School Safety and FERPA
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently published the final report of the Federal Commission on School Safety, which was formed in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Chapter 17 of the report details the relationship between efforts to ensure safe schools and the enforcement of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act […]
Visit Amherst County and Panther Falls
Panther Falls is an extremely popular local swimming hole and waterfall on the Pedlar River east of the Blue Ridge Parkway. On summer days, the falls are packed with people jumping from the top of the two rock shelves that frame the 10-foot falls. The very short hike to the falls (only .4 miles) offers […]
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NACo rolling out mobile app to test broadband speeds
Allan Angel, Telecommunications and Technology Committee Vice Chair and Kent County (DE) Commissioner, relates his experience with poor cellphone service in his county. Photo by Denny Henry | NACo. By Mary Ann Barton | NACo County News Editor & Senior Writer At their meeting Saturday, members of NACo’s Telecommunications and Technology Policy Steering Committee expressed […]
THE 2020 CENSUS MATTERS TO VIRGINIA’S CHILDREN AND LOCALITIES
As Virginia counties prepare for the 2020 Census, VACo has joined forces with Voices for Virginia’s Children to share information with our members to help ensure a successful count of all county residents. An introductory message from Voices for Virginia’s Children about the importance of the Census and VACo’s partnership with Voices is below. Look […]
Order your copy of the Virginia County Supervisors’ Manual | 2019 Edition
Key Provisions of Budget Conference Report
The General Assembly approved a conference report containing revisions to the 2018-2020 biennium budget on Sunday, February 24. Below is a summary of the key provisions of the budget conference report in areas of importance to county governments. In addition, a detailed summary of provisions regarding Constitutional officers that was prepared by the Executive Secretary […]
Effort to secure funding to fix I-81 runs out of gas
In the closing days of the legislative session, lawmakers and representatives from the Northam administration attempted to craft a compromise to a secure a new funding stream to address a more than $2 billion plan to remove bottlenecks on the Interstate 81 corridor. However, ultimately conferees for HB 2718 (Landes) and SB 1716 (Obenshain) were […]
Constitutional amendment on car tax exemption passes as mandate
HJ 676 (Filler-Corn) and SJ 278 (Reeves) began and ended the session as mandatory personal property tax exemptions for one motor vehicle owned by a veteran with a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability, despite attempts to provide instead for a local option. VACo and VML objected to creating another mandatory tax exemption, citing […]
School security officer return to work bills left in House Appropriations
Several bills this session sought to allow retired law-enforcement officers to continue to receive service retirement allowances through the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) during a subsequent period of employment by a local school division as a school security officer (SSO). These bills sought to incentivize the recruitment of these individuals with law-enforcement experience to increase […]
General Assembly releases the brakes on parking ordinance bill
HB 1818 (Delaney) and SB 1044 (Black) grant the same authority to counties of a population of at least 40,000 the same authority cities have to contract with uniformed personnel to issue a summons or parking ticket for a violation of the locality’s ordinances or regulations regarding the parking, stopping, or standing of vehicles. VACo […]
FOIA training bill passes with helpful amendments
The conference committee considered SB 1431 (Obenshain) and agreed with the House amendments giving local government attorneys the authority to conduct Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) training for local elected officials in addition to the option of FOIA Council training. The final bill requires local elected officials to complete FOIA training, either by the local […]
Redistricting reform measure passes; problematic local component removed
The General Assembly passed a compromise redistricting reform measure on Saturday that combines elements of HJ 615 (Cole) and SJ 306 (Barker), but does not include language affecting local government redistricting that was initially included in HJ 615. This language would have required any locality in which members of the governing body are elected from […]
Tax court study expanded
HJ 687 (Keam), as introduced, requested the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court to study options for a special tax court system in Virginia. The patron is interested in determining whether some specialization in tax matters among the judiciary might make the appeals process easier for the taxpayer. In the Senate […]
FOIA penalty bill amended in conference committee
SB 1554 (Surovell) allows a court to add an additional penalty when a public record cannot be produced because it was altered or destroyed in order to avoid FOIA provisions. As amended in conference and passed by both chambers the bill also provides that if an improper closed session was held, and the local government […]
VACo County Pulse Podcast | 2019 General Assembly Edition | Part 5
Welcome to the County Pulse. In this episode, VACo Lobbyists Joe Lerch and Katie Boyle talk about the final days of the 2019 General Assembly Session – the conference process, what’s next for the state budget, and some bills of interest to counties. Listen to the Podcast. VACo Contact: Joe Lerch, AICP