The Senate passed a compromise transportation funding bill this afternoon, delivering bipartisan support for the most significant infusion of revenue for roads, rail and transit in 27 years.

The 25-15 vote sends the bill to Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose demand  for a long-term transportation funding package was his top legislative priority.

The last roadblock to a deal wasn’t removed until today. An eleventh-hour opinion from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli threatened to upset a fragile compromise on Medicaid expansion that was critical to getting Senate Democrats to back the transportation bill. House and Senate negotiators addressed the issue this afternoon, allowing a vote on the transportation bill to proceed.

The House of Delegates passed the compromise on Friday. The deal  would pump $3.5 billion into roads, rail and transit over the next five years and prevent rising maintenance costs from depleting the state’s highway construction budget.

The plan would scrap Virginia’s 17.5 cents per gallon tax on gasoline and apply a 3.5 percent tax on the wholesale price of fuel and a 6 percent tax on the wholesale price of diesel fuel.

The package also would increase the retail sales tax from 5 percent to 5.3 percent, increase the vehicle sales tax from 3 percent to 4.3 percent, and dedicate a greater portion of the existing sales tax to transportation. The plan also creates a dedicated source for rail funding, which could speed the extension of Amtrak service to Roanoke.

The House and Senate still have one piece of important legislative business to complete today, the final day of the General Assembly session. The two chambers must vote on revisions to the state’s two-year budget, which includes provisions to allow for the conditional expansion of Medicaid.

– Michael Sluss

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has issued an opinion challenging the constitutionality of a proposed legislative commission that would oversee the process of Medicaid expansion, a development that could scuttle chances to finalize a revised state budget and pass a state transportation funding package.

In an opinion issued late  Friday, the conservative attorney general wrote: “It is my opinion that the General Assembly may not delegate legislative authority regarding budget or other matters to a committee composed of a subset of members of the General Assembly.”

The opinion was requested by Republican Del. Ben Cline of Rockbridge County, who had criticized a proposal to have a 10-member legislative commission oversee a conditional expansion of the Medicaid program under the federal health care reform law. House and Senate negotiators agreed to the structure on Friday. Democrats sought assurances that Gov. Bob McDonnell  would not thwart the deal before voting a compromise transportation funding bill that the House of Delegates passed on Friday.

It was unclear this morning whether Cuccinelli’s opinion will torpedo prospects for passing a revised budget and a transportation bill today, which is supposed to be the final day of the General Assembly session.

Budget negotiators said this afternoon they have an agreement on budget language that should address Cuccinelli’s concerns.

Cline declined to comment on Cuccinelli opinion or why he requested it, saying: “The letter speaks for itself.”

McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said the governor’s office is reviewing the opinion and reiterated the governor’s position that transportation and Medicaid expansion are separate issues.

“Medicaid and transportation are not connected, and are two completely different policy issues. Some may want to tie the two together, the Governor will not,” Martin wrote in an email. “Yesterday, the transportation bill passed the House with strong bipartisan support. Republicans and Democrats came together to vote for better roads and a stronger economy. This is the closest we’ve been to passing a long-term transportation funding plan for Virginians in 27 years. It is time to act to improve transportation in Virginia, and this is that opportunity. We urge the Senate to vote on the transportation bill today.  This is the last day of the session, and the Governor also expects legislators to pass a budget today as well.”

– Michael Sluss

A carefully crafted compromise to pump new money into Virginia’s cash-starved transportation system inched closer to passage in the General Assembly today, winning bipartisan support in the House of Delegates.

But the evenly divided Senate postponed a vote on the transportation bill as Democrats sought a written assurance that Gov. Bob McDonnell would not stand in the way of a separate deal that could allow for an expansion of the Medicaid program. The delay pushed critical votes on the transportation bill and the state budget to Saturday, which is scheduled to be the final day of the 2013 General Assembly session.

“There’s some dissatisfaction with the transportation plan anyway, so it’s key that we have that Medicaid expansion” agreement, said Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax County, a Senate budget negotiator.

The transportation bill is a top priority for McDonnell, looking to seal a legacy in the final year of his term. The plan passed Friday by the House would pump $3.5 billion into roads, rail and transit over the next five years and prevent rising maintenance costs from depleting the state’s highway construction budget.

