Constitutional Amendments requiring personal property tax exemption for disabled veterans reintroduced; helpful bills attempt to mitigate effect of real property tax exemptions on localities
Constitutional amendments that would mandate an exemption from personal property taxes for one vehicle owned by veteran with a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability have been reintroduced this year as HJ 103 (Helmer), SJ 33 (Reeves), and SJ 58 (Morrissey). Constitutional amendments must pass the General Assembly twice in identical form – once […]
Goat grazing bill hits snag in committee
A bill designed to allow local governments to use goat herds to control overgrowth along stream banks hit a snag in its first committee hearing and will be revisited again this week. SB 648 (Boysko) authorizes a local government that procures and utilizes goats for the temporary grazing of stream buffers to remain in compliance […]
Tree preservation bill survives first cut
A bill directing the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene a stakeholder advisory group for the purpose of studying the planting or preservation of trees as a land cover type and as a stormwater best management practice (BMP) has cleared its first legislative hurdle, passing out of subcommittee on Monday, January 20. HB 520 […]
Governor proposes significant increase in motor fuels tax as part of major overhaul of transportation system funding
HB 1414 (Filler-Corn) and SB 890 (Saslaw) propose major changes to the funding and distribution of transportation resources in the Commonwealth. These Northam Administration supported bills, filed by the Speaker of the House and Majority Leader of the Senate, seek to generate additional revenues to be used for transportation needs and streamline how such funding […]
No-excuse absentee voting bill sails out of Senate Privileges and Elections
SB 111 (Howell) is on the Senate floor after being reported from the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, 11-4, on Tuesday, January 14. The bill, which incorporated four similar measures, eliminates the requirement for a voter to provide an excuse in order to vote by absentee ballot and requires that in-person no-excuse absentee voting be […]
Workers’ compensation first responder presumption legislation advances to Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee
On January 13, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee took up legislation that proposes adding several types of cancer to the list of illnesses presumed to be incurred in the course of employment for firefighters, as well as additional legislation applicable to multiple categories of first-responders that proposes adding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a […]
Vehicle registration fee protections for localities
In remarks made presenting his 2020-2022 budget proposal, Governor Ralph Northam proposed reducing the state’s vehicle registration fee by half. Virginia Code currently permits local governments to levy license fees on vehicle registration that shall not be greater than the annual fee amount imposed the state. This maximum amount varies by vehicle class, but for […]
VACo supports bill to return authority to counties to determine local tax incentives for large solar projects
SB 800 (Lewis) advances the sunset date of the state-mandated 80% tax exemption from Machinery and Tool Tax (M&T) for utility-scale solar projects greater than 20 megawatts (MW) from 2024 to 2021. This proposed change will allow counties to decide by local ordinance, as is allowed under Virginia law, to determine at their discretion a […]
Support needed for bill to improve Local Fiscal Impact review process
SB 188 (Peake) seeks to enhance the current process by which bills are reviewed for potential fiscal impacts on local governments. SB 188 would require bills that would mandate additional expenditures by local governments or reduce local revenues be filed by December 15. This would provide additional time for the Commission on Local Government and […]
Helpful bill on jail costs moves forward
SB 189 (Peake) requires that the state compensate local jails for the cost of housing state-responsible inmates (individuals who have been convicted of a felony and committed to the Department of Corrections whose sentence is one year or more) at the actual cost of incarceration, rather than as provided in the Appropriations Act. VACo has […]
Beneficial clean energy financing bill introduced
A bill has been introduced in the House that could help localities take advantage of creative clean energy financing mechanisms. HB 654 (Mugler) authorizes the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) to sponsor a statewide clean energy financing program. More specifically, this legislation would enable DMME to engage with a private entity in order […]
Several Children’s Services Act bills under consideration
Several bills have been introduced to provide additional flexibility in the use of Children’s Services Act (CSA) funding to support youths with high-level needs in the public school setting. HB 49 (McNamara) and SB 128 (Suetterlein) are similar bills that would direct the Department of Education to develop pilot programs in two to eight local […]
Senate Committee delays vote on bill to require written notice to adjoining property owners of zoning decisions
The Senate Local Government Committee postponed for a week a vote on SB 589 (Hanger), which requires zoning administrators to provide notice of all decisions and determinations to property owners adjacent to or across the road from the subject property. Specifically, the legislation requires such notice to be “… delivered by first-class mail to the […]
Troubling pesticide restriction bill introduced
A bill restricting a locality’s use of pesticides for certain bug infestations has been introduced for a second year. HB 1204 (Tran) seeks to prohibit localities from spraying pesticides intended to suppress an infestation of the fall cankerworm on any property unless the owner of the property requests such spraying through an opt-in program operated […]
Urban fertilizer program bill to be heard in Senate Committee
A bill introduced by Senator Monty Mason pertaining to the use of nonagricultural fertilizers was heard today in the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee. SB 849 (Mason) authorizes local governments to enter into agreements with the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to provide oversight and data collection […]
VACo County Pulse Podcast | General Assembly Legislative Briefs
VACo’s VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch and Lancaster County Supervisor Jason Bellows discuss the start of the 2020 General Assembly Session and issues of interest to Counties. Listen to the Podcast