Solid waste tipping fee proposed again

Del. Harry R. Purkey (R-Virginia Beach) has introduced legislation to levy charges on each ton of solid waste received at a landfill. Money from the so called "tipping fees," which would range from 50 cents up to $1 per ton, depending on the volume of trash being dumped, would be deposited into the state general fund. VML opposes the imposition of state fees, taxes or surcharges on solid waste or on any other local government services. HB 1945 was assigned to the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources.

Localities could get help enforcing erosion and sediment control ordinances

Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Vienna) introduced legislation that would give local governments more discretion in imposing a civil penalty for violation of its erosion and sediment control ordinance.

SB 821 raises the fine for a single violation to up to $1,000 (from $100). The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation expressed concern recently that local government erosion and sediment control programs are not enforced consistently across the state. The ability to levy higher fines could help local governments better enforce the local programs.

Move to consolidate environmental boards under discussion

State officials are contemplating consolidating the state's three citizen boards that oversee environmental regulations.

Local governments are among the stakeholders being asked their opinion on whether merging the State Air Pollution Control Board, State Water Control Board and the State Waste Management Board into a single body would be a good idea. In addition to such a consolidation, the authority to approve or deny environmental permits could be delegated to the director of the Department of Environmental Quality. Currently, the staff makes recommendations to the various boards, which then act on the permit requests. Such a consolidation has been discussed in the past, but never gained momentum.

No legislation on this issue has been introduced.

Sen. Marty Williams (R-Newport News) asked members of the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules this week to consider supporting such legislation. He said the change would give more consistency and predictability to the permitting process. Some conservation organizations have voiced concerns, saying that placing permitting in the hands of the DEQ director might lessen the opportunity for citizen input. Local officials with opinions on the proposal such contact VML's Denise Thompson at dthompson@vml.org or 804/523-8530.

Localities exempt from DMV fees

Del. Melanie R. Rapp (R-York) has introduced legislation to exempt local governments from the fees charged by the state Department of Motor Vehicles for obtaining information from the agency's database.

Local governments use the data to determine eligibility for public assistance, as well as to ensure that school bus, refuse and other local government drivers have safe driving records, among other things. HB 1930 was assigned to the House Transportation Committee.

Local authority to regulate truck parking

Legislation proposed by Sen. Patricia S. Ticer (D- Alexandria) gives local governments more authority to regulate vehicle parking. SB 926, assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee, allows localities to regulate or prohibit the parking of any truck in residential and other areas.

Numerous bills expected to address eminent domain

The 2006 legislative session ended without the enactment of any significant measures to address the perceived problems arising from the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Kelo v. City of New London.

As a result of the lack of action, many legislators promised to bring the issue to the forefront in the 2007 session. Numerous bills already have been introduced that would place restrictions on the condemnation powers of local governments and housing authorities.

HB1819 (Suit) prohibits the taking of land for the purpose of conservation.

HB 1820 (Suit) requires approval of local governing body before any authority could initiate a condemnation action.

HB1824 (Suit) prohibits housing authorities from acquiring properties by condemnation in a conservation area.

HB 2009 (Suit) requires housing authorities to pay a portion of the sales proceeds to the prior landowner if condemned property is subsequently sold to a private person or entity.

HB 2397 (Athey) redefines the term "public use" by requiring that the public use be a benefit the landowners and community "in proximity" to the condemned property.

SB 781 (Cuccinelli) places the definition of the term "public use" before the voters in a November 2007 referendum.

Please contact VML consultant Randy Cook at 804/746-3773 if you have comments on these bills or on any other bills that address eminent domain or that will be considered in the House Courts or Senate Courts committees.

3 photo-red monitoring bills introduced

Three bills have been introduced that would give local governments the option to use cameras to catch motorists running red lights at intersections. All of the bills would cap the fine for the offense at $50; two of the three bills would limit the number of intersections at which photo-red monitoring cameras could be used to no more than 25 at a time in any one jurisdiction.

SB 829 (Devolites Davis) would allow the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun, the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, and Virginia Beach, and the town of Vienna to establish photo-monitoring systems to enforce traffic light signals, subject to specific requirements and procedures set forth in the bill including limiting the cameras to no more than 25 intersections within a locality at one time.

HB 1683 (McQuigg) limits the number of cameras and would allow all local governing bodies to adopt ordinances providing for a traffic light signal violation-enforcement program.

