McAuliffe repeals hybrid car fee, talks Medicaid

Feb. 27--RICHMOND -- The controversial hybrid vehicle tax has officially been repealed.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday signed one of the bills to eliminate the new $64 annual surcharge during his first monthly appearance on Washington-area radio station WTOP.

After that ceremonial signing, McAuliffe, a Democrat, gave the commemorative pens he used to the radio hosts interviewing him.

The legislation he signed, HB975 from Del. Tom Rust, R-Fairfax County, nixes the annual fee on hybrid vehicles and creates a mechanism for state refunds to motorists who paid that registration fee years in advance. One day earlier, McAuliffe signed similar legislation (SB127) from Lynchburg Republican Sen. Steve Newman.

Both bills targeted a fee included in last year's transportation-funding law. That plan, built on new taxes, was crafted to raise more than $1 billion annually for state road and transit needs.

The hybrid charge was set at $100 in the bill that initially passed the General Assembly, but former Gov. Bob McDonnell reduced it to $64 amid a public outcry.

Despite the repeal, a similar fee on electric and alternative-fuel vehicles remains in place.

Repeal of the hybrid fee, which takes effect July 1, is estimated to cost the state $10.7 million in annual revenue down the road.

During Wednesday's radio interview, McAuliffe also responded to questions about his support of gay rights and policies benefiting certain undocumented immigrants, and the thorny issue of Medicaid expansion.

The governor criticized House of Delegates Republicans for "refusing to even talk to us" about allowing thousands of uninsured Virginians to access health care through a government-subsidized program under the federal Affordable Care Act.

McAuliffe and fellow Democrats support a private option plan which banks on recovering $1.7 billion each year in federal tax dollars to extend insurance coverage to as many as 400,000 Virginians.

That "Marketplace Virginia" concept is embodied in the Senate budget bill. But it has been overwhelmingly rejected by the House, where GOP leaders are wary of relying on pledges from Washington to fund the bulk of expansion costs.

Disagreement over Medicaid could delay compromise on Virginia's proposed two-year, $96 billion budget in time for the General Assembly's scheduled March 8 adjournment.

Lawmakers on both sides blame the other for the potential budget gridlock.

Julian Walker, 804-697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com

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