General Assembly Considers Vetoes and Amendments at Reconvened Session, Sets the Stage for May 13 Special Session
Legislators met in Richmond on Wednesday to act on the Governor’s vetoes and amendments to legislation from the 2024 regular session. In advance of the reconvened session, speculation ran rampant as to whether the legislature would reject the Governor’s amendments to the FY 2024 “caboose” and 2024-2026 biennium budgets, potentially courting a rare veto of […]
Visit Madison County and the Madison County Historic Courthouse
Location: 1 South Main Street / Church StreetBuilt: 1828 – 1830Style: ColonialArchitect: Malcom F CrawfordContractor: Malcolm F Crawford, Richard S Boulware and William B Phillips Description: The building faces southeast and is a two-story red colored brick and wood structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Madison. The walls are […]
2024 Stormwater Local Assistance Fund Needs Survey
In 2019, the Stormwater Management Act (Code of Virginia § 62.1-44.15:24 et seq.) was amended to require the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to annually determine an estimate of the amount of Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF) matching grants expected to be requested by local governments for eligible projects related to planning, designing, and implementing […]
2024 Water Quality Improvement Fund Needs Survey
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) seeks your input to identify future funding needs for point source WQIF eligible projects in the Commonwealth. The DEQ has prepared a survey to solicit your input. To aid in completion of the survey, attached is the WQIF guidance memo #06-2012 amendment #1, #06-2012 amendment #1 addendum #1, as […]
Governor Proposes Budget Rewrite
Governor Youngkin proposed 233 amendments to the biennium budget bill that was passed by the General Assembly on March 9, as well as nine amendments to the “caboose” bill amending FY 2024 appropriations. In his remarks announcing his budget proposal last week, the Governor indicated that his amendments would produce a budget with neither tax […]
U.S. EPA Finalizes First-Ever Enforceable Limits of PFAS in Drinking Water
On April 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six PFAS. This is the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard designed to protect communities from exposure to harmful per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.” According to the EPA, the final […]
Governor Vetoes Bill to Expand Optional Affordable Dwelling Unit Program to All Localities
SB 597 (McPike) expands to all localities the ability to provide optional increases in density to meet affordable housing needs in the Commonwealth. Currently this authority is only provided to seven jurisdictions and has proven successful in developing affordable housing units where developers have chosen this option. The legislation also lays out additional implementation measures […]
Governor Proposes Amendments to 2024 Legislation
In addition to proposing a significant rewrite of the General Assembly’s budget and issuing 153 vetoes, Governor Youngkin recommended amendments to 116 bills. The legislature will consider these amendments at the reconvened session alongside the Governor’s budget amendments and vetoes; if the General Assembly rejects amendments to a bill, the measure is returned to the […]
Vetoed Bills of Interest to County Governments
In addition to vetoing HB 805 (Rasoul)/SB 14 (McPike) and SB 597 (McPike), as discussed above in Capitol Contact, Governor Youngkin issued vetoes for 150 bills, for a total of 153 vetoes. The legislature will have the opportunity to override these vetoes at the April 17 reconvened session; a supermajority vote of two-thirds of members […]
Capitol Contact ALERT! Governor Vetoes School Construction Financing Bills
Contact Your Delegates and Senators Now to Support Override Vote! On Monday night, April 8, Governor Youngkin vetoed HB 805 (Rasoul) and SB 14 (McPike), which passed the House and Senate with broad bipartisan support and at least two-thirds of each chamber voting in favor of the bills (71-26 and 27-13, respectively). This was in […]
Electric Vehicle Charging Bill Left in Conference
As previously reported, VACo supports HB 107 (Sullivan) as this bill would create the Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund. The Program and Fund would make available up to $25 million each fiscal year and assist developers by offsetting up to 70 percent of the non-utility cost of electric vehicle charging stations. According to the provisions […]
Visit Lunenburg County and the Lunenburg County Historic Courthouse
Photo Source: Virginia is for Lovers Location: 11435 Courthouse Road / Lunenburg County RoadBuilt: 1827Style: Greek-Roman RevivalArchitect: Dabney Crosby Sr. and William A HowardsContractor: Dabney Crosby Sr. and William A Howards Description: The building faces south and is a two-story red colored brick and wood structure. The south front has a large portico with four […]
Treasury Releases Updated FAQs for State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released an updated set of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) on March 29. This FAQ document is available on Treasury’s website at this link. As cataloged in the tracking chart at the beginning of the FAQ document, the March 29 edition […]
Revised Budget Bills Head to the Governor after Approval by Legislature
The General Assembly approved revisions to the introduced budget bills prior to adjourning on Saturday, March 9. Conference committee members had agreed on a package of compromise amendments to HB 29, the “caboose” budget making appropriations for the remainder of FY 2024, and HB 30, the budget for the upcoming biennium, and released the text […]
New Resource Hub for Local Officials: Protect Local Waterways Website
Celebrate World Water Day by reading up on how you can protect the streams and waterways that run through your community! Introducing Protect Local Waterways, a new award-winning web resource on how local leaders can help support the economy, public health, education, and infrastructure while protecting their communities’ environmental assets. Created by local officials for […]
Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program is Now Accepting Applications
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law established the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) discretionary program with $5 billion in appropriated funds over 5 years. The SS4A program funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. Funds for the fiscal year 2024 SS4A grant program are to be […]