DC: Northam Amends Metro Bill to Protect N.Va. Transportation Funds

Virginia’s commitment to provide $154 million each year to repair the Metro transit system has not changed, but the sources of the money would, under amendments that Gov. Ralph Northam made to the legislation Monday.

Pushed by Northern Virginia localities worried about the loss of regional money for local transportation projects, Northam restored most of two proposed local tax hikes that had been stricken in a compromise between the Senate and House of Delegates in the waning hours of the General Assembly session.

The governor amended the two identical Metro funding bills to reduce by more than $30 million the amount of money that would come each year from transportation funds administered by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. He did so by restoring 10 cents per $100 in value to the grantor’s tax on deeds that the authority receives to pay for regional transportation projects.

Read the complete article at http://www.newsadvance.com/news/state/general_assembly/northam-amends-metro-bill-to-protect-nova-transportation-funds/article_7494b659-ee4a-56f4-ac9e-a51d7f935ad2.html