School Boards Bill Rereferred to Senate Courts of Justice
SB 440 (Wexton) exempts elected local school boards from receiving prior authorization from their local governing body prior to instituting any legal action against another government body. On January 29, the Senate rereferred the bill to the Courts of Justice Committee. Action Required – Contact members of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee now to […]
VACo Opposes Proposal to Allow for Heavier Trucks in Virginia
SB 504 (Carrico) and HB 1276 (Garrett) would authorize the Commissioner of Highways, with the approval of the Governor, to allow for heavier, six-axle tractor trucks to travel Virginia roads as part of any federal pilot program, for a period of up to 15 years. Action Required – Please contact your legislators now to oppose […]
Bills Addressing Opioid Addiction Crisis Move Forward
VACo is following many bills that focus on the problem of opioid addiction. Several bills that address the issue of prescription opioid misuse have been reported from the Senate Education and Health Committee’s Health Professions Subcommittee, and now move to consideration by the full Senate. SB 226 (Stanley) requires veterinarians to register with the Prescription […]
Virginia Grocery Investment Fund Passes Senate
The Virginia Grocery Investment Fund and Program (VGIF) passed the Senate this week in a 36-4 vote. SB 37 (Stanley) will now await referral to the appropriate House of Delegates committee. The House companion bill, HB 85 (Bell, Richard/McQuinn), has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee but has not yet been placed on an agenda. […]
Communications Sales and Use Tax Update – Fails to Proceed in House Finance
HB 1051 (Watts) would have updated the Communications Sales and Use Tax (CSUT), which was established in 2006 to replace a variety of local telecommunications taxes, to reflect modern consumer choices. The bill would have placed similar services on a level playing field by eliminating the current exemptions for streaming and prepaid wireless services. As […]
Dredging Bills Advance
Several dredging bills introduced by Delegate Keith Hodges have begun gaining momentum as they move through the General Assembly. HB 1095 (Hodges) authorizes the Middle Peninsula Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority and Northern Neck Chesapeake Bay Public Access Authority to undertake dredging projects and authorizes those authorities, as well as the Eastern Shore Water Access […]
School Bus Advertising Moves Out of Committee
HB 809 (O’Quinn), which allows local school boards to sell advertising space on school buses, reported out of the full House Education Committee by a vote of 18-2. Introduced by Delegate Israel O’Quinn, the bill permits school boards to sell commercial ad space on the sides and rear of a bus as well as between […]
Senate Committee Advances 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 local police. SB 642 (McPike) adds colon cancer to the existing list of conditions currently presumed to be an occupational disease when developed by certain public safety employees and therefore covered by the […]
Several Helpful Measures Reported from House Finance
The House Finance Committee reported a couple of helpful bills on January 29. HB 119 (Thomas) creates a separate class of merchants’ capital for certain wholesaler inventory, which would allow localities that impose a merchants’ capital tax to impose a lower tax rate on that inventory. HB 495 (Hodges) allows local commissioners of the revenue, […]
Capitol Contact ALERT – Oppose Exempting School Boards from Obtaining Authorization from the Local Governing Body
SB 440 (Wexton) exempts elected local school boards from receiving prior authorization from their local governing body prior to instituting any legal action against another government body. Action Required – Contact your Senators now to oppose SB 440. The bill is scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor today (Monday, January 29) for second […]
VACo Opposes Check Registry Bill
SB 751 (Sturtevant) requires every locality with a population greater than 25,000, and every school division with greater than 5,000 students, to post on their websites a register of all transactions. This includes vendor name, date of payment, amount, and description of the type of expense. Action Required – Please contact your Senator to OPPOSE […]
VACo Meets with Speaker Kirk Cox
VACo Executive Director Dean Lynch recently met with the newly-elected Speaker of the House, Delegate Kirk Cox, to discuss issues of importance to county governments. Speaker Cox has represented the 66th District in the House of Delegates since 1989 and was unanimously elected the 55th Speaker of the House on January 10. Prior to his […]
Solar Zoning Ordinance Bill Passes with Amendments Made to Address Local Concerns
HB 508 (Hodges), which limits local authority for the approval of solar facilities, reported from the House Counties, Cities and Towns Committee on January 26. The legislation prescribes a “one-size-fits-all” approach for localities that makes roof-mounted solar facilities serving the electricity needs of that building a “by-right” use in all agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial, institutional […]
Community Policing Bills Update
The Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is halfway through a two-year process to update law enforcement training standards. A number of the bills suggest policy changes to those standards relating to communication and community engaged policing. HB 174 (Filler-Corn) requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish communication procedures between law enforcement and […]
Stormwater Bill Defeated in Committee
SB 507 (Carrico) was defeated last week in the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, failing to report to the full Senate by a vote of 7-7-1. SB 507 provided that for localities located entirely outside of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Department of Environmental Quality and State Water Control Board would revert to […]
Body Camera Legislation
HB 402 (Levine) requires localities to adopt and establish a written policy for operating body-worn camera systems using the DCJS model policy. The policy addresses storage and maintenance of body-worn camera system records. Two amendments on the bill would clarify that the best practices included in the policy be those identified in the DCJS model […]