On the State Level: We need a sane transportation plan...

According to information I received by email, the Foundation for Virginia is asking people to contact their state legislators asking them to support a transportation plan that increases funding without taking money from the state General Fund. The Senate is onboard with this proposal; however, the House of Delegates is not.

Read on:
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Take 2 Minutes for the Future of Transportation in VA

Transportation investment is long overdue for our state, as shown by the support it has received by both Governor Kaine and the Senate's Republican leadership. However, we need to make sure that the transportation reform is not used as an excuse to roll back the education investments made last year.

Right now it is crucial that your Delegate hears from you. The House is currently proposing a budget that not only continues the underfunding of transportation, but also raids extensively from the General Fund, endangering education and public health funding.

Please take two minutes to call your Delegate at (800) 889-0229 and tell him or her to:

Support a transportation plan that does not
raid our General Fund!

Please do this as soon as you can.
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If you don't know who your delegate is, go to Who’s my Legislator?, and enter your personal information (only street address, town and zip code are required).

If you’d rather write a letter or send an email to your representative, they propose the following format:

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Delegate _________,

Virginia needs to address the issue of long term funding for transportation this year. It is crucial for the long term health of our state to invest in upkeep of our local roads and to encourage economic growth. However, it would be a mistake to try to increase transportation funding by stripping money away from our schools, nursing homes, police officers and our natural resources. Therefore, please support Governor Kaine's transportation plan or a similar plan that addresses the urgent need for transportation investment without raiding the General Fund.

Thank you,

Name
Address
Phone
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Virginia will have to be accountable for this funding and make sure the money actually goes toward transportation. It is also absolutely imperative that the state government reform land use and transportation planning. This is a state-wide bipartisan endeavor and we should all support it.