February 6, 2008

Expect 2 Legislative Bulletins today This is the first of two Legislative Bulletins to be sent today; a special edition Legislative Day Legislative Bulletin will be sent later this afternoon. VML/VACo Legislative Day schedule More than 550 local officials have registered for the VML/VACo Legislative Day, to be held Thursday. Don’t forget that the briefing on Thursday will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, with registration beginning at 11 a.m. Here’s the complete schedule. 11 a.m. Registration (box lunches available at 11:30 a.m.)-Greater Richmond Convention Center, Room B 21-C, the Grand Ballroom located directly across from the Marriott. Bordered by 5th Street, Broad Street and Marshall Street. Noon Welcome introductions 12:15 p.m. Keynote address: Gov. Tim Kaine 12:45 p.m. VML/VACo staff briefing on priority issues 2 p.m. Local officials go to the General Assembly Building to meet their legislators and lobby on priority issues 5:30-6:30 p.m. Reception (cash bar), Salons B/C/D Room, the Richmond Marriott (NOT the convention center). Please plan to attend. Gov. Tim Kaine will be coming by the reception, as will some senators and delegates.

Ask House Commerce & Labor Committee members to oppose presumption bill

HB 532 (Mathieson) presumes that any disease contracted by a public safety worker during a epidemic/pandemic occurs in the course and scope of the public safety workers’ employment. The epidemic/pandemic would have to be declared by the Department of Health. A House Commerce & Labor subcommittee recommended reporting the bill on Feb. 5 on a 5-3 vote. The problem with this bill is that it is impossible for the local government to prove that the employee contracted the disease while not on duty. Currently there are only four diseases that have a presumption such as this, and they are hepatitis, HIV, tuberculosis, and meningococcal meningitis. Local governments can test for these diseases in pre-employment physicals, but there is no way for the local government to test for “any disease.” Please urge your delegates on the House Commerce and Labor Committee to vote against this bill, which will be heard on Feb. 7 by the full committee at its meeting one-half hour after adjournment. House Commerce & Labor Committee membership and contact information Staff contact: Tim Ailsworth (tailsworth@vmlins.org)

Call senators in opposition to BZA appeals bill; localities to pay attorneys fees

SB 519 (Watkins) would require the board of zoning appeals to pay the attorneys fees of a successful petitioner if the BZA decision is overturned. The Senate Local Government Committee reported the bill on a close vote. The bill allows the judge to award attorneys fees against the locality if the petitioner, appealing the BZA’s decision, prevails.

This bill will make it more difficult for boards of zoning appeals to make fair decisions. The BZA sits in the role of a judge when it hears appeals of a zoning administrator’s decision or if it decides on a variance request. Accordingly, a petition to overturn the BZA’s decision is similar to appealing a decision of a circuit court judge to the supreme court. Certainly, when a court’s decision is appealed, the appellant may not require the circuit court judge to pay attorneys fees.

Most localities do not even appoint the members of the BZA. The circuit court makes the appointments. It is true that often, the BZA looks to the locality for guidance, especially from the locality’s attorney. However, the BZA is more like a court than a local department. Further, often the appeal of the BZA’s decision is a fight between the neighbors and the developer or lot owner subject to the appeal. The BZA is only the decision maker, not the real party pushing the appeal.

The bill will be debated by the full Senate as early as Thursday, February 7. All local governments with a BZA should contact your senator to oppose the bill as a bad policy for the Commonwealth. Staff contact: Mark Flynn (mflynn@vml.org)

Real party in interest in land use applications must be identified

SB 531 (Herring) requires the real parties in interest to be disclosed in all rezoning, conditional use permit and special exception permit applications. As a result, if, for example, three partners create a limited liability company (LLC) that buys a parcel and applies for a rezoning, the names of the three partners must be disclosed. The bill accomplishes this by amending current law, which is permissive. The bill was reported by the Senate Local Government Committee. Staff contact: Mark Flynn (mflynn@vml.org)

Vacant building registration penalties bill moves forward

HB 1210 (Melvin) was recommended for reporting by a Counties Cities & Towns subcommittee and will be heard by the full Counties Cities & Towns Committee Friday morning February 8. The bill increases the penalties against a property owner who has a vacant building on the property if the owner fails to register the building. Several bills were submitted this session to either increase the registration fee or to increase the penalties. This is the first bill of the group to receive a positive response by a House committee.

