RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia drivers can expect to see a 5 cents-per-gallon increase in the cost of gas starting Jan. 1. The increase on wholesale gas, which will likely be passed on to consumers at the pump, will help pay for a $6 billion transportation funding package passed under former Gov. Bob McDonnell last year. The transportation package originally relied on passage of a federal bill that would allow Virginia to collect sales taxes from out-of-state online merchants. But U.S. House Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who represents the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia’s 6th Congressional District, opposes the sales tax legislation and has bottled up the bill in his House committee. Goodlatte says it was foolish of state lawmakers to count on revenues from a federal bill before it became law.
