Gov. Tim Kaine became the 70th Governor of Virginia on January 14, 2006. During Kaine's tenure, Virginia has been recognized as the most business-friendly state in America (Forbes.com 2006, 2007 and 2008; CNBC 2007), the top-performing state government in America (Governing Magazine 2008) and the state where "a child is most likely to have a successful life (Education Week 2007)."
Kaine has recognized the importance of transportation to Virginia's economy and the quality of life for its citizens. During his administration, the Commonwealth has seen an historic elevation of the importance of rail and public transit solutions, and innovative practices that more effectively coordinate transportation and land use planning to reduce congestion and ensure transportation dollars are used wisely. Kaine has also worked to increase oversight and accountability at the Department of Transportation, and nearly 80% of projects currently come in on time and on budget. Kaine is committed to finding a funding solution that addresses the transportation needs of the Commonwealth's two most congested regions and provides needed statewide funding to maintain a safe transportation network. The Administration's advances in transportation planning and public transportation have been recognized by awards from the Virginia Transit Association and the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association.
In education, Kaine is moving the state's focus from competence to excellence. He put into law Virginia's first requirement for all classroom teachers to receive regular and meaningful teacher evaluations. He is championing efforts to expand pre-kindergarten classes, bring teacher salaries up to the national average and raise the quality of the state's career and technical programs. In the area of health care, Kaine is focused on improving Virginians' health and creating better access to the health care network. He is working with small businesses to expand their ability to purchase health insurance for their employees and is working to utilize the state's technology resources to improve the quality of health care and find cost savings for consumers. Kaine shares with Virginians a desire to protect the God-given beauty of the Commonwealth. The governor and the legislature have invested about $660 million in cleaning up Virginia's rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
Kaine is committed to improving economic opportunity. Kaine has worked with the legislature to eliminate the estate tax, create Virginia's first sales tax holiday, take more than 140,000 low-income Virginians off the tax rolls, and give citizens more information to participate in local decisions about property tax rates. Virginia boasts one of the highest median incomes and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.
The transportation portion of the stimulus package is paying immediate and long term benefits to Virginia. A statewide identification of deficient bridges and pavements led to a commitment of $230 million in stimulus funds to these immediate maintenance needs. Another $170 million in stimulus funds has been devoted to transit and rail projects that keep transit properties in a state of good repair and that take trucks off our highways and move more freight on fuel-efficient rail lines. The balance of Virginia stimulus funds will be used to unlock longstanding projects that serve existing and imminent job growth… Read more
“Virginia adopted a ‘fix it first’ policy in 2004 for its highways, bridges, ports, airports and transit systems. While implementation of this policy represents an ongoing challenge, it has resulted in several innovative approaches. For example, we are able to quantify the highway maintenance savings for every truck taken off the highway and put onto freight rail. We invest in freight rail for this reason. We also have implemented performance standards for our interstate and primary pavements—sometimes at the expense of new construction. We invest in these critical, heavily traveled corridors. Looking ahead, we know that we do… Read more
We have seen many communities lose commercial air service over the last two decades, and we expect this trend to continue, based on the likely future costs of energy. We need to have alternatives to the old model of commercial aviation serving each and every community. High speed rail, however that is defined, can be an effective and affordable alternative to commercial air service, particularly for shorter commuter routes. Rail service is an effective and affordable alternative to air travel in the Washington, D.C. to New York Northeast corridor. We need to grow additional passenger rail corridors one… Read more
Virginia has used creative public-private partnerships to finance key elements in a globally competitive transportation system. For example: The first privately financed port in North America supported by publicly-funded rail and highway improvements A special tax on commercial property that supports the $2.7 Billion extension of the Washington Metrorail system to Dulles Airport in Virginia A toll for users of managed lanes on the Capital Beltway that supports the $2 Billion expansion of the Capital beltway An ongoing partnership to reduce highway construction costs by reclaiming energy production sites as rough-grade road beds So it is possible to create… Read more
As Governor, and in my former life as managing partner of a private law firm, I saw firsthand the value of benchmarking. Where, for example, does the U.S. stand in its commitments to refreshing old and decaying infrastructure compared to other mature economies? What about infrastructure workforce? Are we graduating as many engineers and innovators as other growing economies? How about global connections? How does U.S. investment in ports and airports compare to other major economies? Sadly, I think we all know the answer to these questions. Going through an appropriate benchmarking exercise—which I am sure… Read more
By most indicators, demand for transit, rail and HOV services remains as high as last summer when gas was over $4 per gallon. The recent dip in gas prices should only be viewed as a temporary reprieve and an opportunity to think through the need for different ways to: Fund transportation differently Achieve energy and conservation goals Integrate transportation and land use—better land uses can save money, time, and energy … Read more
Funding for mass transit and rail, both capital and operating, should see sustained increases. While any proposed stimulus package needs to include a fair share of transit and rail investments, these investments cannot be successful without continuing financial support for the safe maintenance and operations of the transit and rail systems. This means that transit and rail funding needs to be a priority in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization—to foster not only better urban places, but also to achieve our goals of energy independence and reduced carbon emissions. This additional federal funding needs to be accompanied by serious… Read more
1: Simplify transportation goals and eliminate unnecessary mandates, programs and processes. 2: Level the playing field among highway, rail, transit, and demand management solutions. 3: Increase federal funding for transit/rail, highway/bridge and private partnership initiative. 4: Reward performance-based regional planning for both transportation and land use. 5: Ensure that federal funds are predictable and reliable.… Read more
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