Problematic Grievance Bill Will Mandate Change in Local Procedures
VACo opposes HB 1471 (Hugo), which is a refiling of similar bills defeated during the 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 legislative sessions. HB 1471 seeks to make several changes to the local grievance procedures that apply to all localities throughout the Commonwealth. The bill, which also has some provisions regarding local school board grievances, has […]
House Rules Committee Update
On January 19, the House Rules Committee held its first hearing of the 2018 General Assembly Session. Among other bills, the Committee considered a measure to designate October 15, 2018, and in each year forward as General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Day; legislation to revise appointing authorities for the members of the Secure and Resilient Commonwealth Panel; […]
VACo Supports Modernizing the Communications Sales and Use Tax
VACo calls on its County Members to adopt a resolution supporting HB 1051 (Watts), legislation that modernizes the Communications Sales and Use Tax (CSUT) to reflect the present-day telecommunications world. Here’s a template of a resolution counties may use. Please send a copy of your resolutions to Dean Lynch at dlynch@vaco.org. VACo detailed the need […]
Adopt a Resolution to Oppose Harmful Wireless Bills
HB 1258 (Kilgore) and SB 405 (McDougle) substantially limit the ability of local-elected officials to determine how wireless infrastructure is incorporated into their communities, and effectively remove citizen input from decisions on the siting of towers and poles. Action Required – Please adopt a resolution in opposition to HB 1258 and SB 405. Here’s a […]
Oppose Repeal of the Pretrial Services Act
VACo opposes HB 997 (Gilbert), which repeals the Pretrial Services Act established in 1995. The bill is assigned to the House Courts of Justice Committee’s Subcommittee #1. The bill has not appeared on the docket. Action Required – Contact your Delegates to oppose HB 997. TALKING POINTS • Repealing the Pretrial Services Act will cause […]
County taxing authority measures heard in Senate Finance Committee
On January 17, the Senate Finance Committee took up several measures to provide additional taxing authority to counties. SB 115 (Locke), along with the identical SB 527 (Mason), would eliminate the requirement for counties to receive voter approval in a referendum before imposing a meals tax, and would increase the maximum tax rate from 4 […]
Status Update on Juvenile Justice Transformation
Andy Block, Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), spoke before the Senate Finance Public Safety Subcommittee on January 17 about DJJ Transformation and related budget requests. In 2016, the Senate Finance Committee authorized DJJ to maintain and reinvest savings for state treatment programs and alternative placements, close the Beaumont facility, establish a task […]
Helpful Real Estate Tax Deferral Bill Advances
SB 228 (Howell), introduced at the request of the Treasurers Association of Virginia, relates to the point at which real property taxes deferred under a local tax deferral program for seniors and residents with disabilities become due. Currently, Virginia Code provides that the deferred taxes become due upon sale of the property, and does not […]
Health Care Costs for Inmates Rising
Department of Corrections (DOC) Director Harold Clarke spoke to the Senate Finance Public Safety Subcommittee about the DOC budget. The total amount in the introduced budget for DOC Offender Health Care is $17.8 million in 2019 and $24.2 million in 2020. Using the June 2017 Consumer Price Increase (CPI-W), outpatient hospital services increased 6.2 percent, […]
Bill to Allow Limited Access to Taxpayer Information Moves Forward
HB 495 (Hodges) authorizes a local commissioner of the revenue or treasurer to disclose taxpayer information to a non-governmental entity with whom the locality has contracted to provide services related to tax administration. For the contractor to have access to this information, the contractor would agree to be bound by the confidentiality provisions that apply […]
It’s Time to Modernize the Communications Sales and Use Tax
VACo has worked with Delegate Vivian Watts to introduce legislation to modernize the Communications Sales and Use Tax (CSUT) to reflect the present-day telecommunications landscape. Language in support of such a proposal was adopted in VACo’s 2018 Legislative Program. VACo encourages member counties to prepare resolutions in support of HB 1051; resolutions should be sent […]
TROY WADE
Louisa County Supervisor Q1. What sparked your interest in serving as an elected official? What advice would you give to others who might be interested in running for office? Troy Wade: My grandfather was a local elected official and helped one of his best friends, V. Earl Dickinson, who served in the General Assembly for […]
Visit Highland County and the Crab Run Lane Truss Bridge
Crab Run Lane Truss Bridge is a historic Truss bridge located on State Route 645 in McDowell, Highland County. It was built in 1896 by the West Virginia Bridge Works. It is a single-span, four-panel pony truss measuring 39 feet long, 12 feet, 6 inches wide, and 5 feet, 2 inches tall. Much of the […]
Commission on Youth Releases Updated Resource on Mental Health Treatment Options
The Virginia Commission on Youth recently released a newly-updated edition of the Collection of Evidence-based Practices for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Treatment Needs. This document was initially compiled at the direction of the General Assembly in 2002 and provides a comprehensive review of treatment options for a variety of mental health disorders afflicting […]
State General Fund Revenues Up 10 Percent in December; January Data Awaited
State General Fund revenues continued to perform well in December, increasing by 10 percent relative to the previous year and by 5.9 percent on a year-to-date basis. Growth was driven by nonwithholding payments, which tend to be a volatile revenue source, and Secretary of Finance Richard D. Brown cautioned in his revenue report that the […]
Governor’s Task Force on Civil Unrest Reports
On August 24, 2017, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed Executive Order 68, creating the Task Force on Public Safety Preparedness and Response to Civil Unrest. This Task Force was charged with evaluating the circumstances that led to the events in Charlottesville on August 11-12 and assessing the Commonwealth’s procedures for preparing and responding to events where […]