Republican lawmakers have pushed to the full House of Delegates a measure that would increase the state income tax by 1 percentage point.
Former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, proposed the $2 billion income-tax increase in connection with a plan to phase out the local car tax.
The bill was moved out of the Republican-majority Rules Committee today without a recommendation -- a procedure that sets up a full House vote as soon as the end of the week.
While the maneuver forces Democrats to vote on the measure that Kaine proposed, many House Democrats are averse to raising taxes in the down economy. Del. Robert H. Brink, D-Arlington, sponsored the bill.
Two Democrats voted against the move in committee -- House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong, D-Henry, and Del. Kenneth R. Plum, D-Fairfax, head of the House Democratic Caucus. Plum wanted to pass the bill by indefinitely, effectively killing it.
House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, instead pushed to move it to the floor without a recommendation, saying he doesn't like the bill's approach but wants all members to vote on the measure.
"So when the budget comes out and it's based on some principles, it's not based on principles that two or three individuals got together and made a decision on," he said.
"It's not based on 15 senior members of the body making a decision, it's based on a decision of the members of this body as elected by the electorate last fall and that all 99 current members have an opportunity to take a stand on this."
Also today, Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, announced the creation of a subcommittee on ethics that will field all House bills relating to conflicts of interest.
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