School Construction Legislation Roundup
As previously reported, numerous bills have been filed seeking to address the issue of School Construction and Modernization this session. Many of these bills have been defeated, however, several efforts are still ongoing. VACo supports additional state resources and additional funding options for localities for capital and school construction costs, including expanding dedicated local sales […]
Bill Expanding Exemption from Minimum Building Code Standards for Agritourism Event Buildings Narrowed to Study
SB 400 (Hanger), as introduced, would initiate a regulatory process to create basic building code standards utilized to host certain events in a farm building or structure. Under current law, these farm buildings or structures used primarily for agricultural operations are exempt from building code. This legislation would also have expanded the building code exemption […]
Helpful Public Notice Bills Moving Along Smoothly
HB 167 (Ransone) Publication of notice by localities. This bill passed the House and Senate and provides that in any instance in which a locality has submitted a correct and timely notice request to such newspaper and the newspaper fails to publish the notice, or publishes the notice incorrectly, such locality shall be deemed to have met […]
School Resource Officer Bill Resurrected with New Language
Legislation that would have required each local school board to employ at least one school resource officer or one school security officer at each public elementary and secondary school was brought back from the jaws of defeat by the Senate Education and Health Committee with new language. As previously reported, HB 873 (Greenhalgh) would have […]
Public Notice Provision Study
HB 1131 (Williams) / SB 417 (Stanley) Virginia Code Commission; work group to review public notices required to be published by localities. VACo supports these bills that direct the Virginia Code Commission to convene a work group to review requirements throughout the Code of Virginia for localities to provide public notice for intended actions and events, including (i) the […]
Finance Roundup
In addition to several bills considered by the General Assembly dealing with local taxes on which VACo has reported in detail, a number of other finance-related bills have been considered. Below is an update on the status of these bills. HB 148 (Runion)/SB 684 (Mason) allow a political subdivision responsible for administering water, wastewater, stormwater, […]
FOIA Bills Moving Forward
HB 307 (Freitas) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; estimated charges for records. Provides that a public body subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act shall make all reasonable efforts to supply records requested by a citizen at the lowest possible cost. The bill also requires a public body, prior to conducting a search for records, to […]
Legislation on Assessment Increases Passes in Significantly Amended Form
HB 1010 (Durant) has passed in significantly amended form relative to its original version. As introduced, the bill would have imposed new restrictions on the local budget process by requiring a referendum if growth in real estate assessments would generate more than 101 percent of the previous year’s collections and the locality did not reduce […]
Statewide “Halifax” Taxing Authority Effort Ends for 2022 Session
On February 25, legislation giving local governments additional voter referendum approved revenue raising authority was laid on the table in the House Finance Committee’s Subcommittee #3. As previously reported, SB 472 (McClellan) would permit any county or city to impose an additional local sales and use tax of up to 1 percent, if initiated by […]
School Resource Officer Unfunded Mandate Bill Defeated
On February 24, legislation that would have required each local school board to employ at least one school resource officer or one school security officer at each public elementary and secondary school was recommended to be laid on the table by the Senate Education and Health Committee’s Public Education Subcommittee by a vote of 3-2. […]
Bill Mandating Exclusion of Rooftop Solar from Real Property Amended to Limit Impact on Local Revenues
A bill mandating that rooftop solar installations be exempt from local taxation was amended to limit its scope and application so as to lessen its impact on local revenue collection. SB 686 (Mason), as introduced, would have mandated that any rooftop or ground-mounted solar installations, serving just the energy needs of the property to which […]
Increased Retirement Contribution for Deputy Sheriffs Tabled
SB 507 (Lewis) would have required local governments prospectively electing enhanced retirement benefits to use the 1.85 percent multiplier for determining the annual retirement allowance for deputy sheriffs. As previously reported, local governments currently may elect to provide a 1.7 percent multiplier in lieu of the 1.85 percent multiplier. Eliminating this option would require local […]
Marijuana bill passes Senate; prospects uncertain in House
Legislation setting up a regulatory framework for marijuana sales passed the Senate last week on a 21-18 vote. The bill was heard in a subcommittee of House General Laws yesterday evening, which opted to defer action on the bill to a future meeting. The House did not take up any House legislation on the subject […]
VACo’s Report on the House and Senate Budgets
The House and Senate debated and passed their respective versions of the budgets for the upcoming biennium as well as amendments to the current biennium budget (the “caboose” budget). The House approved its budget by a vote of 74-25, and the Senate passed its version by a vote of 31-9. The budgets now move to […]
Premier Partner Spotlight – Blue Line Solutions Part 1
Blue Line Solutions | Introductions VACo’s newest Premier Partner, Blue Line Solutions, offers a TrueBlue Highway Safety Program that can be implemented in School Zones and Construction Zones, where data has shown that drivers are unaware that their driving behavior is not in alignment with public safety. A key element of this program – drivers […]
Crosswalk Design Workgroup Releases Report
HB 1841, introduced by Delegate Mark Keam, was enacted into law pursuant to the 2021 Special Session of the Virginia General Assembly (see Chapter 130 of the Acts of Assembly, 2021 Special Session 1). The legislation directs the Commissioner of Highways or his designee to convene a Working Group (WG) comprised of relevant stakeholders to […]