Senate Finance Unanimously Reports Several Helpful Measures
The Senate Finance Committee reported several bills on February 14 that are beneficial to local governments. VACo supports these measures. HB 495 (Hodges) authorizes a local commissioner of the revenue, treasurer, or director of finance to disclose taxpayer information to a non-governmental entity with whom the locality has contracted to provide services related to tax […]
Legislation Allowing Consolidated Meals Tax/Bond Referendum Ballot Question Passes House
HB 1390 (Aird) applies to an instance in which a county seeks to pay for debt-funded projects with revenues derived from a meals tax, and permits the 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, […]
State General Fund Revenues Continue Strength in January; Effect of Federal Tax Reform Unclear
January revenue figures were released on February 13, and Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne made presentations to the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committee on February 14. Overall General Fund (GF) revenues rose 5.1 percent in January relative to January 2017, and collections have grown 5.8 percent on a fiscal year-to-date basis, ahead of […]
Mandate for Localities to Post All Expenditures on Website Advances
SB 751 (Sturtevant) passed the Senate on February 12 by a vote of 26-13 and now heads to the House for consideration. The bill requires every locality with a population greater than 25,000, and every school division with greater than 5,000 students, to post on its website a register of all transactions. This includes vendor […]
VACo Supports Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF) Budget Amendments
VACo has sent a letter to members of the Senate Finance Committee’s Economic Development and Natural Resources Subcommittee and House Appropriations Committee’s Commerce, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Technology Subcommittee encouraging the authorization of Virginia Public Building Authority (VPBA) bonds for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF). SLAF was created by the General Assembly in 2013 […]
Bill Allowing Density Bonuses in Exchange for Workforce Housing Passes Senate
SB 290 (McClellan) passed the Senate on February 12 and heads to the House for consideration. The bill expands to all localities the option to adopt an affordable dwelling unit ordinance to “promote a full range of housing choices, and encourage the construction and continued existence of moderately priced and affordable housing by providing for […]
Capitol Contact ALERT – Oppose Bills that Upset Well-Established Real Estate Tax Appeal Processes
HB 786 (Keam) and HB 787 (Keam), as passed by the House, would provide that a taxpayer appealing an assessment of real property would not be required to prove that the assessment is a result of manifest error or disregard of controlling evidence. Manifest error is a long-standing judicial standard that has been consistently applied […]
Bills Gutting Local Authority to Address Siting of Wireless Towers Advance
Late last week, the House and Senate passed bills allowing wireless companies to place cell towers up to 50 feet tall within rights-of-way without local control. Additionally, for towers of greater height, the bills hamstring localities’ ability to obtain information and address citizen concerns through the public hearing process. VACo opposes any weakening of local […]
Helpful Bill Regarding Ballot Question for Bond and Meals Tax Referenda Reported from Committee
HB 1390 (Aird) applies to an instance in which a county seeks to pay for debt-funded projects with revenues derived from a meals tax. It permits the 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, […]
Regional Charter Schools Bill Carried Over to 2019
SB 516 (Obenshain), which creates regional charter schools, has been carried by for the year and will be taken back up by the Senate Finance Committee in 2019. Senator Mark Obenshain’s bill allows the Board of Education to establish regional charter school divisions consisting of at least two but not more than three existing school […]
Update on Bills Regarding Land Use Value Taxation, Assessment of Wetlands
HB 871 (Orrock) is the result of discussions over several years between the Rappahannock River Basin Commission and the Virginia Department of Forestry, along with the Virginia Farm Bureau, and makes several changes to the statutes governing land use value taxation. It provides that the definition of “land devoted to agricultural use” includes land used […]
Pretrial Services Bill Gone for the Year
HB 997 (Gilbert) would repeal the Pretrial Services Act established in 1995. Repealing the Pretrial Services Act would require more defendants to remain in confinement in both local and regional jails, leading to increased jail overcrowding at a great cost to localities and the state. There are 33 pretrial service agencies that serve 100 of […]
Update on CSA Bills
Several bills have been introduced that seek to address localities’ interest in flexibility in serving children with high-level needs within local school divisions. HB 176 (Bell, Richard P.) and SB 975 (Vogel) require the Department of Education to implement a pilot program in two school divisions to determine what resources would be needed to transition […]
Eminent Domain Bills Move Forward
SB 278 (Petersen) requires that condemning authorities pay agreed settlements or court awards in condemnation cases to the landowners or their attorneys within 30 days. VACo worked with Senator Chap Petersen to add language insuring that the recipients of such payments are responsible for getting outstanding liens on the property released. The bill passed out […]
House Appropriations Compensation and Retirement Subcommittee Tables VRS-Related Bills
HB 66 (McQuinn) would have expanded the requirement for local school divisions to provide a health insurance credit of $4 per year of service to all retired members of local school divisions with at least 15 years of service; currently, the health insurance credit is provided only to teachers at the $4/year level, and non-teacher […]
Distracted Driving Bills
At least 10 bills were introduced to address, in some manner, the increase in traffic accidents due to drivers’ use of mobile phones and other handheld devices. All four Senate bills have been killed in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. Four House bills have also been killed, including HB 116 (Webert), which was backed […]