HB 1778 (Cosgrove) grants localities the authority to operate traffic signal enforcement systems at no more than one intersection for every 10,000 residents at any time. Localities are also required to designate at least 50 percent of fines collected for transportation purposes.

Bills would prohibit guns in libraries

SB 767 (Locke) would allow local governments to adopt an ordinance prohibiting firearms in their libraries. The bill is in the Senate Local Government Committee. HB 2173 (BaCote), an identical bill, was assigned to the House Militia and Police Committee.

Gun bills abound

HB 1866 (Wittman) makes it a Class 6 felony to possess (on school property) a firearm that expels a projectile by action of pneumatic pressure, subject to certain exemptions. The bill is in the House Courts Committee.

HB 2106 (Carrico) repeals the authority of a locality to require an applicant for a concealed handgun permit to submit fingerprints as part of the application process. The bill is in the House Militia and Police Committee.

HB 2405 (Athey) makes it legal for a person who may lawfully possess a firearm to carry a concealed firearm so long as he informs a law-enforcement officer of his possession as soon as practicable if detained and he secures the firearm at the officer's request or allows the officer to secure the weapon. The bill is assigned to the House Militia and Police Committee.

SB 950 (Quayle) removes the authority of localities to adopt ordinances that permit the use of muzzle-loading rifles during prescribed open seasons. The bill has been referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources.

Locality could add fee to any criminal or traffic violation

HB 1694 (Callahan) provides that any county or city may adopt an ordinance to increase by $5 the costs in any criminal or traffic case in which the defendant is convicted of a violation of any statute or ordinance. Proceeds of these assessments would be used to supplement the fixed compensation of magistrates. This bill is in the House Courts Committee.

Bill would expand payment of law enforcement overtime

HB 2516 (Carrico) makes all law-enforcement employees eligible for overtime compensation. Currently, the overtime provisions only apply to employees in organizations with 100 or more law-enforcement employees. This bill has not been assigned to a committee.

Bill affects staffing deputy staffing levels

HB 1856 provides that in any county that maintains, operates or owns a local correctional facility, the Compensation Board shall fix a number of additional full-time deputies at not less than one deputy for each 750 confined inmates at the facility. The bill was referred to the House Militia and Police Committee.

Billboard legislation makes curtain call

Two bills that would allow billboards to be relocated or their angle adjusted in the event that the land is taken under eminent domain or a road is widened or reconstructed have been introduced again. There were two similar bills introduced in the 2006 session, but they were killed in committee.

HB 2128 (Hugo) and SB 1102 (Williams) are in the Senate and House Transportation committees.

Hampton Roads bears brunt of ADM reforecast

School divisions in Hampton Roads accounted for most of the reduction in the average daily member projection included in Gov. Tim Kaine's budget amendments, according to a presentation made by Department of Education staff at a Jan. 11 meeting of the Senate Finance Education Subcommittee.

ADM is still increasing, but not as much as predicted in the 2006-2008 budget adopted last year. Budget amendments lower the ADM forecast by 5,742 students in FY07 and 8,448 students in FY08. As a result, the governor's budget amendments call for a reduction in state aid of $20.4 million in FY07 and $35.8 million in FY08.

The ADM forecast for the school divisions is being reduced by 4,150 students in FY07 and 5,900 students in FY08. Staff attributed the drop in the forecast to military deployments and changing demographic predictors, such as the birth rate and the size of households.

CSA bills would create costly new entitlements

Bills to add a new mandatory population to the Comprehensive Services Act (CSA) have been introduced.

The bills are in response to an Attorney General's opinion released late last year regarding the treatment of children with mental health conditions whose parents may relinquish custody (i.e., enter into a foster care agreement) in order to obtain publicly-funded mental health treatment.

VML opposes any addition to the mandated population for CSA, and further believes that it is more appropriate for children with mental health needs to be treated and funded through the state's mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse system.

The bills:

HB 2620 (Fralin) would increase the size of the mandated CSA population. The expanded mandate would include all children requiring mental health services who are not covered by private insurance (or whose insurance coverage is capped or otherwise exhausted), or by Medicaid, if the services are determined to be necessary to prevent a foster care placement. The bill, which carries a significant fiscal and administrative impact for local governments, would essentially turn the foster care and CSA system into the children's mental health system. It has not yet been assigned to a committee.

