General Assembly 2015 Update
The 2015 session of the Virginia General Assembly opened on Wednesday, January 14.
HB 1887 is Virginia Transit Authority’s (VTA) top priority for this session. This multi-faceted Omnibus bill primarily focuses on the appointments and composition of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, changes the formula for the allocation of highway funds to allow for 30% to go to the construction district grant program, and most importantly for transit, redirects some highway maintenance and operations revenue to provide $40 million more annually in transit capital funding. This Omnibus bill is our best chance to obtain the critical funding transit needs.
VTA Legislative Day was on Monday, January 26. Once again TAGS was a Silver Sponsor of the annual VTA “Transportation Choices” Legislative Reception. Many legislators came to enjoy the Buz and Ned’s BBQ and Virginia beverages. Those who couldn’t come because of scheduling conflicts have said they wished they had come! VTA President Dr. Patricia Woodbury and VTA Vice-President David Snyder opened the brief program and Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne addressed the crowd. Also in attendance were DRPT Director Jennifer Mitchell, Deputy Secretary Nick Donohue, and many other Administration staff. Overall there were about 200 participants. It was a great event to network, meet new contacts, and enjoy the best BBQ and fixin’s in Richmond.
