Frederick and Puller Spar Over Transportation Revenue in First Debate

In the between incumbent and last night in Lake Ridge, Frederick said that if he won the 36th District Senate seat, he wanted to "shake things up" after Puller's 12 years in the seat, beginning with transportation and the gas tax.

“We can’t continue to rely on the gas tax to fund our transportation system,” he said, arguing against increasing the 17.5 cent per gallon gasoline tax.

The debate, sponsored by the Prince William Committee of 100, drew a live audience of more than 200 people, the largest local event that moderator and former television journalist Matt Brock had moderated in recent history. It pitted Puller, a politician with 20 years of experience in the Virginia General Assembly, against Frederick, who served three terms as a delegate beginning in 2003 before he left office to become the state’s youngest leader of the GOP.

Frederick once cosponsored legislation to change the gasoline tax to a revenue neutral percentage rate instead of a flat rate, but it did not pass.

Puller agreed that the gas tax should be changed to a revenue neutral rate.

“Clearly we need to do something to bring in more revenue,” Puller said.

Puller said she has supported locking the General Fund and the Transportation Fund so that money is not used for non-related expenditures. But Frederick said transportation is a general obligation of the state government and the General Fund should be used to pay for infrastructure improvements.

Puller said most Prince William County residents do not want the HOT lanes and she isn’t sure how much longer the HOV-3 lanes will be free. Frederick said that existing infrastructure isn’t enough to support the number of cars on the roads today and Virginia is one of three states that still own roads.

“There’s a reason only three states own their own roads. It doesn’t work,” he said. Being on time and on budget shouldn’t be an accomplishment for the Virginia Department of Transportation, he said. It should be a requirement.

“If I am not on time or on budget, I’m fired,” he said.

Puller said VDOT processes are evaluated every three to four years and each time the agency seems to improve for a little while.

Frederick wants to abolish the Business, Professional, and Occupational License tax. He said the tax was established during the War of 1812, but it was never removed from the books. The tax is on a business’s gross receipts, not profits, making it one of the most unpopular taxes in Virginia.

“So, a company that broke even is now at a loss,” he said.

Puller said she doesn’t know anyone who is a fan of the BPOL tax. She said former Gov. George Allen tried to kill the BPOL tax and have the state refund localities for the lost revenue, but that mission did not gain enough support. Puller said doesn’t want the state to have to refund localities if the BPOL tax were to be abolished.

Brock asked how Virginia could be named as the best place to do business in when the BPOL tax is used by some localities as a revenue generator.

Frederick used an analogy of a student who scored a 75 on a test, which was top in the class.

“I still think the score is mediocre. So, yeah, Virginia is a great place to do business in, but we can do better,” he said.

Puller said CNBC named Virginia the top business state and BPOL is a tax that local governments enact, not the state. She read from Gov. Bob McDonnell’s statement that Virginia got the recognition because of its pro-business environment, the educated workforce, the strong economy and the high quality of life.

Puller has been an advocate for rejuvenating the Route 1 corridor and she has been working on the details since 1994. She said she championed the first transit study for the corridor that will stretch through the entire district. She asked Frederick why he never sponsored legislation to improve the Route 1 corridor.

Frederick said Puller has been studying the Route 1 corridor for 20 years. “Let’s do something about it,” he said.

Frederick said that while he has never sponsored legislation that specifically mentioned the Route 1 corridor, he has supported several bills that benefit the corridor.

Frederick told Puller that he has been reading her mailings and she is stating that she helped balance the budget without raising taxes and that she has worked with Gov. McDonnell on several initiatives. Frederick said he is not aware of a single tax proposal that Puller voted against. He asked her if she was just saying these things because it is an election year.

Puller said that the General Assembly has cut more than $6 billion from the state budget and that the biennial budget passed both chambers unanimously for the first time in 50 years. She took offense to Frederick’s claim that she has not been supportive of the governor, adding that she helped McDonnell get a seat on the Metro Board.

“So, don’t act like I’m not a friend of his,” she said.

Puller said she's not ready to leave Richmond.

“I’m just getting really good at what I am doing,” she said.

There are between Frederick and Puller.

The election is on Nov. 8. For more information on the candidates, see Puller's website and Frederick's website.