HB 2150 (Fralin) would add the term "custody relinquishment" to the definition for foster care prevention services. The goal of the bill is to require a full range of services for children identified as being at risk of custody relinquishment. The full-range of services includes publicly-funded casework, treatment, and community services for a planned period of time. This bill has been referred to the House Courts of Justice Committee. A similar Senate bill is expected.

Final budget public hearing set for Monday

The final budget public hearing on the proposed changes to the 2006-2008 state budget will be held Monday, Jan. 15, at 1 p.m., by the House Appropriations/Senate Finance committees in House Room D of the General Assembly Building. Speaker registration begins at 8 a.m.

Members of the House and Senate are proposing their own amendments to the budget. The House deadline for amendments was Jan. 11; the Senate deadline is 5 p.m. on Jan. 18. Budget amendment forms are available on the Senate's Web page, which may be accessed through the state's Legislative Services Web site at http://leg1.state.va.us. This Web site will also display all of the proposed budget amendments about a week following the deadline.

Land use emerging as major issue

In this short session, land use management has become a hot topic. A group of House members is promoting some version of impact fee legislation. In addition to impact fee legislation, a version of adequate public facilities legislation also has been introduced.

The impact fee legislation is aimed at providing another method for local governments to pay for some of the cost of growth. The existing conditional zoning system, with the major component of cash proffers, applies only when a re-zoning is requested by a landowner or developer. In general, impact fees apply to every lot that is developed for housing.

The impact fees bills include the following: HB 1666, HB 1667, HB 1668, HB 1669, HB 1670, HB 1671, HB 1745, HB 1884, HB 2118, HB 2796, HB 1724, HB 1991, HB 2679, HB 2680 and HB 2496, and SB 1268. Some of these bills are very limited, and others are so restrictive as to be harmful to local authority.

Del. Mark D. Sickles (D-Fairfax) and Sen. Mark R. Herring (D-Loudoun) are sponsoring adequate public facilities legislation recommended by Gov. Tim Kaine. The bills -- HB 2814 and SB 1254 -- apply only to rezonings and allow a local government to deny a rezoning if the off-site road transportation facilities are inadequate to serve the rezoned lands. Many local governments believe that this authority exists today, and the bills are not a major change. The legislation does, however, clarify the authority, which would be useful for local governments. Full-blown adequate public facilities law would apply at the subdivision and site plan level as well as to re-zonings.

The Homebuilders Association of Virginia has requested legislation to end the cash proffer system and to replace it with a form of contract zoning, by which the developer and locality negotiate the terms of any rezoning and some other development. Del. Riley Ingram (R-Hopewell) is the patron of HB 2986.

Affordable dwelling unit ordinance legislation

At least three bills to amend the affordable dwelling unit laws have been introduced. HB 2010, sponsored by Del. Terrie L. Suit (R-Virginia Beach), increases the allowable density bonuses. HB 2451, submitted by Del. David J. Toscano (D-Charlottesville), provides authority for a local housing trust fund that developers may pay into instead of providing affordable units in their projects. SB 955, filed by Sen. Frederick M. Quayle (R-Chesapeake), authorizes the creation of a local housing trust fund that may be voluntarily paid into by developers.

Bill would add cities and towns to the right to farm act

Del. Terrie Suit (R-Virginia Beach) filed HB 1823 to add cities and towns to the limits of the Right to Farm Act. The practical effect is that in any agricultural zoning district, the city or town would not be allowed to require a special exception, special use permit or similar permit to carry on agricultural operations.

Committee questions bay bonds, HB 599 funds and pre-K budget proposals

House Appropriations Committee members peppered their staff with questions about many of Gov. Tim Kaine's budget proposals, particularly the Start Strong pilot programs, the proposal to issue bonds to finance grants for wastewater treatment plant programs, and the proposed change in distribution for a portion of the increase in HB 599 funds.

On the Start Strong pilot programs, delegates were concerned that the pilots would be open to middle- and upper-income families, instead of being limited to at-risk students.

On the issue of the wastewater treatment plant grants, some delegates asked why it was appropriate to issue bonds for these programs, but not for transportation projects. Some delegates also questioned whether it was appropriate for the state to be providing these grants. The grants would improve 89 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which will help improve the health of the bay.

On the issue of HB 599 funding, Kaine has proposed that 40 percent of the increases in funding be distributed to the 20 localities with the highest crime rates. Staff was asked to supply information on how much each locality would have received if all the proposed funding were distributed on the basis of the current formula.

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