McDonnell, a Republican, has been equally adamant about refusing to expand eligibility for Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act, insisting first on cost-cutting reforms in the state-federal health care program. In a Friday evening letter to Senate Republican Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City County, McDonnell commended negotiators for the compromise but stopped short of promising not to alter it when the budget reaches his desk. .

The federal health care law expands Medicaid eligibility to adults with incomes up to 133 percent of federal poverty level beginning next year, but allows states to opt out. The federal government will cover the full cost of the expansion for three years before gradually reducing its contribution to 90 percent.

The budget provision would allow Virginia to expand Medicaid eligibility if it receives federal approval for reforms to improve service delivery and reduce costs. It calls for creation of a legislative commission that would be authorized to expand enrollment in Medicaid once reforms are implemented. The panel would include five senators, five House members, and two non-voting cabinet secretaries.

In his letter, McDonnell commended negotiators for coming up with “a concept to ensure that significant reforms are attained prior to any expansion of Medicaid.” And, the governor noted, the provision would allow Virginia to pull back from expansion if the federal government retreats from its funding commitment.

Earlier in the day, the House passed the transportation bill by a vote of 60-40. The multifaceted plan would scrap Virginia’s 17.5 cents per gallon tax on gasoline and apply a 3.5 percent tax on the wholesale price of fuel and a 6 percent tax on the wholesale price of diesel fuel.

The package also would increase the retail sales tax from 5 percent to 5.3 percent, increase the vehicle sales tax from 3 percent to 4.3 percent, and dedicate a greater portion of the existing sales tax to transportation.  The plan also creates a dedicated source for rail funding and should allow for the extension of Amtrak service to Roanoke.

General Assembly budget negotiators are working toward a compromise on the possible expansion of the Medicaid program, a deal that could pave the way for passage of a state budget bill.

House and Senate negotiators are trying to iron out details of a proposed 12-member commission that would oversee the process and ensure that Medicaid expansion under the federal health care law is accompanied by cost-cutting reforms. If the two sides can agree on terms of the deal today, they could complete work on revisions to the state’s two-year budget in time for the full General Assembly to vote on the bill before Saturday’s scheduled adjournment of the 2013 session.

The 12-member commission would be comprised of 10 legislators and two Cabinet secretaries, negotiators said earlier today.

At least 250,000 low-income Virginians could gain health care coverage if state expands eligibility for the Medicaid program under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But Gov. Bob McDonnell has taken a hard line on issue, refusing to expand Medicaid without reforms occurring first.

The Senate’s budget plan would allow for Medicaid expansion to occur in January 2014 if the state obtains federal approval of cost-containment reforms. The House plan would require the federal government to approve the state’s reforms before the General Assembly votes on authorizing expansion in its 2014 session.

The House of Delegates has passed a compromise transportation funding package that would generate about $880 million annually by 2018 and include funding to extend passenger rail service to Roanoke.

The bill passed by a vote of 60-40.

A vote is still pending in the Senate on the legislation, which is a top priority for Gov. Bob McDonnell.

The bill would scrap the state’s 17.5 cents per gallon tax on gasoline and apply a 3.5 percent tax on the wholesale price of fuel. The plan also would increase taxes on retail and automobile sales, impose a 6 percent tax on the wholesale price of diesel fuel, and dedicate a greater portion of the existing sales tax to help fund road, rail and transit needs.

Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, helped negotiate the compromise and made a vigorous argument for it on the House floor during this afternoon’s debate on the bill.

“If you’re going to be a leader down here, you’ve got to stand up against all the obvious odds and do what’s right,” Ware said.

The bill, sponsored by House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County, divided Republicans and some conservative delegate spoke out against it before the vote.

Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge County, responded to  colleagues who said the state must do something to fix it’s chronically underfunded transportation system. Cline said the fix was a “laundry list” of higher taxes.

“This bill does something. But I will tell you it’s the wrong thing when it comes to Virginia’s economic success,” Cline said.

Ware voted for the bill, as did independent Lacey Putney of Bedford and Republicans Chris Head of Botetourt County, Charles Poindexter of Franklin County, and Joseph Yost of Blacksburg. Republicans Greg Habeeb of Salem and Nick Rush of Christiansburg voted against the bill.

– Michael Sluss

RICHMOND –Supporters of a compromise transportation funding package may have to quell dissent in nboth political parties to get the bill through the General Assembly.

