General Government Bills to Watch
Governmental Immunity HB 609 (Bourne) – This bill, which is very detrimental for localities, creates a civil cause of action for the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities pursuant to the constitutions and laws of the United States and the Commonwealth due to the acts or omissions of either a public employer or its […]
Finance Bills Begin to be Heard
Both the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee and the House Finance Committee took up legislation on Wednesday, January 19. Of interest to local governments were the following bills: HB 199 (Webert) allows a locality to provide by ordinance that a parcel of real property that is part of a land use program may not be […]
Capitol Contact ALERT! Local Financing Authority for School Capital Construction to be Heard Tomorrow – Call Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Members to Support
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 a resolution of the local governing body and approved by voters at a local referendum. The revenues of such local tax would be used solely for capital projects for […]
Legislation Would Restrict County Taxing Authority
HB 75 (Ware) would place restrictions on the additional taxing authority granted to counties in 2020. VACo opposes this legislation. The bill would generally place a cap of 5 percent on transient occupancy taxes imposed by counties and require revenues from rates between 2 and 5 percent to be dedicated to tourism. Under the 2020 […]
School Board Reversion of Unexpended Funds Bill Recommended to be Amended to Address Local Government Concerns
SB 276 (Stanley), as originally written, would permit any school board to finance school capital projects with any funds appropriated to it by the local governing body that are unexpended by the school board in any year. Currently, local governing bodies have discretion as to whether to permit local school boards to retain these funds. This […]
Helpful bills would assist with costs of housing state-responsible inmates in local and regional jails; please contact legislators to support
HB 989 (Runion) and SB 165 (Peake) would improve state support for state-responsible inmates being housed in local and regional jails. Currently, in addition to state support for jail staffing provided through the Compensation Board, the state provides a per-diem payment to assist with the costs of housing incarcerated individuals. These rates – $4 for […]
VACo opposes bill overriding local authority to extend land use approvals to July 1, 2023
During the 2020 Special Session I, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the legislature passed a measure to extend to July 1, 2022, any local land use approvals, including rezonings and special use permits, which were valid as of July 1, 2020. HB 272 (Marshall) and SB 501 (Lewis) would further extend expired local approvals […]
Mandatory Collective Bargaining Bill Struck
On January 17, by a unanimous vote of 15-0 and a request of the patron, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted to strike SB 264 (Hashmi). This bill would have imposed mandatory collective bargaining for local governments if a minority of their employees petitioned to form a bargaining unit, among other provisions. SB 264 […]
VACo supports legislation that would assist local governments with absentee voting costs
HB 76 (Ware) directs the General Assembly to reimburse each county and city annually for the cost of conducting absentee voting, as established in a reimbursement plan that would be required to be included in the Appropriation Act. VACo supports this legislation, which has been referred to the House Privileges and Elections Committee. In recent […]
Bill granting flexibility on extending comprehensive plan review passes in committee
SB 35 (Favola) allows a local planning commission to extend the 60-day period during which it makes a recommendation to the governing body on a comprehensive plan amendment (as part of a land use application) if an applicant agrees to such extension. The measure also grants this same flexibility for the 60-day period during which […]
Public School Building Entry Point Screening Bill Tabled
On January 18, by a unanimous vote of 8-0, the House Education Committee’s K-12 Subcommittee voted to table HB 12 (Anderson). This bill would have required each local school board to limit entry points into school buildings to the lowest feasible numbers, required each individual entering said buildings to be screened with a handheld metal […]
Governor Youngkin Outlines Priorities in Address to Legislature
Governor Youngkin made his first address to a joint assembly of the legislature on the afternoon of Monday, January 17, citing his desire to work collaboratively on “kitchen table concerns” such as public education, public safety, and economic growth. In addition to the series of executive orders and directives the Governor signed on Saturday after […]
Broadband Advisory Council Meeting – VATI Grant Administration Process
On Friday, January 21, the Broadband Advisory Council will meet to review the recent Virginia Telecommunication Initiative grant cycle, receive updates on the new statewide broadband availability map, and learn more about the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grant administration process between DHCD and local governments. The Department of Housing and Community Development’s Office of Broadband has […]
2022 General Assembly Convenes
The 2022 General Assembly convened on January 12, with both chambers meeting in person for the first time since spring 2020. The day was marked by beginnings and endings, as the House elected a new Speaker, Delegate C. Todd Gilbert of Shenandoah County, and welcomed 18 newly-elected members, concluding the day by hosting Governor Northam’s […]
VACo supports increasing eligibility for local use of state broadband funds
HB 249 (Davis) expands the eligibility criteria for counties applying for Virginia Telecommunications Initiative grant (VATI) funds. Specifically, the bill directs the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to align the eligibility criteria with the same found in the U.S. Treasury’s Final Rule regarding the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. VACo […]
Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin’s Cabinet
Chief of Staff – Jeff Goettman Secretary of the Commonwealth – Kay Cole James Secretary of Administration – Margaret “Lyn” McDermid Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry – Matt Lohr Secretary of Commerce and Trade – Caren Merrick Secretary of Education – Aimee Rogstad Guidera Secretary of Finance – Stephen Emery Cummings Secretary of Health and […]