By Peter Galuszka
Every year, Virginia FREE rates the Old Dominion’s legislators according to its definition of how well they support the lobby’s definition of what it means to be “pro-business.”
Despite the free-for-all conservatism of this year’s General Assembly, the legislature only gets only about a “C-plus” grade. The big reason? Lack of progress on improving roads.
Republicans may control the Senate with a split of 20 seats each between the parties and Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling holding the deciding vote. FREE’s figures, however, show that the Senate rates only a 78.4 “pro-business” score, according to an analysis by the Associated Press. The GOP-controlled House of Delegates gets slightly less at a 77.7 score.
“FREE” says that the legislative year started well enough with Gov. Robert F. McDonnell pushing $3 billion in new debt for roads with another $1 billion in unspent funding for transportation. But he and the legislature didn’t do anything about raising gasoline taxes, which have languished at 17.5 cents per gallon for nearly three decades and haven’t even been adjusted for inflation. “At a bare minimum,” FREE says, “new money is required to meet basic maintenance needs, restore viability to the construction budget and ensure that Virginia is a viable partner with the private sector on (public-private transportation) projects.”
FREE also issued its perpetual complaints about a minor business tax that has been around since the War of 1812. Legislators are reluctant to do much about the Business Professional and Occupational License tax since the money raised by it goes to localities and the ;legislature would have to make it up.
What’s interesting about the Virginia FREE assessment is that the 2012 General Assembly is memorable for its outlandish moves involving social conservatism. It gained national attention for its laws required women considering abortion to have an ultrasound exam, kept gays from adopting children in some cases and expanded gun purchases.
While Virginia was highlighted by satirists on “Saturday Night Live” and “The Daily Show,” not much was really done to handle the problems important to the state’s business community, which for decades has dominated the conservative wings of both political parties.
Virginia’s road problems, meanwhile, remain largely unsolved.
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