Unpaved Road Flexibility Bills Unanimously Approved by General Assembly
SB 644 (Perry) and HB 74 (Reid) would clarify that the improvement of nonsurface treated secondary highways includes modifications other than paving. These improvements, include but aren’t limited to, drainage upgrades, enhanced design of the highway profile, or any positive changes to increase safety, reduce maintenance cost or enhance the historic qualities of the road in question. The […]
Water and Wastewater Facility Compliance and Modernization Bill Passes Through General Assembly
HB 220 (Orrock) would establish a new protocol for an unexpected vacancy of the licensed operator position for water treatment facilities and wastewater treatment facilities. The bill also permits remote monitoring of the facility by the licensed operator upon a demonstration of adequate monitoring technology. Specifically, the bill provides regulatory framework for the facility to stay […]
Photo Speed Enforcement in High-Risk Intersection Bill to be Sent to Governor
SB 336 (Roem), as amended, contains much of the same language as the introduced but makes the bill narrower in its application. The current version of SB 336 defines a “high-risk intersection segment,” as, “… any highway or portion thereof located not more than 1,000 feet from the limits of the property of a school […]
Bill to Preempt Local Authority to Regulate Short-Term Rentals Passes
By a vote of 52 to 38, the House of Delegates passed SB 544 (Bagby). The legislation prohibits a locality from adopting a local ordinance that requires a special exception, special use, or conditional use permit be obtained for the use of a residential dwelling as a short-term rental where the dwelling unit is also […]
Information Technology Access Act Bill Carried Over and Sent for Study
HB 1355 (Tran) would have made numerous organizational changes to the Information Technology Access Act. The bill defines “information and communications technology” as it relates to digital accessibility, defined in the bill, for all persons with disabilities. The bill permits the head of each covered entity, defined in the bill, to designate an employee to […]
Bills of Note Dealing with Transparency, Freedom of Information, and Public Notice Advance through Process
Transparency and Public Notice HB 69 (Bulova) requires the local governing body or elected school board making an interim appointment to fill a vacancy in the membership of such body or board to hold a public meeting at least seven days prior to making such appointment. The bill specifies that at such meeting, the body […]
Finance Legislation Roundup
Meals taxes: Bills introduced in response to issues with meals tax collection in the City of Richmond were passed by indefinitely in Senate Finance and Appropriations on February 27. HB 1483 (McQuinn), as initially introduced, applied to all localities and contained provisions that would have hampered local tax collections, but as amended prior to crossover, […]
Update on Elections Legislation
Ranked choice voting: The two remaining bills dealing with ranked-choice voting were heard in the House after crossover. SB 270 (Subramanyam), which would have allowed for presidential primaries to be conducted via ranked-choice voting, at the option of the political party, subject to a feasibility determination by the state, was continued to 2025 in House […]
Bill Preempting Local Authority on Siting Solar and Battery Storage Facilities Fails
In light of strong opposition from Virginia counties, a subcommittee of House Counties, Cities and Towns voted to carry over to the 2025 legislation session, SB 697 (VanValkenburg). At the request of the chair of the full committee, the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation will review the bill. The legislation mandates that any local ordinance […]
School Construction Financing Bills Fly through Senate and House
SB 14 (McPike) and HB 805 (Rasoul) have passed their respective houses after crossover, and will soon advance to Governor Youngkin. On February 26, the House passed SB 14 (McPike) on a 68-28 vote, and on February 23, the Senate passed with a substitute, HB 805 (Rasoul), on a vote of 27-12. As previously reported, […]
Capitol Contact ALERT! Call Now to Oppose Bill to Preempt Local Authority to Regulate Short-Term Rentals
Bill to be Heard on the House Floor this Week – Call Your Delegates Now to Oppose SB 544 (Bagby) prohibits a locality from adopting a local ordinance that requires a special exception, special use, or conditional use permit be obtained for the use of a residential dwelling as a short-term rental where the dwelling […]
VACo Analysis of House and Senate Budget Proposals
The fourth bullet in the Tax Policy section was revised on March 2, 2024. On Thursday, February 22, the full House and Senate passed their respective budgets, marking another milestone in the process of adopting a new biennium budget and revisions to the FY 2024 budget. The House voted to approve its version of the […]
Visit Lee County and the Lee County Historic Courthouse
Location: 5 Main Street / Church StreetBuilt: 1933 – 1934Style: Neo-ClassicalArchitect: D R BeesonContractor: V L Nicholson & Company of Tennessee Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Jonesville. The north front has a portico […]
School Construction Financing Bills Advance Through Committees, Headed Back to Senate and House Floors!
On Wednesday, February 21, the House Finance Committee reported with a substitute SB 14 (McPike) on a bipartisan vote of 13-8. As previously reported, this bill would permit any county or city to impose an additional local sales and use tax of up to 1 percent, if initiated by a resolution of the local governing […]
Local Speed Limits Authority Bill Gets Green Light
HB 1071 (Carr) seeks to achieve a long sought-after transportation safety policy goal of Virginia localities. This bill would allow the governing body of any locality to reduce to less than 25 miles per hour, but not less than 15 miles per hour, the speed limit of highways that are part of the state highway system. The bill further […]
“Money Committees” Report Budgets
The House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee advanced their respective versions of the caboose and biennial budgets on February 18. In keeping with “Budget Sunday” tradition, subcommittee chairs presented key elements of each committee’s proposal prior to the full committee voting to report its budget revisions to the full House or Senate. […]