WQIF and SLAF bill moves on
Delegate David Bulova’s Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) and Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF) began its journey through the 2019 session in the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources on Wednesday morning. HB 1822 (Bulova), which VACo supports, does three key things: First, it authorizes the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality […]
Helpful bill to assist with jail costs advances
VACo spoke in favor of SB 1040 (Peake), which would require the state to compensate local jails in accordance with the actual cost of housing state-responsible inmates (individuals convicted of felonies who have been sentenced to one year or more in a state correctional facility), as calculated by the Compensation Board. Currently the state provides […]
Several Bills Introduced to Enhance County Taxing Authority
SB 1127 (Favola), introduced at VACo’s request, would provide counties with the same taxing authority currently granted to cities and towns, effective July 1, 2020. In the intervening time, the Division of Legislative Services would be directed to convene a stakeholder group to recommend any additional statutory changes that would be necessary; this provision is […]
Proffer bills seek to address impacts of residential growth
Changes made by the 2016 General Assembly to Virginia’s law on cash and in-kind proffers has severely limited the ability of localities to address the fiscal impacts of new development when considering a rezoning application. Multiple bills working their way through the legislature attempt fixes to this problem. SB 1373 (Favola) and HB 2342 (Thomas) […]
Senate Finance Committee prepares to hear presumption legislation
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee referred to the Senate Finance Committee two pieces of legislation impacting worker’s compensation for firefighters and other public safety employees. SB 1030 (Cosgrove) adds cancers of the colon, brain, or tests to the existing list of conditions currently presumed to be an occupational disease when developed by firefighters and […]
Troublesome FOIA bill reintroduced
VACo opposes SB 1554 (Surovell), which is the reboot of last year’s SB 630 (Surovell). This bill provides civil penalties against public officials in their individual capacity in addition to any penalties currently imposed under the Freedom of Information Act. Specifically the bill provides that if a court finds that any officer, employee, or member […]
Oppose bill mandating training of School Resource Officers by the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety
VACo opposes SB 1130 (Locke) that seeks to mandate that all School Resource Officers (SROs) receive job-entry and in-service training administered by the Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety (VCSCS) in addition to any existing law-enforcement training and broadens the type of training required for both SROs and School Security Officers (SSOs). Action Required […]
Oppose bills allowing School Boards to keep unexpended funds
VACo opposes HB 1969 (Delaney) and HB 1921 (Bourne) that seek to allow school boards to retain unexpended funds appropriated to them by localities. The former bill has no other stipulations, while the latter mandates that such funding be dedicated to finance capital projects. Action Required – Contact your Delegates and express opposition to HB […]
Several bills related to Children’s Services Act introduced
VACo has historically supported efforts to enhance the capacity of local school divisions to serve children with higher-level needs within the local school division when possible, recognizing that private day placements may be the best option for some students. VACo supports several helpful bills that allow access to state pool funds provided through the Children’s […]
School Behavior Analyst staffing requirement advances
The Senate Education and Health Committee reported and referred to the Senate Finance Committee legislation requiring local school boards to employ one full-time equivalent licensed behavior analyst or licensed assistant behavior analyst per five schools within a local school division. Licensed Behavior Analysts try to teach students more effective ways of behaving and making changes […]
Bill to increase minimum wage advances
On January 14, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted 6-4 to report SB 1200 (Dance), which incrementally increases the minimum wage from current federally mandated level of $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour effective July 1, 2021. The first increase would raise the minimum wage to $10 per hour effective July 1, 2019. […]
VACo opposes diversion of resources from public education for non-public use
On January 10, the Senate Education and Health Committee’s Public Education Subcommittee discussed two pieces of legislation impacting local school divisions and students receiving home instruction. SB 1021 (Black) requires any local school board that offers a driver education program to make said program available to any student receiving home instruction residing within the school […]
Virginia General Assembly Convenes
The General Assembly convened on Wednesday, January 9, marking the start of the 46-day session with reflections on the longstanding tradition of representative government in Virginia. This year represents the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the House of Burgesses, the predecessor of the modern House of Delegates. The moments of reflection were a brief […]
Speaker Cox Announces Changes to Standing Committees of the Virginia House of Delegates
PRESS RELEASE FROM SPEAKER KIRK COX Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox on Wednesday announced changes to the standing committees of the Virginia House of Delegates for the 2019 General Assembly Session. Pursuant to House Rule 15, all committee members are appointed by the Speaker, who also designates the Chairman and Vice Chairman of […]
Visit Henry County and the Water Tower at the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre
The million-gallon Water Tank that will serve tenants at the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre, a 726-acre business park in southern Henry County. The building pictured is a training center under construction, which will be exclusively for the tenants in the business park. While companies build their site, employees can train in Henry County’s facility. Employees […]
2019 GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONVENES TODAY
Look for Capitol Contact on Tuesdays and Thursdays The 2019 General Assembly session will span from January 9 to February 23 as legislators will deliberate on many issues critical to local government, including taxes, the state budget, education funding, economic development, public safety, and other policy matters. VACo will continually provide updates during the session […]