Safer streets for walkers, drivers

Legislation that sets out the responsibilities of both pedestrians and drivers at marked and unmarked crosswalks is moving forward in the House and the Senate. The measures, crafted last summer by local government officials and state staffers, are designed to make the roads safer for drivers and pedestrians. The proposed legislation clarifies when cars must stop, and when they may yield. It also defines unmarked crosswalks. HB 1270 (Ebbin) was reported by the House Transportation Committee on Feb. 5. The Senate companion bill, SB 644 (Ticer), is on the Senate floor. Neither measure changes existing penalties for violating these traffic laws. (Staff contact: Denise Thompson dthompson@vml.org)

Annexation bills – a study is coming

Several bills that extend the annexation moratorium have been put in a form to effectively not extend the moratorium and are all headed to a study or at least an informal work group that includes the Governor’s office. The study is intended to address some of the core issues that hinder cities from maintaining and improving their economic health. Staff contact: Mark Flynn (mflynn@vml.org)

Senate Finance Committee takes local governments out of OT bill (SB 269)

The Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 6 removed localities from the bill that would have extended increased overtime requirements to localities with fewer than 100 law enforcement employees, and to the state police. The bill still covers state employees. Special thanks to Senator Stolle for making the motion to remove localities from the bill. Staff contact: Kimberly Pollard (kpollard@vml.org)

House Finance Subcommittee poised to act on property tax bills

House Finance Subcommittee #1 will take up a number of bills on Wednesday, February 6 affecting tax rates, assessments and local budgets. Several of these bills are part of the Republican’s 2008 core legislative package. The measures include:

• HB 74 (Purkey) requires localities to lower their real estate tax rates to produce no more than the previous year’s real property tax levies when the assessment results in an increase in the total real property tax levied.
  
• HB 102 (Albo) states that the total tax revenue in a locality may not exceed 105.0 percent of the total tax revenue in the prior year unless approved by at least two-thirds majority vote of the local governing body.
  
• HB 602 (O’Bannon) places the burden of proof on local government on appeals of real property assessments when the assessment is 20.0 percent greater than the previous assessment.
  
• HB 911 (Purkey) classifies as intangible personal property idle equipment, hardware or software, of a research and development or technology, high technology, or nanotechnology business.
  
• HB 927 (Nixon) requires localities to fix tax rates at least 30 days prior to approval of budgets for the ensuing year, with separate public notices and separate public hearings. Real estate tax rates are to produce no more than the previous year’s totals when new assessment would result in an increase in the total real property tax levied. Localities can increase the rate after a public hearing held no sooner than 30 days after the rate reduction.
  
• HB 1009 (Hugo) and HB 1036 (Frederick) requires localities to include additional information with assessment notices.
  
• HB 1560 (Lingamfelter) requires localities to permit real property owners to defer than portion of real estate taxes that exceed 105.0 percent of the previous year’s tax.
  

If your locality has taken a position on any of these bills, please let us know.

Staff contacts: Neal Menkes (nmenkes@vml.org)

Law enforcement procedural guarantee bill recommitted to committee

The Senate on Feb. 5 recommitted to the Courts of Justice Committee SB 76 (Cuccinelli) the bill that would expand procedural guarantees for police officers. The re-referral is beneficial to VML and those other groups opposing the bill in hopes that this motion will kill the bill. The bill revises the Law-Enforcement Procedural Guarantee Act by strengthening the protections afforded to law-enforcement officers during internal investigations, questioning and disciplinary hearings. The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, VML and VACo are in opposition to the bill. Staff contact: Kimberly Pollard (kpollard@vml.org)

School construction revolving loan fund recommended by committee

The House Appropriations Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee at its Feb. 5 meeting recommended reporting HB 923 (Rust). The full committee will likely vote the bill out at its Feb. 6 meeting, in the afternoon.

Payday lending bill goes to House floor

A bill to impose a 36 percent cap on interest on payday loans was reported Feb. 5 by the House Commerce & Labor Committee. The committee reported a substitute for HB 12 (Oder), following the Feb. 4 announcement by members of the House of Delegates that a bipartisan compromise had been reached on the payday lending issue. In addition to the cap, the substitute bill restricts borrowers to only one loan at a time, and up to five loans a year. In addition, payday lenders will be required to enter transactions into a database in order to prevent customers from taking out multiple loans from different companies at the same time. Under the bill, payday lenders are allowed to charge a fee of up to 10 percent of the value of a loan, in addition to a $5 verification fee. A number of bills regulating the payday industry are before the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee as well.

Senate approves smoking regulation bills

The Senate approved on Feb. 5 four measures regarding smoking. SB 298 (Whipple) prohibits smoking in most buildings used by the public. SB 501 (Locke) prohibits smoking in restaurants and SB 202 (Quayle) allows localities to regulate smoking in restaurants. Finally, SB 347 (Blevins) allows localities in Planning District 23 to regulate smoking. Similar measures will be before the House General Laws Subcommittee on ABC and gaming on Feb. 7.

Restriction on town water rates in county now resolved

SB 751 would have limited town water rates for county customers to 50 percent over the town rate, in certain cases. The patron very agreeably has elected to have the bill carried over for a year. The town that was the subject of the bill has, on its own, elected to reduce the county customer water rates. VML appreciates the patron’s willingness to have the bill not moved forward this session. Staff contact: Mark Flynn (mflynn@vml.org) .