House Advances Legislation Impacting Worker’s Compensation
The House Commerce and Labor Committee favorably reported, and referred to the House Appropriations Committee, two pieces of legislation impacting worker’s compensation for firefighters, correctional officers, and local police. HB 107 (Bell, John) adds correctional officers to the list of public safety officers eligible for a presumption that their hypertension, heart disease, and certain other […]
Stream Restoration Bill Reports to Senate
SB 576 (Hanger) states that a person who is 1) engaged in the creation and operation of a stream restoration project for purposes of reducing nutrients or sediment entering state waters, and 2) engaged in such activities in more than one jurisdiction, will be allowed to engage with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Specifically, […]
ABC Transition and its Impact on Revenues
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) Chief Executive Officer Travis Hill recently spoke to the Senate Finance Committee’s Public Safety Subcommittee about budget priorities. ABC started transitioning from a Department to an Authority in January 2018, and many of the requests relate to reinvesting in infrastructure and streamlining and modernizing ABC’s processes. ABC employs […]
Public Animal Shelter Bill Carried Over for Year
SB 175 (Stanley) requires that a public animal shelter must wait three days before euthanizing a dog or cat when a person has notified the shelter of his intent to adopt or take custody of the animal. This bill has been carried over for the year. The chief concerns with SB 175 have been (1) […]
Capitol Contact ALERT – Communications Sales and Use Tax on House Finance Committee Docket for Monday Morning
HB 1051 (Watts), legislation that modernizes the Communications Sales and Use Tax (CSUT) to reflect the present-day telecommunications world, has been placed on the docket for the full House Finance Committee meeting on Monday, January 29, at 8:30 a.m. Action Required – Contact House Finance Committee Members today and express your support for HB 1051. […]
Capitol Contact ALERT – Harmful Wireless Bill To Be Heard Monday in Senate Commerce and Labor
SB 405 (McDougle) substantially limits the ability of local-elected officials to determine how wireless infrastructure is incorporated into their communities, and effectively removes citizen input in making decisions on the siting of towers and poles. Action Required – Please contact your Senators now to oppose SB 405 (McDougle). The bill will be heard Monday afternoon […]
Hearing on Communications Sales and Use Tax Modernization Legislation Delayed; Please Make Calls in Support
HB 1051 (Watts) was scheduled for consideration in House Finance Committee’s Subcommittee #2 on January 24, but was delayed until next week. (As General Assembly members juggle subcommittee and full committee meetings, temporary delays are not uncommon.) VACo encourages members to contact their delegates in support. TALKING POINTS The bill updates the CSUT by removing […]
Oppose Exempting School Boards from Obtaining Authorization from the Local Governing Body
VACo opposes SB 440 (Wexton) that seeks to exempt elected local school boards from receiving prior authorization from the local governing body prior to instituting any legal action against another governmental body. Action Required – Contact your Senators and express opposition to SB 440. The bill will reach the Senate floor early next week. If […]
Local-option Tax Incentive for Larger Industrial-Scale Solar Installations Passes Senate Committee
VACo supports SB 902 (Lucas), which makes it a local option to provide a property tax exemption for larger utility-scale solar facilities. The Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed SB 902 on January 24. Under current law such facilities greater than 20 Megawatts (MW) in electric generation capacity are provided a mandatory 80 percent exemption from […]
Virginia Grocery Investment Fund Unanimously Reports Out of Senate Finance
SB 37 (Stanley), the Virginia Grocery Investment Fund and Program (VGIF), reported out of the Senate Finance Committee with a unanimous vote on January 24. VACo was pleased to speak on the floor of the committee in support of Senator Bill Stanley’s important bill. SB 37 now heads to the full Senate floor. The House […]
Legislation Requiring Photographs in Electronic Pollbooks Advances with Funding Contingency Language
SB 523 (Obenshain) requires the Department of Elections to obtain photographs of registered voters from the Department of Motor Vehicles and make those photographs available to general registrars, who would be required to incorporate them into their electronic pollbooks. A voter’s photograph contained in the electronic pollbook could then be used in lieu of the […]
Bills Streamlining Local Government Processes Pass Out of Committee
VACo supports SB 108 (Lucas), which provides that an order of publication for the enforcement of a lien for taxes owed on real property that has a value of $50,000 or less need be published only once. Under current law, it is required to be published at least once a week for two successive weeks. […]
Bulova Stormwater Bills Unanimously Recommended for Reporting
The House Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee #3 unanimously recommended HB 377 (Bulova) and HB 925 (Bulova) for reporting by a 10-0 vote. As highlighted in the January 23 Capitol Contact, HB 377 eliminates the requirement to obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) when modifying stormwater […]
VACo Opposes HB 224
VACo spoke on the floor of the House Education Committee’s Subcommittee #2 on January 24 in opposition to HB 224 (Krizek) due to significant local cost concerns. The bill instructs the Virginia Board of Education to make regulations that require each new public school bus purchased to be equipped with a seat belt consisting of […]
Jail Costs Bill Defeated in Senate Finance
As reported in an earlier Capitol Contact, SB 342 (Peake) requires that the state fully compensate localities or regional authorities for the costs of housing state-responsible inmates in local and regional jails. The bill was reported from the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee on January 12 and referred to the Senate Finance Committee on […]
Service of Process for Actions Against a County
SB 14 (Petersen) changes the current law to require that only the county attorney or if there is no county attorney, the county clerk receive service for an action against a local official. Currently section 8.01-300 of the Code of Virginia requires in an action against a supervisor, county officer, employee or agent of the county […]