A reader has passed along an “initial staff analysis” of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s proposed amendments to the Republican transportation package. Viewed in context of the broad scope of the legislation — transportation funding, VDOT reform and land use reform — the Governor’s changes seem modest indeed. View the PowerPoint here.
Among the important points not noted previously on this blog:
- CBT board. The Governor would eliminate a General Assembly bid to appoint a number of members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board — a clear power grab. This provision strikes me as a bargaining chip that legislators will willingly yield.
- Urban Development Areas. The Governor would expand the number of jurisdictions required to create Urban Development Areas (UDAs) where growth and infrastructure improvements would be channeled. Not only would the requirement apply to jurisdictions showing a 15 percent growth rate between the last two census years, the UDAs would apply to localities with populations over 20,000 showing a five percent growth rate — about 75 in all. Clearly, the Governor has accepted, even expanded upon, a key land use provision of the legislature.
- Impact fees. First, the Governor is extending to about 75 localities an existing road impact fee authority that is authorized for only eight counties now, and actually utilized only by Stafford County. Second, he kept in the bill the broad impact fee authority available to six large counties but limited their use to outside Urban Transportation Service Districts, and only for land zoned for agricultural being developed for residential purposes. (Thanks to Reader Roll Tide for correcting my previous explanation.)
Kaine accepted the following changes designed to improve VDOT performance:
– Performance Measures for Project Evaluation and Selection
– Competitive Bidding of VDOT Functions
– Automated Toll Collection
– Reassignment of Road Classification Based on Function
– Creation of Transportation Accountability Commission
The financing portion of the legislation — both the statewide piece and the regional pieces — is such a sorry mess, even after Kaine’s amendments, that my brain goes into a death lock at the mere contemplation of it. If you want details, you’ll have to consult the PowerPoint.
All things considered, this is extremely complex legislation, and we’ll be sorting out the implications for months, if not years, to come.