eNews – February 6, 2024
Action alerts for housing bills that would gut local authority, juvenile detention board mandate bill...and more!
Tuesday, February 6, 2024/Categories: eNews
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In this issue:
Action Alerts
Budget & Finance
Education
Elections
General Laws
Courts & Public Safety
Transportation
Cannabis
Human Services
Action Alerts
Oppose: Housing bills that would gut local authority headed to Senate floor this week
VML encourages our members to call their Senators and ask them to VOTE NO when SB304 and SB544 go to the Senate floor this week. Details for each item as well as a full list of Senators with contact information are included below.
Senate Bill 304: Development and use of accessory dwelling units
SB304 (Salim) GUTS local authority by requiring localities to allow accessory dwelling units up to 1,500 square feet.
What the bill does: This bill requires that single-family residential zoning districts allow accessory dwelling units that include their own living, bathroom, and kitchen space.
Talking Points:
- Local Governments should maintain their authority to control local land use.
- This bill allows setbacks of only 4 feet and that the accessory dwelling unit could be up to 1,500 square feet.
- Many local governments have sensible ordinances in place that have been adopted after public hearings with input from their citizens.
- Mandatory accessory dwelling units affect neighboring property and exclude input from neighbors.
View/Download a PDF about SB304 here >
Senate Bill 544: Creation of registry for short-term rental of property
SB544 (Bagby) would gut local government authority on Short-Term Rentals
What the legislation says: It states that “no local ordinance enacted after December 31, 2023, shall require that a special exception, special use, or conditional use permit be obtained for the use of a residential dwelling as a short-term rental where the dwelling unit is also legally occupied by the property owner as his primary residence.”
Talking Points:
- Allowing for a special exception or use requires a locality to provide the neighbors notice and an opportunity to be heard (Citizen Engagement).
- Localities are best suited to make local land use decisions.
- Short-term rental ordinances have been created with a lot of citizen input.
- The language is vague and doesn’t state what “legally occupied” is or how it could be enforced.
View/Download a PDF about SB544 here >
Senators
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Aird, Lashrecse
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(804) 698-7513
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senatoraird@senate.virginia.gov
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Bagby, Lamont
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(804) 698-7514
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senatorbagby@senate.virginia.gov
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Boysko, Jennifer
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(804) 698-7538
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senatorboysko@senate.virginia.gov
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Carroll Foy, Jennifer
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(804) 698-7533
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senatorcarrollfoy@senate.virginia.gov
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Craig, Christie New
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(804) 698-7519
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senatorcraig@senate.virginia.gov
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Deeds, Creigh
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(804) 698-7511
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senatordeeds@senate.virginia.gov
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DeSteph, William "Bill"
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(804) 698-7520
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senatordesteph@senate.virginia.gov
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Diggs, J.D. "Danny"
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(804) 698-7524
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senatordiggs@senate.virginia.gov
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Durant, Tara
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(804) 698-7527
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senatordurant@senate.virginia.gov
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Ebbin, Adam
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(804) 698-7539
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senatorebbin@senate.virginia.gov
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Favola, Barbara
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(804) 698-7540
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senatorfavola@senate.virginia.gov
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French, Timmy
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(804) 698-7501
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senatorfrench@senate.virginia.gov
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Hackworth, Travis
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(804) 698-7505
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senatorhackworth@senate.virginia.gov
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Hashmi, Ghazala
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(804) 698-7515
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senatorhashmi@senate.virginia.gov
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Head, Christopher
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(804) 698-7503
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senatorhead@senate.virginia.gov
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Jordan, Emily
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(804) 698-7517
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senatorjordan@senate.virginia.gov
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Locke, Mamie
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(804) 698-7523
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senatorlocke@senate.virginia.gov
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Lucas, Louise
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(804) 698-7518
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senatorlucas@senate.virginia.gov
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Marsden, David
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(804) 698-7535
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senatormarsden@senate.virginia.gov
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McDougle, Ryan
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(804) 698-7526
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senatormcdougle@senate.virginia.gov
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McGuire,, John
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(804) 698-7510
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senatormcguire@senate.virginia.gov
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McPike, Jeremy
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(804) 698-7529
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senatormcpike@senate.virginia.gov
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Mulchi, Tammy Brankley
