Members of the General Assembly are about to return to Richmond and start haggling over the budget. And part of the debate will be very familiar.
The car tax is such a hated part of Virginia's budget that back in 1997, Jim Gilmore was elected governor on a platform of getting rid of it.
"In my governorship, I got 70% off. But then the Senate altered that to a flat fee, and as a result the car tax has been creeping up ever since," Gilmore says. "And people are very upset about it."
Now, almost 30 years later, former Governor Gilmore is supporting a plan by current Governor Glenn Youngkin to offer rebates as an offset to cover the cost of the car tax that goes to local governments.
Senate Finance Chairwoman Louise Lucas calls this a gimmick from the past – a view shared by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell.
"And, I think if he really wants to help hardworking Virginians, he should support our $15 an hour minimum wage instead of stuff that will defund our public schools – like this zombie gimmick that got rejected in the 90s," he says.
Gilmore says he's glad Youngkin is taking action to get rid of what's left of the car tax.
"If the two Democratic leaders loudly oppose the governor and loudly oppose the elimination of the car tax, they will become zombie legislators," the former governor adds.
Lawmakers will spend the next few months debating the details of what's in the budget and what's not in the budget in advance of the next fiscal year, which starts in July.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
