Transportation; provides revenues for construction, maintenance, and funding. (SB639)

Introduced By

Sen. Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach)

Description

Transportation construction, operation and maintenance, and funding.  Provides for the construction, maintenance, and funding of transportation by (i) creating transportation construction districts and the Transportation Improvement District Fund to identify, construct, and fund certain transportation projects, including the authority to issue revenue bonds; (ii) creating the Virginia Toll Road Authority to fund transportation projects through tolls and other charges, (iii) increasing the dedicated transportation allocation of the sales and use tax from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent, phased in over eight years, with the additional revenue dedicated for highway maintenance and operation, (iv) increasing transportation's share of year-end surpluses to 75 percent, (v) dedicating a portion of revenue growth each year to transportation, and (vi) requiring localities to create transportation plans as part of comprehensive planning.

The bill also authorizes the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) to name highways, bridges, interchanges, and other transportation facilities for private entities if an annual naming rights fee is paid, with the revenue dedicated to highway maintenance and operation. The bill also charges the CTB with greater responsibilities involving integration of land use and transportation planning and authorizes the CTB to withhold federal and state funds for certain local or regional capital improvement projects if those projects are inconsistent with the Statewide Transportation Plan or the Six-Year Improvement Program. Provision is made for use of "revenue-sharing" funds for secondary highway system maintenance projects carried out by local governments. The bill also provides for special allocations by the CTB for bridge reconstruction, high priority highway projects, and reconstruction of highways with particularly deteriorated pavements. It also provides for the performance of maintenance projects directly by VDOT when it can be demonstrated to the Commissioner or the CTB that VDOT can do it at lesser cost than an outside contractor. Amends § 15.2-2223, § 2.2-1514, § 33.1-12, § 33.1-23.05, § 33.1-23.1, § 33.1-49.1, § 58.1-638, of the Code of Virginia. Read the Bill »

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