The deadline for Gov. Bob McDonnell to review all 812 bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly ended at midnight Monday, closing his window to either sign-off, veto or amend legislation. McDonnell offered amendments to 80 of the bills and vetoed six, signing the remaining 716 into law.
McDonnell’s most noteworthy act was his decision to send an amended version of the transportation bill back to the General Assembly for the veto session to review when it convenes April 3. The proposed amendments included reducing the proposed vehicle titling tax increase from 4.3 percent to 4.15 percent, reducing the alternative fuel vehicles annual fee from $100 to $64 and reducing the transient occupancy tax in Northern Virginia from 3 percent to 2 percent in an effort to keep hotels in the area more competitive with their out-of-state competitors.
“[These amendments] will accomplish the goals established by the governor earlier this year by moving away from the declining gasoline tax and toward a more dynamic sales tax-based revenue source,” said a press release from McDonnell’s office. “Governor McDonnell’s amendments would still result in over $5.9 billion in total revenue for transportation over the next five years.”
The General Assembly can now either accept the Governor’s proposed amendments or attempt to override, Caldwell said.
McDonnell approved the ban on texting while driving passed by the General Assembly in February, keeping the designation as a primary offence but reducing the fine to make it more equitable to that of reckless driving or DUI citations.
The governor also signed into law the voter identification bill, which requires people who go to the polls to have photo identification, but includes a provision for state-provided photo voter registration cards.
The six vetoed bills were largely about tax increases already covered by the transportation bill or about transient occupancy taxes already removed by McDonnell’s initiatives, Caldwell said.
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