expectation," Del. Tom Rust (R-86) said. "But I think in the end we did well, considering what we were up against."

Rust, Del. Tag Greason (R-32) and Sen. Mark Herring (D-33) noted that they were able to create a budget that closed the $4 billion gap and rejected tax increases while doing so. They also noted that they supported the efforts to increase the Governor's Opportunity Fund to $12 million, which will be used to help draw companies into the state.

All three members said they were looking forward to the possibility of a special session called by Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) on the recommendations of the recently formed commission to examine government reform and efficiency and Herring noted that the state would likely "continue to have lean budgets" in the coming years and said the General Fund was down to its 2006 levels.

That, Rust said, is the most concerning for the future.

"The General Fund is dropping. It's now only 37 percent of the total budget," he said. "That's where we really have control. The rest is formula driven, tuition for higher education, the gas tax."

The delegation noted the importance of getting the Local Composite Index unfrozen to allow for additional state funding for Loudoun schools from the state budget. If it had gone forward, there would have been $124 million taken away from Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William county schools.

The one area that the delegation noted was still lacking in the commonwealth was transportation. Herring called on McDonnell to make good on his campaign promise to work on transportation, and noted that the Senate had never had a problem approving a fund-raising mechanism for transportation.

"I think with the House and governor saying no new taxes...we need to see the governor, speaker and the House show they're willing to take some action," Herring said. "The Senate has traditionally been there on transportation funding."

Rust agreed that the historic problem with getting a transportation funding bill passed has been opposition in the House, and told the Chamber about a bill he worked on with Del. Bill May (R-33) and Vivian Watts (D-39), that has been passed over.

"We knew it wasn't going to go anywhere [this session], but if we don't keep it in front of people, they'll say it must not be a problem because you guys aren't dealing with it," he said.

Rust noted the bill allowed for transportation funding raised in Northern Virginia to stay and be spent in the region, as well as around the state. The bill would not take effect until the recession is over, Rust said, which will be determined when unemployment in the state reaches the January 2008 level.

"Today we're taking $500 million per year from the maintenance budget and putting it into construction," Rust said. "In two years, construction will be at zero. Maintenance will be sucking it all up."

With redistricting on the horizon, many members of the audience questioned what impact that would have on Loudoun and transportation. With Herring, Greason and May representing districts with populations that are all about double a traditional district, Loudoun could see a number of new representatives as a result. There is also hope that redistricting may be the wake-up call representatives from other parts of the state need to come to the table to find a transportation solution.

Greason told of a conversation had in a subcommittee this session, where a delegate from rural Virginia said, "We can either work with Northern Virginia or we can spend the next 10 years getting steamrolled."

"I think that shows there is a willingness there. It is coming," Greason said.