Shorting Transportation Funding Again = Bad Policy, Regressive Steps and Unstable Infrastructure

Since Governor Youngkin was inaugurated 65 days ago, there have been efforts to cut Transportation Infrastructure funding in three separate ways. 

• First: To freeze the gas tax by 5 cents for a full year - a loss of $270 million for transportation needs.  
• Second: Eliminating the Grocery Sales Tax - a move that could cost over $800 million of transportation funding per 6-year finance cycle.   
• Third and Fourth: To now cut the gas tax for 5 months in response to oil companies raising prices skyward - an elimination of over $470 million in 2023 alone.   
  • It is a fact that cutting the 27 cents tax per gallon of gas will not benefit those paying at the pump. National studies confirm only one third of the cut may benefit drivers and even that savings last only a few weeks when market forces undoubtedly adjust the price. An average savings of less than $4.50 per vehicle per week and large oil companies will pocket the rest. 
  • Why would we allow out-of-state drivers filling up in the Commonwealth to benefit from such a windfall when the taxes they pay help to improve our transportation system? 51% of diesel users and 17% of gas users are from out of state.    
  • Remember, the gasoline tax is one of the three major sources of Virginia transportation funding. This user fee is directly reinvested into maintaining and improving our multimodal transportation system including roadways, transit, bike, pedestrian, and transportation technology infrastructure.  

These revenues are enabling such major projects as:  

• 495 NEXT projects that are expected to bring over $800 million in economic benefits to Northern Virginia. The Governor kicked off the congestion-relief project in March 2021, touting the time savings to families and businesses in traffic clogged Northern Virginia. 
• I-81 funding that is addressing expanded safety and congestion measures due to heavy truck traffic will solve only 43 miles of the 325-mile corridor; continued funding is necessary to improve an additional 282 miles.
• I-64 improvements, like the expansion project between Richmond and Williamsburg that the Governor’s proposed 5-month cut would fund. Virginians are now enjoying the traffic relief with I-64 expansion between Williamsburg & Hampton. Why would we want to postpone finishing the job? 
• Hampton Road Bridge Tunnel needs dedicated funding to stay on schedule target completion of 2025.
• Over $7 billion of unmet transportation project needs in every locality today identified by Smart Scale that will not happen. 

While Maryland and Georgia recently voted for a temporary freeze on the gas tax, those administrations agreed to back-fill the loss of transportation funds with other dollars (general fund, etc.). Virginia is the only state proposing a second and third cut to transportation funding in 2022 without replenishing those funds.

The General Assembly has come too far since 2013 in maintaining and modernizing our transportation network! We are beginning to see in every corner of the Commonwealth the direct correlation between those investments and our quality of life, economic success, and prosperity. With inflation and uncertain long-term cost estimates, now is not the time to regress, reduce or delay long overdue projects now in our six-year transportation plan. 
 
We need you to contact your legislator and ask them not to short-change transportation again with this temporary cut.