Financial Facts
GASB has issued proposals related to capitalization of interest costs and implementation of recent pronouncements. They also issued an implementation guide for the new state and local government accounting standard for other post-employment benefits (OPEB). One exposure draft, Accounting for Interest Cost During the Period of Construction, proposes guidance intended to enhance the relevance and […]
Nominations sought for VACo Jefferson Cup
VACo seeks nominations for this year’s Jefferson Cup Award to be presented at the November 11-13 Annual Conference. The deadline for nominations is May 1. Please submit nominations to Dean Lynch at dlynch@vaco.org. Click here for a list of Jefferson Cup recipients. Below is a brief history of the Jefferson Cup as well as criteria […]
General Assembly Adjourns Regular Session Without Adopting Budget; Special Session to Convene April 11
The General Assembly adjourned the 2018 regular session sine die on March 10 without completing work on the 2018-2020 biennium budget and the FY 2018 “caboose” budget, a result that was set in motion on Thursday, March 8, when budget conferees announced that they had reached an impasse over the issue of Medicaid expansion. The […]
Calls Needed to Request Veto of Legislation Mandating Land Use Valuation
HB 1204 (Hugo) would require that certain property be assessed based on use value rather than fair market value in certain localities meeting specified population growth criteria (Arlington County and Loudoun County). As passed by the General Assembly, the bill would require that real property of at least 20 acres that is devoted to open […]
VACo requests Veto of Wireless Bills
Please contact Governor Ralph Northam’s office as soon as possible to ask the Governor to veto HB 1258 and SB 405, and HB 1427 and SB 823. HB 1258 and SB 405 gut local zoning authority to address the siting of wireless towers. Specifically, they allow wireless companies to place cell towers up to 50 […]
Solar tax exemption bill awaits Governor’s signature
SB 902 (Lucas) successfully ended its journey through the General Assembly and now awaits signing by Governor Ralph Northam. The bill limits local tax exemptions for solar equipment and facilities and provides local options for additional tax exemptions. Under current law, solar facilities greater than 20 megawatts (MW) in generation capacity are provided a mandatory […]
Bill to fund Metro does not include new capital funds for other transit systems
On the last day of session, conferees for HB 1539 (Hugo) and SB 856 (Saslaw) agreed on $154 million in dedicated annual dollars for Virginia’s portion to shore up the Metro bus and rail system (under the control of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority – WMATA) that serves the D.C. metropolitan area. The original […]
Legislation allowing consolidated meals tax and bond referendum questions approved by General Assembly
HB 1390 (Aird) passed the General Assembly and now heads to the Governor’s desk. The bill would permit a county to put before the voters a consolidated question on the implementation of the meals tax and the issuance of debt to be supported with meals tax revenues, rather than asking two separate questions, as is […]
Two dredging bills approved by Governor, three more await signatures
A package of dredging bills was introduced by Delegate Keith Hodges this session to seek new, effective, and creative ways to ensure the channels leading to Chesapeake Bay remain cleared and passable. Of these five bills, two have already been approved by Governor Ralph Northam while the remaining three await his signature. HB 1091 expands […]
Governor Northam approves Delegate Hodges’ stormwater workgroup bills
Two bills drafted upon the recommendations of Delegate Keith Hodges’ Stormwater Workgroup have been signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam. HB 1307 (Hodges) and HB 1308 (Hodges) were drafted to address rural Tidewater localities’ concerns regarding the administration of stormwater regulations for land disturbances of 2,500 square feet to one acre and to find […]
Conflicts and ethics bills in the 2018 Session
Filing and deadlines SB 298/HB 990 (Norment/Gilbert) clarifies that the authority of the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council (Council) to grant extensions from the deadline for filing disclosure forms does not extend to filings made by a candidate for public office, as such candidate filings are not filed with the Council. This […]
Electric vehicle charging legislation becomes law
Legislation that authorizes localities to locate and operate a retail fee-based electric vehicle charging station on any property it owns or leases has been signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam. SB 908 (McClellan) and HB 922 (Bulova) authorize any locality, public institution of higher education, or the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to […]
Renewable energy pilot program for schools heads to Governor’s desk
HB 1451 (Sullivan) successfully passed the House and Senate and will now be sent to Governor Ralph Northam for signing. Delegate Rip Sullivan’s bill directs Dominion Virginia Energy to conduct a pilot program under which any public school in the Commonwealth that generates more electricity from a wind-powered or solar-powered generation facility than it consumes […]
Drone bills headed to the Governor’s desk
HB 1482 (Thomas) and SB 508 (Carrico), which expand the use of unmanned aircraft systems by public bodies without obtaining a search warrant reported out of their conference committees, passed both houses, and are headed to the Governor’s desk. The bills provide that drones may be deployed by a law-enforcement officer for the purpose of […]
Bill limiting regulation of fire hazard posed by mulch passes
HB 1595 (Wilt) and SB 972 (Obenshain) would allow any property owner to continue to add “combustible landscape cover material” (i.e. mulch) to an existing landcover, no matter how close to a building, regardless of any local ordinance preventing the addition of such ignition sources in proximity to structures. A simple requirement adopted by the […]
Distracted driving bills ultimately fail except for work zone bill provision
A bill seeking to expand situations under which a person could be charged with distracted driving died in the final days of the session after much discussion and the introduction of two substitutes on the Senate floor. The version of HB 181 (Collins) that passed out of the House, 50-47, provided that any person driving […]