One day after Gov. Bob McDonnell urged lawmakers to pass the carefully crafted compromise,  Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said he can’t support a bill that contains “a massive tax increase.”

Cuccinelli’s criticism underscores an emerging rift in the Republican Party over a proposed transportation funding package that House and Senate negotiators agreed to on Wednesday. The plan would produce about $3.5 billion in new, statewide transportation funds over the next five years, according to legislative projections. The House and Senate likely will vote on the compromise Friday.

Democrats also raised the prospect of conditioning their support for the transportation bill on approval for the expansion of Medicaid, something McDonnell has resisted. McDonnell sent a letter to legislative budget negotiators Wednesday reiterating his opposition to expanding Medicaid without first getting a guarantee of major cost reductions.

The transportation plan would scrap the state’s 17.5 cents per gallon tax on gasoline and apply a 3.5 percent tax on the wholesale price of fuel. It also would increase taxes on retail and automobile sales, impose a 6 percent tax on the wholesale price of diesel fuel, and dedicate a greater portion of the sales tax to help fund road, rail and transit needs.

McDonnell has made transportation funding a top priority in his final legislative session.  House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County, has been a key legislative ally and has endorsed the compromise. Eight of the 10 House and Senate negotiators who brokered the deal are Republicans.

Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, who is weighing an independent bid for governor, also has backed the compromise.

McDonnell said the passage of the bill “will strengthen Virginia’s economy, help create thousands of good paying jobs, and improve the lives of every Virginian in every city and county.”

But Cuccinelli,  a tea party hero who hopes to succeed McDonnell in the governor’s office, took a different view of the compromise.

“If reports are correct, this new bill contemplates a massive tax increase,” Cuccinelli said in a statement released by his office . “In these tough economic times, I do not believe Virginia’s middle class families can afford massive tax increases, and I cannot support legislation that would ask the taxpayers to shoulder an even heavier burden than they are already carrying, especially when the government proposes to do so little belt tightening in other areas of the budget.”

Cuccinelli noted the he has not seen the conference report on the transportation bill and said lawmakers “should have the opportunity to thoroughly review this new legislation in its entirety once it becomes available, evaluate the fiscal impact it will have on the people of Virginia, and determine if this proposed legislation will actually resolve our serious transportation problems before it is brought to the floor for a vote.”

Some conservative legislators and anti-tax groups were quick to criticize the plan after House and Senate negotiators released details of the compromise on Wednesday.

“When you combine these tax increases with the looming sequestration coming out of Washington, it’s a devastating one-two punch on Virginia families and small businesses,” said Del. Ben Cline, R-Rockbridge County, the House chairman of the legislature’s Conservative Caucus.

Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, said the transportation bill was “hijacked by a number of Republicans who join Democrats in believing that all transportation costs must be paid for by higher taxes.”

Democratic votes will be needed to pass the plan, perhaps even in the Republican-dominated House of Delegates. When the House passed the original version of McDonnell’s transportation bill earlier this month, four Democrats delivered key votes to get the bill throughchamber with a slim majority. One of them, Roanoke Del. Onzlee Ware, was named to the conference committee that hammered out the compromise.

Some Democrats have discussed withholding support for the transportation bill until McDonnell and House Republicans agree to expand the Medicaid program under the federal health care law. McDonnell has said he will not agree to the expansion — which the federal government will fully fund for three years — without federal approval of cost-cutting reforms. The issue is tied up in budget negotiations between the House and Senate.

“There’s a lot of discussion about, ‘Look, transportation is important, but getting Medicaid expansion is just as important,’” said Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke.

Ware said it would be a mistake to link Medicaid expansion to the transportation bill. He said the strategy would “put the transportation bill in danger.”

Terry McAuliffe, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, said Wednesday that he supports the compromise even though he doesn’t like some elements of the plan.

“However, Virginians are demanding that we compromise to find a mainstream solution and that compromise will necessarily be imperfect for both sides,” McAuliffe said in a statement .

“Virginia simply cannot afford to miss this opportunity to make substantial progress on transportation,” McAuliffe said. “If we want the commonwealth to be the best place for business and jobs of the future, we need to have a transportation system that is modern and efficient.”

McAuliffe campaign spokesman Josh Schwerin said Cuccinelli is trying to derail the compromise.

