Morning Read: Deadline Looms for McDonnell to Act on Transportation Funding Bill

Gov. Bob McDonnell has until midnight Monday to decide whether to veto, sign or amend Virginia's massive transportation funding legislation.

The bill would raise $1 billion a year in new taxes and fees -- the reason why many Republicans have been pressuring McDonnell to amend the legislation before he signs it.

On top of that, McDonnell’s attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, is fighting against the bill, saying one provision -- which would make the sales tax in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads higher than the rest of the state -- is unconstitutional.

The Washington Examiner writes that this legislation will define the governor’s legacy, and it’s unclear what he will decide to do.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* The Maryland House of Delegates advanced more than 125 bills on Saturday, including high-profile ones to legalize medical marijuana and to make cyber-bullying a crime. (Washington Post)

* Maryland Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling apparently came very close to making an independent gubernatorial run. He thought he needed $10 million for a viable campaign, and knew where he would get the first $5 million, but not the second $5 million. (Washington Post)

* The 2014 D.C. mayoral campaign kicked off Saturday as Councilmember Muriel Bowser officially announced her candidacy. (News4)

* The Maryland Senate will consider a bill this week that would raise the gas tax by 13-20 cents per gallon by 2016. The House passed the legislation on Friday. (Washington Times)

* Gov. O’Malley blasts South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley during a speech in Charleston this weekend. (Huffington Post)

* Is it too late to fix D.C.’s suburbs? Tysons Corner has been hard to urbanize as the area prepares for its new Silver Line Metro stop. (New Republic)

* Some renderings of the proposed Chuck Brown Memorial Park at the Center of Aging. (Rhode Island Avenue NE Insider)

* McDonnell may still amend a bipartisan agreement to expand Medicaid coverage in Virginia, despite Democrats' insistence that McDonnell had promised not to mess with the deal. (Washington Examiner)

* Delays are possible for the opening of Metro's Silver Line. (Washington Examiner)

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