This past General Assembly Session, the McDonnell Administration continued its efforts to address Virginia’s transportation challenges. Governor McDonnell and Virginia’s transportation agencies submitted 28 pieces of legislation for consideration, 26 of which passed and will be signed into law. Among these pieces of legislation were steps to reform the governance and operations of our transportation agencies, increase transparency and accountability, create jobs, and provide additional tools to fund our transportation systems.
Chief among the Administration’s successes were efforts to promote and reform the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA) and the Virginia Port Authority (VPA). The Governor’s Comprehensive VCSFA Promotion and Reform Legislation will reconstitute the VCSFA with the staffing and financial resources necessary to make Virginia a leader in the commercial aerospace industry. With the recent shuttering of the NASA manned space program, much of the future of U.S. space flight will fall upon the commercial sector. As the commercial aerospace industry grows, a restructured VCSFA will compete to bring many of the high paying aerospace jobs and companies to Virginia and make the Commonwealth the nation’s preferred destination for commercial aerospace activity.
As one of the only ports on the East Coast currently capable of handling post-panamax ships (the larger class of ship expected to call upon the East Coast with the completion of the Panama Canal Expansion Project in 2014), the Port of Virginia is expecting to undergo tremendous growth over the next decade. For the port to realize this growth, however, the Commonwealth must provide incentives on par with our competitors and create new operational efficiencies to help attract customers to Virginia. The Governor’s Comprehensive VPA Promotion and Reform Legislation charts the course for achieving this growth. The legislation extends existing tax credits for companies that create jobs or make an investment in Virginia that leads to growth in port cargo volumes to bring parity with competitors’ credits. It also creates new efficiencies by eliminating bureaucratic processes, enhances the Board of Commissioners by ensuring that appointees have relevant experience to govern the port, and creates the Port Opportunity Fund to support an enhanced marketing program and provide incentives to shippers.
The legislation also requires the Administration to make recommendations on the creation of an economic development zone related to the Port. By locating a zone along the proposed Route 460 Corridor Improvements Project, Virginia can address three critical issues: one, the Commonwealth can create much needed jobs; two, the Commonwealth can attract the support facilities needed to support growth at the port; and, three, by driving development to a specified area, the Commonwealth can significantly reduce the port related congestion in Hampton Roads. A recent study by Chmura Economics stated that the construction of the new Route 460 combined with the economic development zone could generate an economic impact estimated at $7.3 billion, supporting over 14,000 jobs in the Corridor and $5.7 billion, supporting over 11,000 jobs in Hampton Roads. Over the coming months, the Administration will continue to work with the General Assembly to create and implement this zone.
Additionally, the General Assembly passed two pieces of legislation to reform Northern Virginia transportation entities. One initiative will provide for two additional Virginia seats on the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority Board of Directors. The second codifies Virginia’s seat on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Board of Directors and implements governance reforms recommended by the WMATA Governance Work Group. These new seats and reforms are geared towards ensuring that these transportation organizations operate in an accountable, safe, and transparent manner and that projects are completed in as cost-efficient and timely manner as possible.
Finally, the Governor’s Transportation Funding and Reform Legislation builds upon the successes of the 2011 General Assembly to create new tools for ensuring transparency and accountability in transportation planning and funding our transportation network. The legislation implements new planning requirements further linking transportation and local land use planning to ensure accountability and transparency in the expenditure of state transportation dollars. It also expands the VDOT revenue sharing program to include maintenance, thereby better leveraging our available transportation dollars, and provides the Commonwealth Transportation Board with new flexibilities to address critical areas of need statewide within limited budgets.
While the McDonnell Administration has made tremendous progress in addressing the Commonwealth’s transportation challenges, there is still much work to do. Over the coming months, we will continue to work with the General Assembly, localities, and our stakeholders to look for innovative ways to address these challenges and create much needed jobs and opportunity throughout the Commonwealth.
