Gov. McDonnell stages a ceremonial signing of transportation bill signed into law this year

In case Virginian’s forgot about Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature achievement as Virginia’s top executive, he pulled out the red carpet on Monday for a ceremonial signing of the ‘comprehensive’ transportation package that passed through the General Assembly this year. And no, Star Scientific didn’t pay for the ceremony (at least, not that I’m aware of).

Among other consequences, the package increases Virginia’s sales tax from 5 percent to 5.3 percent and increases the titling tax (WTF!?) on car sales. Yes, the titling tax, the tax that conservative lawmakers focus on when they still want to appear to be fiscal conservatives while increasing revenues.

The transportation package also dismisses the 17.5 cents-per-gallon retail gas tax with a 3.5 percent wholesale tax on gas and a 6 percent tax on diesel fuel. In other words, the wholesale price Virginians pay for gas just got less expensive (creating an incentive to purchase more gas, drive more, and pollute more).

I can see McDonnell now, a crescent smile on his face as his “legacy” is immortalized and the past month of scandalous news involving potential ethics and/or legal violations is momentarily forgotten. McDonnell’s real legacy will come, however, when Virginian’s no longer have to stop and start in a monotonous torrent of bumper-to-bumper traffic for seemingly no other reason than there are just too many vehicles on the roads of Virginia.

McDonnell’s signature transportation seemed more focused on ‘just getting something done’, and not necessarily focusing on how to solve Virginia’s larger and long-term problems of population growth, out-of-date infrastructure, and incentivizing fewer personal vehicles on Virginia’s roadways. Sure, more lanes are being built, but will more lanes necessarily lead to less breakneck traffic on I-95 in particular?

As Virginia grows, so too will its demands on state roadways. McDonnell’s transportation bill seems like little more than a costly short-term fix that missed the forest for the political trees. Maybe Star Scientific can also pay for a few extra lanes on I-95. Oh I kid, but seriously, where’s Virginia’s kickback?