“Forever Chemical” bills head to House floor
Two bills seeking to study and address certain chemical contaminants in Virginia’s drinking water have been reported out the House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee and will be heard on the floor of the House of Delegates. Both bills attempt to focus on the growing concern over the threats of PFAS chemicals, which is the […]
Epinephrine mandate removed; bill now permissive
HB 1147 (Keam), as introduced, would require “every public place” to make epinephrine available for administration, and would authorize any employee of a public place who is authorized by a prescriber and trained in the administration of epinephrine to possess the drug and administer it to someone who is believed to be experiencing an anaphylactic […]
No need for the chopping block; tree preservation study bill passes House
HB 520 (Bulova), which directs 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), passed the full House of Delegates by a sweeping 82-17 vote. HB 520 was […]
Bill requiring additional reporting for discharges of deleterious substances into state waters trickles out of Committee
A bill stipulating new reporting requirements for the discharge of deleterious substance into state waters cleared the House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday morning. HB 1205 (Tran) requires that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) shall provide to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and local newspapers, television stations, and radio stations, […]
Capitol Contact ALERT – Oppose unfunded and mandated collective bargaining for public employees
HB 582 (Guzman) and SB 1022 (Boysko) repeal the existing prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees and create the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB), which would be responsible for determining eligible bargaining units of employees, certifying the election of their representatives, and meditation of labor disputes. The Code of Virginia currently prohibits collective bargaining for […]
Additional Priority Budget Amendments Introduced
In addition to the package of budget amendments introduced at VACo’s request (discussed in the January 21 edition of Capitol Contact), VACo supports several amendments that address county priorities, many of which were introduced at the request of partner organizations. Below is a list of items VACo will be working to support during budget discussions. […]
Unfunded mandate for deputy sheriff salaries stricken for the year
A bill that would have required an increase in minimum salaries for deputy sheriffs was stricken from the docket today at the behest of the patron in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. SB 1085 (Pillion) provided that the minimum salary for all deputy sheriffs, law enforcement and non-law enforcement, shall be set at the […]
VACo supports maintaining authority of Counties to address impacts of large-scale solar
The 2020 General Assembly will consider several bills that would limit and restrict local land use authority to address impacts due to the placement and operation of utility-scale solar projects. VACo opposes these efforts that include the following legislative proposals: HB 657 (Heretick) and SB 893 (Marsden) exempt any solar facility that is 150 megawatts […]
Bill allowing the Board of Education to sue localities over school facilities stricken
On January 27, HB 1446 (Aird) was struck at the request of the patron in the House Education Committee. The bill, as originally written, would have required all school boards to assess each school building in the school division and for compliance with standards to be determined by the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE). In […]
Bill providing local authority to restrict nutrient credit usage continued to 2021
A bill introduced by Delegate Wendy Gooditis seeking to authorize local governments to restrict nutrient credit usage in their localities has been continued to the 2021 legislative session. HB 1464 (Gooditis) sought to authorize the governing body of any locality, by ordinance, to restrict the total nutrient credits that are generated in the locality and […]
Deleterious substances discharge reporting bill heavily amended in subcommittee
A worrisome bill requiring drastic new reporting requirements for the discharge of deleterious substance into state waters was heavily amended in subcommittee on Monday night before finally reporting to the full House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee. HB 1205 (Tran) sought to decrease from 24 hours to eight hours the time frame for any […]
Fracking ban bill passes full Senate
A bill seeking to ban hydraulic fracturing, better known as “fracking,” in certain parts of the Commonwealth has passed the full Senate by a 26-13 vote. SB 106 (Surovell) seeks to prohibit fracking in the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area to better protect the Potomac Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to millions of Virginia residents. […]
Urban fertilizer program bill unanimously passes Senate
Having already passed the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee by unanimous votes, SB 849 (Mason) continued with its successful track record, passing the full Senate by a vote of 39-0. The bill authorizes local governments to enter into agreements with the Commissioner of the Virginia Department […]
VACo County Pulse Podcast | General Assembly Legislative Briefs 2
VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch welcomed Delegate Terry Kilgore to the County Pulse Podcast to talk about the 2020 General Assembly Session. The two Scott County natives discussed Equal Taxing Fairness, budget amendments, legislation submitted by Delegate Kilgore, opportunities in Southwest Virginia, and much more. Listen to the Podcast
Capitol Contact ALERT – Support County authority to determine local tax incentives for large solar projects
SB 800 (Lewis), which advances the expiration date of the state-mandated 80 percent tax exemption from Machinery and Tool Tax (M&T) for utility-scale solar projects greater than 20 megawatts (MW) from 2024 to 2021, will be placed on the docket for the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee meeting on Wednesday, January 29, at 9 a.m. […]
Equal taxing authority bills introduced; VACo’s overarching legislative priority
VACo is working with legislators in both chambers and both parties on legislation to provide parity between city and county taxing authority, a long-standing priority for the Association. As funding partners with the state in the provision of core government services such as K-12, public health, and public safety, counties need tools to raise the […]