“Cuccinelli’s work to undermine this mainstream proposal reflects his unique unwillingness to compromise under any circumstances,” Schwerin said in an email. “Once again, Ken Cuccinelli has demonstrated that his ideological agenda is outside even the Republican mainstream.”

– Michael Sluss

RICHMOND — Unmarried couples living together may soon be doing so legally under a measure that passed the General Assembly today.

The House voted 62-25 in favor of repealing the law making it illegal for unmarried couples to live together. Virginia code says doing so is punishable by a $500 fine for a first offense and up to a year in jail for subsequent infractions.

The U.S. Supreme Court has deemed the law unconstitutional, and prosecutors haven’t used it for years, said Del. Scott Surovell, a Fairfax County Democrat.

“This statute has not been used for anything for decades,” Surovell said. “It needs to come off the books.”

SB969 will now go to Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has said he supports the repeal.

– Kathy Adams, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot

RICHMOND – Virginians looking to cast their votes after July 1, 2014, will have to present a photo identification card at the polls under a bill that passed the General Assembly today.

Senate Bill 1256 requires a photo ID card – such as a driver’s license or student ID card issued by a university – to vote. If someone does not have photo ID, the measure requires the local registrar’s office to provide one.

The bill passed the House today largely along party lines and still requires approval from Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Opponents argued the change is a thinly veiled voter-suppression effort and will place an undue burden on voters who are elderly or poor.

For example, Del. Bob Krupicka, D-Fairfax County, said someone living at the far end of his district would have to travel more than two hours by bus one way to obtain a voter ID from the registrar there.

“To fulfill the obligations under this bill, we are telling someone who’s poor or someone who’s elderly that they have to spend upwards of seven hours of a day to travel across Fairfax County to get their ID and travel back,” Krupicka said. “I would say that that is a burden higher than we ask of anyone else to vote. It is a burden higher than we should ask of anyone else to vote.”

Others likened the bill to Jim Crow-era laws aimed at keeping blacks from voting and said it could end up costing as much as $21 million.

“Any bill that places any barriers to someone exercising their fundamental right to vote is anathema to many citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia who fought and were terrorized and in some cases died to exercise that right,” said Del. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond.

But proponents of the measure said the sanctity of that right is why it’s so important to ensure it’s not abused, and that those casting ballots are eligible to vote and not usurping someone else’s identity.

“There is no one on this side of the aisle trying to deny anyone the right to vote,” said Del. Jackson Miller, R-Manassas. “We are trying to uphold the integrity of the system by ensuring that those who vote are allowed to vote and that people are not cheating the system. That is simple concept.”

Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, said Virginia State Police investigated 194 founded cases of voter fraud in 2012. He also said voter turnout has improved in Georgia, which began requiring a photo ID to vote in 2006, including for black and Latino voters.

SB1256 is the most far-reaching change to the state’s electoral process this year. The Assembly already has passed legislation requiring training for organizers of voter registration drives and removing Social Security cards, bank statements and other documents from those potential voters may present to confirm their identity.

The House today also passed SB1577 requiring voter registrars to compare their list of registered voters with a federal database of immigrants residing in the country illegally. Opponents argued the database is “riddled with errors” and could disenfranchise Virginians who formerly lived here illegally but have since attained citizenship.

-Kathy Adams, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot

General Assembly negotiators have signed off on a compromise transportation funding package that would generate about $880 million annually by 2018 and include funding to extend passenger rail service to Roanoke.

The 10 House and Senate negotiators met this morning to finalize a deal that would scrap the state’s 17.5 cents per gallon excise tax on gasoline, increase taxes on retail sales and car titling, and apply a new tax to the wholesale price of fuel too help fund the state’s road, rail and transit needs. If the General Assembly and Gov. Bob McDonnell approve the plan, it would be the most significant state transportation funding package to be enacted since 1986.

“It’s a reasonable, sustainable transportation package that gives something to everyone throughout the state,” said Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, a member of the House negotiating team on the bill.

House and Senate negotiators are still working out details of regional transportation funding options for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Legislators have received briefings on the compromise today. The full House and Senate could vote on a final package Thursday.

The compromise was sealed after three days of talks between House and Senate negotiators, who reached an agreement on the broad parameters of a deal Tuesday night.

