Committee endorses protecting NVTA revenue language, signals opposition to adding maintenance and operations to House Bill 2313

Members of the Government Personnel Committee signaled unified support for protecting the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority's capital-focused funding and for opposing any effort to add maintenance and operations responsibilities to House Bill 2313.

A committee member raised the recommended policy statement during the committee's review of the Authority's 2025 legislative program, saying the Authority should not assume maintenance and operations responsibilities because doing so could divert funds or require additional taxation. As summarized in the meeting, the proposal would "oppose any efforts to amend House Bill 2313 to add maintenance and operations." Committee members generally agreed and asked staff to draft language to place that position in the Authority's legislative statement.

Staff and members emphasized that the 2025 session is a short session and noted existing protections in the introduced budget for Metro and two years of gap funding as well as temporary relief from a 3% cap for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. Speakers said their near-term work will include preparing educational materials for General Assembly members who represent districts outside Northern Virginia and producing a one-page summary of the Authority's statutory responsibilities and accomplishments to support those outreach efforts.

No new funding request was presented; members described the legislative program as consistent with the Authority's posture since 2018: protect revenues, restore revenues where needed, and resist diversion of Authority funds to operations or maintenance without explicit policy change.

Next steps: staff will draft the policy language opposing amendments that add maintenance and operations to House Bill 2313 and prepare outreach materials for the short session and the governor's budget process.