Letter to Constituents - 2021 Session

We had a very successful 2021 General Assembly session and we passed many new laws that will be implemented in the coming months and affect those living in the 36th Senate District for decades. 

I sent a newsletter that went to many constituents and supporters.  I could not send it every household because of the cost.  If you would like to read the newsletter, I have included it here:

Hybrid Tax Petition Delivered - Two Days Till Decision

Last Monday, Senator Adam Ebbin and I delivered nearly 7,000 signatures on our No Hybrid Tax Petition to Governor Robert McDonnell at the State Capitol in Richmond.  You can read more about it here:

Washington Post, Prius Tax Foes Urge McDonnell to Kill It
Richmond Times Dispatch, Hybrid Tax Foes Take Tax Fight To the Governor

Virginian Pilot - Tea Party Seeks Road Bill Veto, Others Want Hybrid Fee Gone

Roanoke WDBJ7 - More than 6,800 Signatures Against Hybrid Tax Dropped Off at Governor's Office

We delivered the petition to the Governor and his staff told us that he did review the petitions and the over 6,000 comments. 

As of noon today, 7,195 people have signed the petition.  You can still sign up here:

No Hybrid Tax Petition 

The hybrid tax fails to make sense on a number of levels:

• It punishes people for doing the right thing - conserving energy.
• The $100 tax bears no relationship to the gas taxes that are avoided (at most $30/year on a 45 MPG vehicle)
• The Federal and State Government have been encouraging people to purchase hybrid technology while this punishes people.
• Hybrid owners already pay their fair share of taxes including (1) 10% higher price for the car, (2) greater titling taxes, (3) greater personal property taxes, (4) $25/yr. for clean energy license plates, and (5) $3,000+ for a new battery after 150,000 miles.
• The tax is irrational.  There are other vehicles that get better gas mileage than many hybrids such as motor cycles and mopeds.  There are also gas vehicles that get better mileage than most hybrids, and many hybrids that get worse gas mileage than many gas powered cars. 
• It also inordinately punishes Northern Virginia where 82% of hybrids are registered in Virginia.

The Governor has to act by Monday, March 25, 2013. 

Hopefully, he will do the right thing and offer an amendment deleting the hybrid tax from the legislation. 

Veto the Hybrid Tax

Transportation dominated the debate this session.

Governor McDonnell's original bill (HB2313) contained a $100 annual fee for all hybrid vehicles.  That fee was rejected by both the House and Senate versions of the legislation passed.  However, when compromise legislation was reported, the $100 hybrid tax reappeared.

This is bad policy.                      

• The Hybrid Tax punishes saving energy. Virginia needs to create incentives to encourage energy conservation so America can be energy independent.  Most states are giving tax credits for hybrid purchases, not punishing owners. 
• The Hybrid Tax is a punitive tax.  The typical hybrid vehicle saves less than $35 per year in gas taxes - a $100 annual fee has no relationship to anything.
• The Hybrid Tax is unfair.  There are many non-hybrid vehicles that get better MPG than hybrids.  They don't pay the tax.  This indiscriminately picks on one technology.
• Hybrid owners already pay their fair share.  Hybrids already cost 10% more than other cars and there is no personal property tax phaseout for vehicles worth more than $20,000.                            
• The Hybrid Tax will barely generate revenue.  There are only 92,000 hybrids in Virginia - 1.3% of the entire vehicle fleet.               
• The Hybrid Tax picks on Northern Virginia.  83% of Virginia clean fuel plates are registered in Northern Virginia.  This is one more example of Northern Virginia being used as a statewide piggy bank.                         

State Senator Adam Ebbin and I have set up a petition to Governor McDonnell.  PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK:

NO VIRGINIA HYBRID TAX PETITION TO GOV. MCDONNELL

Will you sign? 

We need to send Governor McDonnell a message that this is bad policy and he should line-item veto the $100 Hybrid Tax from HB2313.  All signatures will be delivered to Governor McDonnell.

Delegate Scott Surovell
Senator Adam Ebbin

Thinking About My Hybrid

Last week, my 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid, Manual 5-speed cleared 100,000 miles and it got me to thinking about the economics of buying my car.

At the time, Hybrids had just hit the market. I wanted to buy a Toyta Prius, but the waiting list was 8 months long. At the time, I was living in Hybla Valley so I ran across the street to Sheehy Honda and signed a contract on a a Honda Civic Hybrid for $19,500 in August, 2004. It cost me a couple thousand dollars more than the regular Honda Civic, but it had better gas mileage and I wanted to support the hybrid concept at the time.

In the first couple years they were on the market, the federal government offered tax deductions hybrid purchasers. The federal deduction totalled $2,000 at the time and the net dollar effect was variable value depending on your marginal tax rate, but it definitely saved me some taxes.

I've also been thinking about my gas savings. My previous car was a 1995 Honda Accord. It's gas mileage was about 27 MPG. Today, I get about 47 MPG on average through the year (a little higher in the summer, a little lower in the winter).

I did some quick math and to drive 100,000 miles at a MPG that was 20 MPG higher translates to 1,576 less gallons of gas. I pulled down the historical gas prices for the Central Atlantic Region and did a non-weighted average ($2.66/gallon) and added a dime for Northern Virginia. Turns out my gas savings were approximately $5,872 over the last 100,000 miles.

In terms of carbon footprint, 1 gallon of gasoline translates to 19.564 pounds of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Therefore, I emitted 30,833 less pounds of carbon by purchasing this vehicle.

My car is also grandfathered into Virginia HOV restrictions. That has saved me countless hours in traffic.

One thing I also noticed as soon as I bought the car was that I spent a lot less time at the gas station. By saving 1,576 gallons of gas, that equals 112 fewer fill ups (1,576 divided by 14 gal.) over the last 6 years or about 1.5-2 less trips to the gas station each month. At five minutes per fill up, that saved me about 562 minutes or about 9.38 hours.

My car has taken some dings and nicks through the years, but it's still going strong. It gets me from Point A to Point B which my main priority. Here's the bottom line:

• $2,000 tax deduction
• $5,872 in saved gas
• Hours saved in traffic by using HOV lanes
• 9.38 hours less time at gas station
• 30,833 less pounds of carbon emitted

All-in-all, I'm feeling pretty good about my purchase.