“I’m pleased with the fact that we have a plan that will move us forward, that will give us a revenue stream that will sustain our system,” said Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, a member of the Senate negotiating team.

The plan would eliminate the state gas tax at the pump, but apply a 3.5 percent tax to the wholesale price of gas and a 6 percent tax to the wholesale price of diesel fuel. It also would increase the state’s sales tax from 5 percent to 5.3 percent and increase t– Mhe vehicle titling tax to 4.3 percent. The tax on automobile sales is now 3 percent, or 2 percentage points less than the current retail sales tax rate.

The plan also would increase the share of the existing sales tax that goes to transportation from 0.5 percent to 0.675 percent over four years, a concession by Democrats. And it would impose the $100 annual fee on alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles that McDonnell first proposed last month.

Senators received a public briefing on the compromise earlier this afternoon before Republicans and Democrats went their separate ways to discuss the proposal in closed door caucus meetings.

Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, called the proposal a “classic compromise” and said he intends to vote for it.

“I hope it will get enough votes to pass,” Edwards said. “The way they structured it, it will continue to grow with the economy and inflation.”

– Michael Sluss

Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, took the floor of the House of Delegates this morning to pay tribute to his predecessor, Clifton “Chip” Woodrum, who died Tuesday at the age of 74.

Ware was elected to the 11th District seat in 2003 following Woodrum’s retirement from the legislature. In a brief floor speech, Ware highlighted some of Woodrum’s signature legislative achievements and recalled the Roanoke Democrat’s legendary wit. Ware said he sometimes couldn’t tell if Woodrum’s humor was scathing or in jest.

“He had great command of the English language and he could do it either way,” Ware said. “It would take me a couple of days to figure out if Chip had actually taken me to the woodshed.”

“I loved Chip Woodrum and I’ll tell you why, ladies and gentlemen,” Ware said. “It is hard as an African American to follow someone as great as Chip Woodrum. Everyone had expectations of me to be the next Chip Woodrum. I appreciated Chip for all these years because he allowed me to be me.

“There was only a couple of times Chip Woodrum called me and asked a favor on a vote. One of the times he called me, he also had me solicit the help of [former] Del. Harvey Morgan [R-Gloucester], who also was an esteemed colleague. The vote came up 98-2, and the two people against it were Harvey Morgan and I. When I called Chip to tell him what happened to the vote, he said, ‘I told you to watch out for crazy constituents telling you how to vote.’ That’s the the type of wit Chip Woodrum had.”

On Ware’s motion, the House agreed to adjourn to today in Woodrum’s memory.

In an interview, Ware said he last spoke to Woodrum a few weeks ago. Woodrum called Ware after reading that Ware was giving some consideration to a Republican-engineered Senate redistricting plan that had enraged many Democrats.

“I had to walk him through my position on redistricting,” Ware said. “I had to calm him down.”

Ware eventually spoke out against the plan, which died on a procedural ruling by House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County.

Del. Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax County, and Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, also recalled Woodrum’s contributions in floor speeches today.

Lee Ware recalled a line Woodrum often used on close votes: ” I’ve got friends who are voting yes on this bill and I’ve got friends who are voting no. And I’ll tell you, I’m sticking with my friends.”

And, Lee Ware said, Woodrum was not reluctant to remind his colleagues of the place they occupied in the balance of power in state government.

“One time we were having a pretty serious debate on the floor and somebody said that he was here and he had served under I can’t remember how many governors. And after this part of the debate concluded, Chip stood up and he said, ‘You know, I haven’t served under any governors. I’ve served along side six governors. This is a co-equal branch, the legislative branch with the executive branch, and I have not served under any governors.’ It’s a great thing to remember people like Chip Woodrum as we think of those who served and distinguished this floor by their service.”

The Senate also adjourned in Woodrum’s memory today following brief tributed by Democrats Creigh Deeds of Bath County, John Edwards of Roanoke and Frank Wagner of Virginia Beach.

Former Gov. Gerald Baliles also issued a statement this morning after learning of Woodrum’s death.

“I am stunned at the loss of such a good friend and public servant,” Baliles said.  “With his wry sense of humor, Chip Woodrum was the consummate legislator – principled, yet pragmatic, in his search for solutions that would serve the Commonwealth and this region.”

– Michael Sluss