Transit Plan Could Be Funded by Car Insurance

Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine is trying to fund several transportation initiatives that he has, and is looking to car insurance premiums to help him do it. Kaine knows that he needs $3 billion to pay for the new projects that he wants, and he knows that it is 1/5th more than legislators sought. He also knows that there are taxes on car insurance premiums that he could possibly used to fund the projects.

He is trying to fix the congested roads in the state of Virginia, and has allocated funding to some of the most crowded roads – but it just isn’t enough. His amendments for transportation will fund many of the problem areas, and will help those localities that are having problems.

The House and Senate have to vote on the total for transportation, and if they will allow the car insurance taxes to be used for that purpose. However, talk is that they seem to like what they have seen so far. They say that the governor has been very forthright with them, and truly seems to want their opinion on how they can get this to work.

He wants to use about $150 million a year from 1/3rd of the tax on auto insurance premiums. He says that it is a reliable source of income, and since lawmakers had already decided to use that money for transportation it is a win-win situation. They say that the way the bill originally read it would never have gotten passed, but with the changes that the governor and the legislature have made, it seems like a viable solution to a terrible problem.

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