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NVTA committee recommends 2026 legislative priorities after debate over DMV Moves tax plan
Summary
The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Government Personnel Committee on Dec. 11 recommended the Authority adopt its 2026 legislative priorities after discussing DMV Moves—a proposal members described as asking Northern Virginia to ‘tax yourself’—and concerns about affordability, special elections and outreach to incoming legislators.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Government Personnel Committee of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority on Dec. 11 voted unanimously to recommend that the Authority adopt its 2026 legislative priorities after an extended discussion about how to press the region—or new transit funding.
The motion to send the priorities to the full Authority was made by the committee chair and seconded; members indicated no opposition and the motion passed unanimously. Committee members spent the bulk of the meeting weighing how to advance DMV Moves, a multi-jurisdiction proposal they characterized as asking Northern Virginia to "tax yourself," while also accounting for statewide political concerns about affordability.
The priorities document presented to the committee was unchanged from the November version and centers on protecting NVTA—xisting revenues, securing replacement funding and finding new, net-new money for transit needs across Northern Virginia, including WMATA, the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), OmniRide and local bus systems. Staff cited a shortfall "from where we were in 2018" (referred to during the meeting as about $38,500,000) and mentioned an immediate operating re-benchmarking need cited as $153,000,000 for an upcoming fiscal year.
Committee members discussed the political difficulty of seeking new tax or fee authority in the current affordability environment. "DMV Moves is basically just saying Northern Virginia tax yourself," the chair said, summarizing the proposal's principal mechanism and the likely political framing. Several members said that affordability messaging and clear accountability, vetting and performance guarantees would be required to persuade legislators from other regions to support any regional self-taxing approach.
Members also flagged near-term personnel changes that could affect NVTA outreach. Staff noted pending special elections to fill legislative vacancies — including races tied to seats discussed in the meeting — and urged immediate written outreach and swift meetings in Richmond for any newly seated delegates to brief them on NVTA priorities. "There will be a very short turnaround between end of their election, they get certified, and they're gonna be in Richmond," one committee member said.
Speakers urged a coordinated regional campaign involving business groups, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, the Chamber/Board of Trade and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to build support. Committee members asked staff and regional partners to prepare concise talking points and to lead outreach to incoming and incumbent legislators once election timelines are firm.
The committee did not change the priorities document before forwarding it; the recommendation now goes to the full NVTA board for consideration. The chair adjourned the meeting and said the Authority would discuss the item on the upcoming full membership call.
