School support staff health insurance credit bill headed to Governor’s desk
Legislation requiring school divisions to provide a health insurance credit (HIC) of $1.50 per year of service to all retired members of local school divisions (other than teachers) with at least 15 years of credible service will now be acted upon by Governor Ralph Northam. HB 1513 (McQuinn) requires school divisions to provide a health […]
Bill expanding municipal net metering for solar installations is limited to Fairfax County
HB 572 (Keam) and SB 710 (McClellan) as introduced would have allowed any locality to install up to a 5 megawatt (MW) solar, or wind, electric generating facility, and use all the electricity generated to credit any metered accounts of the locality regardless of whether such accounts serve building or facilities “… located at the […]
Preclearance bill fails to emerge from conference committee
HB 761 (VanValkenburg) will not move forward in 2020 after a conference committee failed to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The bill would have established a state-level preclearance process to replace the federal preclearance that was previously required under the Voting Rights Act. For affected localities (any County or […]
Earned sick leave bill fails to pass
Legislation requiring public and private employers with 15 or more employees to provide employees with earned paid sick time failed to pass the Senate. SB 481 (Favola) would have required that employees accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a minimum of 40 hours […]
Local governments granted authority to remove Confederate monuments
Legislation granting local governments the authority to remove, relocate, or alter Confederate monuments owned by the locality has passed the General Assembly and will be signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam. HB 1537 (McQuinn) provides that a locality may remove, relocate, contextualize, or cover any monument or memorial for war veterans located in its […]
General Assembly okays bills granting greater authority to localities for control of firearms
The General Assembly has approved legislation pertaining to expanded control of firearms by local governments. SB 35 (Surovell)/HB 421 (Price) authorizes any locality to adopt an ordinance to prohibit the possession or carrying of firearms, ammunition, or components in: Any building, or part thereof, owned or used by such locality for governmental purposes; In any […]
School Modernization Legislation Overview
Many localities continue to face significant challenges raising local funding necessary to undertake school construction and renovation projects. Numerous factors impact the educational achievement of K-12 students, including the state of the facilities in which they are taught. Concern over the physical condition of schools in Virginia is not a recent development and several bills […]
General Assembly approaches scheduled adjournment
Nearly 500 bills and resolutions await final action by the General Assembly as March 7, the scheduled date of adjournment sine die, approaches. The state budget is among the major pieces of legislation still under discussion in a conference committee. If a budget agreement is not reached today, it is likely that adjournment will be […]
Virginia Food Access Investment Fund (VFAIF) ready to be signed into law
As the final days of the 2020 legislative session drawn near, the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund (VFAIF) is that much closer to reality. Senator Jennifer McClellan’s bill, SB 1073, has now passed both the Senate and House of Delegates. It first passed the Senate unanimously on February 5, and it just passed the House of […]
Important solar siting agreement plan bill heads to Governor’s desk
An important bill relating to local governments and siting agreements for solar energy facilities has cleared both the Senate and House of Delegates and will now be sent to Governor Northam. HB 1675 (Hodges) requires any applicant seeking to locate a commercial solar energy or storage facility on any census tract meeting the eligibility requirements for an […]
Postage mandate reverts to Senate approach with reenactment clause
HB 220 (Krizek), as introduced, would require absentee ballots to be sent to voters with postage prepaid. Due to concerns over the potential fiscal impact to localities, the bill was amended in the Senate to include a reenactment clause, so that the bill would need to be revisited next year in order to take effect. […]
Bill expanding terminology for a County’s presiding officer signed by Governor
A bill that broadens the terminology that a County’s presiding officer may use for his/her title has been signed into law by Governor Northam. HB 738 (Reid) specifies that the presiding officer of a board of supervisors shall be called “chairman,” “chairwoman,” “chair,” “chairperson,” or “chair-at-large,” at the presiding officer’s discretion. Prior to this bill’s […]
Clean energy project financing bill survives House and Senate, ready for Governor’s pen
A helpful bill that would enable more localities to embrace unique financing for energy and conservation projects has successfully finished its journey through the General Assembly and will be signed into law by the Governor. HB 654 (Guy) authorizes the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) to sponsor a statewide clean energy financing program. […]
General Government bills of interest
Procurement bills of note HB 890 (Sickles)/SB 341 (Locke) change the $10 million threshold local public bodies have for using construction management to the threshold in Secretary of Administration’s procedures, which is currently $26 million. Project Labor Agreements and Wage Agreements SB 8 (Saslaw)/HB 833 (Foy) require contractors and subcontractors on state public works contracts […]
VACo’s tree preservation bill to be signed by the Governor
HB 520 (Bulova) has successfully cleared its final hurdle and is ready for the Governor’s signature. HB 520 directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene a stakeholder advisory group for the purpose of studying the planting or preservation of trees as a land cover type and as a stormwater best management practice (BMP). The […]
Bill requiring written notice to adjoining property owners of zoning decisions is amended
SB 589 (Hanger), which requires zoning administrators to provide notice of all decisions and determinations to property owners adjacent to or across the road from the subject property, was amended so that it only applies to when such decisions could impair the ability of an adjacent property owner to meet the minimum capacity and yield […]