FW: COLA...Deadline 11am Thurs...STOP MASSIVE NEW TAXES

We Can Stop this Bill! The session is almost over - your help is needed.   Several iterations ago, the House passed this bill by a vote of 53-46. We only need four votes for the bill to fail in the House. The Senate passed their version with a vote of 26-14. In theory, we don't need many votes for the bill to fail. Please call your Senator and Delegate and ask them to vote NO on HB 2313.     SB 2313 is on the House and Senate floor calendars for an up-or-down vote tomorrow. Both sessions are scheduled to convene at 11:00, so time is of the essence.   With great fanfare after this year's General Assembly session started, Governor McDonnell introduced his transportation bills - SB 1398 and HB 2313. He said that we would be the first state to eliminate the gasoline tax. His plan was advertised as an innovative way to address our transportation issues. Even though the final, conference committee-approved bill has been amended several times, it is still essentially Governor McDonnell's bill. The Senate bill is dead, but the House bill has just emerged from the conference committee after being amended numerous times.   We oppose this bill for these reasons: This bill "generates additional funding for transportation". We all know that means tax increases. The estimates are an increase in revenue in the range of $2B over the next five years. This is after subtracting the loss of the gasoline tax. Does it matter what the tax is called if they want it to be higher? This bill eliminates the gasoline tax and replaces it with a portion of the newly increased sales tax. This breaks the alignment of taxing a product based on who uses that product or service. The vehicle registration fee will be raised. This additional revenue will be used for a Mass Transit and Intercity Passenger Rail Fund. There is a dedicated revenue stream to the tune of $300M for the Dulles Metrorail Extension - a project that regional planners have been working on for decades and that local residents do not want Our transportation problems don't need more money - budget priorities need to be adjusted. We are taxed enough already!!   Find your legislators.   Thanks The CoLA Team