New erosion and sediment control practices for solar projects proposed in the Senate
New erosion and sediment control practices for solar projects have found early success in the Senate, reporting out of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, 15-0. SB 1258 (Marsden) makes changes to § 62.1-44.15:55.1. of the Code of Virginia, which deals with localities and solar projects. Specifically, SB 1258 requires that the State Water […]
State parks funding bill reports to full House
Delegate Bobby Orrock’s legislation that seeks to address funding issues for Virginia’s state parks has reported favorably from Committee and will now head to the House floor for consideration. HB 1804 (Orrock) requires the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to develop recommendations for one or more dedicated, stable sources of funding for the […]
Legislation permitting gun-free zones on school board property moves on with exceptions
Delegate Suhas Subramanyam’s legislation permitting the establishment of gun-free zones on school board property has passed out of subcommittee with amendments. HB 1909 (Subramanyam) would allow any school board to deem any property that it owns or leases outside of school zones as a gun-free zone and may prohibit any individual from knowingly possessing any […]
Increased fine for littering introduced
A bill that substantially increases fines for dumping or littering was introduced in the House, where it was sent to the House Courts of Justice Committee for review. HB 1801 (Edmunds) doubles the current fines for dumping or disposing of litter, trash, refuse or other specified items on public property or on private property without […]
New elements for local and interjurisdictional emergency operations plans passes the House
A bill codifying certain elements of local and interjurisdictional emergency operations plans has been approved by the House of Delegates and will now head to the Senate. HB 2085 (Askew) adds a requirement to § 44-146.19(E) of the Code of Virginia, stipulating that a local or interjurisdictional emergency operations plan shall “contain provisions to ensure that […]
Legislation and Budget Amendments Seek to Implement Recommendations of JLARC’s CSA Report
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission released its long-awaited report on the Children’s Services Act in November, offering a series of recommendations on ways to improve program administration, in particular the administration of private special education day placements. (VACo provided an overview of the report’s recommendations in County Connections.) Several bills and numerous budget […]
VACo opposes procurement bills; contact House General Laws Committee members to oppose
VACo opposes two procurement bills offered by Delegate Dan Helmer that will be heard by the House General Laws Committee on Thursday, January 21. HB 2001 (Helmer) would require localities to design certain buildings and renovations with Virginia Energy Conservation and Environmental Standards to include charging stations and tracking of energy efficiency and carbon emissions. […]
Workers’ compensation legislation with local impact advances
Legislation that proposes several changes to the Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation Act with potentially significant impact to local governments have been filed and heard in subcommittee. On January 19, the House Labor and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee #1 reviewed bills that would expand the list of presumptive illnesses for certain public employees covered under the Virginia Workers’ […]
Sweeping “Environmental Justice” legislation introduced in the House
Sweeping “Environmental Justice” legislation has been introduced in the House by Delegate Shelly Simonds. HB 2074 (Simonds) proposes a wide array of initiatives and strategies for state and local governments. At the local level, there are several proposals, most notably pertaining to permitting processes and comprehensive plan reviews. Permitting HB 2074 prohibits a permit for […]
Bill placing 60-day limit on Planning Commission review of rezonings gets a timeout
SB 1249 (Stuart), which mandates that any application for a rezoning, special use permit or special exception must be acted upon by a local planning commission within 60 days of official submission, was continued for a week by the Senate Local Government Committee and will be reconsidered on Monday, January 25. The Virginia Chapter of […]
Legislation introduced permitting gun-free zones on school board property
Delegate Suhas Subramanyam has introduced legislation that would permit the establishment of gun-free zones on school board property. HB 1909 (Subramanyam) would allow any school board to deem any property that it owns or leases outside of school zones as a gun-free zone and may prohibit any individual from knowingly possessing any firearm while such […]
VACo supports bills to expand broadband access in conjunction with electric grid modernization
In 2019, the General Assembly passed legislation establishing a 3-year pilot program allowing Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to provide (or make available) capacity to “nongovernmental” (private) internet service providers to areas currently without broadband access. As each utility upgrades grid infrastructure, there’s an opportunity to add broadband access. This is because the communication backbone […]
Bill improving food access and infrastructure introduced in House and Senate
Legislation has been introduced in each chamber seeking to improve food access/distribution infrastructure while assisting Virginia farmers and local and regional food banks. HB 2203 (Filler-Corn) and SB 1188 (Hashmi) establish the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program and Fund (VFAP). The VFAP will provide funding for Virginia farmers and food producers to donate, sell, or […]
Body-Worn Camera System Fund Reintroduced, Reports out of Senate Judiciary
Senator Bryce Reeves has reintroduced helpful legislation that would aid localities with the costs associated with body-worn cameras. SB 1119 (Reeves) creates a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Body-Worn Camera System Fund to assist state or local law-enforcement agencies with the costs of purchasing, operating, and maintaining body-worn camera systems. Senator Reeves […]
Crosswalk bill redesigned to be friendlier to local governments
On January 19, the House Transportation Innovation and General Topics Subcommittee heard testimony on HB 1841 (Keam). As originally written, this legislation would have required new crosswalks and crosswalks receiving future maintenance to be in a zebra pattern and have warning tiles at each end, with additional specifications. Though well intentioned, this would impose additional […]
2021 General Assembly Convenes
The 2021 General Assembly convened on Wednesday, January 13 for the start of a legislative session that promises to be fast-paced and wide-ranging. Somber moments punctuated the day, as legislators and Governor Ralph Northam reflected on the loss of Virginians to the coronavirus, including Senator Ben Chafin, who was remembered by colleagues as a kind […]