Times-Dispatch Staff Writers

Virginia's long and winding road to a transportation fix may not end with this year's special session.

After House Republicans rejected his $1 billion transportation proposal in committee last week, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said he would try again in 2009 to shape a road-funding deal in the last year of his administration.

But if negotiations again end in gridlock, responsibility for a fix will begin to shift to three men seeking to succeed Kaine as governor: Attorney General Bob McDonnell, a Republican; Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath; and Del. Brian J. Moran, D-Alexandria.

McDonnell and Deeds have not presented transportation funding plans. Moran has said he favors a statewide increase in the sales tax but he did not submit the idea as legislation in the special session that resumes July 9.

Instead, Moran is among more than two dozen delegates who signed on as co-patrons of Kaine's transportation proposal. It called for increases in the vehicle registration fee, the auto sales tax, the grantor's tax paid by sellers of property, and regional sales-tax increases in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

Deeds backed the gastax bill sponsored by Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax -- the only plan to pass the Senate last week.

McDonnell, a former delegate, joined House Republicans in calling for an external audit of the Virginia Department of Transportation. The first phase of the audit would analyze maintenance operations to determine the size of the funding shortfall and the reasons for it, McDonnell wrote in a June 23 commentary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The audit would address the size and organization of VDOT as well as what projects and investments could relieve congestion. It also would focus on future needs, innovation and modernization, he wrote.

McDonnell, who says a statewide tax increase is not justified, was unavailable for comment Friday. But in a recent podcast with Tertium Quids, a group that promotes limited government, McDonnell said he is concerned about the growth of state spending.

"I think the key is setting transportation as a priority, cutting spending in certain areas, auditing VDOT" and "making sure that we make transportation a priority in the operating budget of Virginia," McDonnell said.

Moran has proposed a 1-cent sales tax increase -- excluding food and prescription drugs -- to invest in roads, mass transit and rails. He supports a lockbox for transportation funds and creating an office that would sync transportation planning with local land-use decisions.

He did not put the idea into legislation, however, choosing instead to back Kaine's plan when he saw the final product.

Several elements of that proposal closely aligned with Moran's plan, including Kaine's transportation change fund, which would set aside money for mass transit and economic development through an increase of 25 cents per $100 in the property seller's tax.

"There are 140 different ideas from the legislature on how to solve it and we must all make some compromise to reach consensus," Moran said.

"We're desperate for solutions. I'm trying to raise a family and build a business in Northern Virginia and traffic is a daily, seven-day-a-week problem."

Moran opposes a gas-tax increase, but thinks a statewide component is "absolutely necessary." He urges his colleagues to put aside their differences and work on a compromise.

"There's no question it's elusive at this point, but we're not finished," he said.

Deeds said he is determined to help the governor get a statewide fix to transportation this year and said there is "no excuse" for not reaching a solution before the next governor takes office.

"We have to give this process every opportunity to be successful," he said, saying transportation should be the top priority of the legislative and executive branches.

"I think as time goes on, the likelihood of success becomes more apparent because the problem will become more acute," he said. "Just because we don't pass bills, the problems don't go away. The arteries of commerce are clogged."

During this special session, Deeds has won Senate approval for legislation designed to ease road congestion. One bill offers tax credits to employers who let employees work flex-time schedules; the other provides income-tax credits to businesses for telecommuting expenses. Both bills have been referred to the House Finance Committee.

Deeds said he would not support a transportation plan that only addressed the needs of the state's most traffic-clogged regions.

"I'm not interested in balkanizing Virginia," Deeds said.

"We are all in this together. Any compromise that is not statewide is not a compromise at all. It's a capitulation."

Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or jnolan@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.