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(804) 698-7509
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senatormulchi@senate.virginia.gov
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Obenshain, Mark
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(804) 698-7502
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senatorobenshain@senate.virginia.gov
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Peake, Mark
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(804) 698-7508
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senatorpeake@senate.virginia.gov
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Pekarsky, Stella
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(804) 698-7536
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senatorpekarsky@senate.virginia.gov
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Perry, Russet
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(804) 698-7531
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senatorperry@senate.virginia.gov
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Pillion, Todd
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(804) 698-7506
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senatorpillion@senate.virginia.gov
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Reeves, Bryce
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(804) 698-7528
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senatorreeves@senate.virginia.gov
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Roem, Danica
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(804) 698-7530
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senatorroem@senate.virginia.gov
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Rouse, Aaron
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(804) 698-7522
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senatorrouse@senate.virginia.gov
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Salim, Saddam Azlan
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(804) 698-7537
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senatorsalim@senate.virginia.gov
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Stanley, William "Bill"
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(804) 698-7507
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senatorstanley@senate.virginia.gov
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Stuart, Richard
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(804) 698-7525
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senatorstuart@senate.virginia.gov
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Sturtevant, Glen
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(804) 698-7512
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senatorsturtevant@senate.virginia.gov
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Subramanyam, Suhas
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(804) 698-7532
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senatorsubramanyam@senate.virginia.gov
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Suetterlein, David
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(804) 698-7504
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senatorsuetterlein@senate.virginia.gov
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Surovell, Scott
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(804) 698-7534
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senatorsurovell@senate.virginia.gov
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VanValkenburg, Schuyler
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(804) 698-7516
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senatorvanvalkenburg@senate.virginia.gov
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Williams Graves, Angelia
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(804) 698-7521
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senatorwilliamsgraves@senate.virginia.gov
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VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org | (804) 523-8525
Oppose: Juvenile detention board mandate bill to be heard by Senate Courts Committee tomorrow!
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee docket for the afternoon of Feb. 7 includes SB438 (Suetterlein), which would require all members and alternates for a juvenile detention home, group home, or residential care facility commission to have a background in law enforcement or corrections. VML opposes this bill because it removes the authority of local governments to appoint members who bring a variety of expertise and voices (e.g., finance, rehabilitation, education, behavioral health) to such commissions.
Action requested
Contact your member on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee to oppose SB438.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Budget & Finance
Roll up your sleeves and sharpen those pencils, it’s almost budget time!
In less than two weeks, on Sunday, February 18th, the House and Senate will unveil their respective budgets. To be more specific, they will unveil their respective amendments to HB/SB 30 and HB/SB 29 (Caboose); those are the budgets the Governor submitted on December 20, 2023.
But before that happens, there’s a lot of work to be done. Even as the Senate Finance & Appropriations and House Appropriations committees wrestle with their numerous bills, the members and staff have been quietly assembling the pieces of their respective budget plans.
The job of the money committees may have gotten a little easier since the session began, as both chambers have now shelved the Governor’s proposals to reduce individual income tax rates by 12%. This proposed reduction in the individual income taxes was to have been paid for, in part, by raising the statewide sales tax from 4.3 to 5.2 percent and expanding the sales tax base to data storage and streaming services. Del. Fowler carried HB1281 while Sen. Stuart sponsored SB632.
That decision frees up $1.0 billion in the 2024-26 budget, including almost $600 million in ongoing general fund revenues. Unfortunately, many of the Governor’s budget recommendations were intertwined with these tax policy proposals, so unwinding the initiatives from the budget may prove tricky.
That said, the emerging consensus appears to be that K-12 education will be the big winner when the House and Senate budgets are made public on February 18. Then again, rumor and innuendo spread like wildfire this time of year, so it’s best to wait until “Super Budget Sunday” before drawing any conclusions.
In the meantime, now is the time to put the finishing touches on any information that needs to be in the hands of lawmakers and the staff of the money committees. If past is prologue, decisions will start to be made on specific budget amendments as early as Monday, Feb. 12 (that’s next week!).
VML Contact: Joe Flores, jflores@vml.org
Legislation affecting the administration of local taxation comes into focus
The path of several bills that we’ve been following since the beginning of the 2024 Session are beginning to become clear.
Meals tax collections
As introduced, the first set of bills, HB1483 (McQuinn) and SB294 (DeSteph), addressed the problems restaurant owners in the city of Richmond’s have been experiencing related to meal tax collections. In response, the city has announced measures to address the concerns of restaurant owners and committed to refunding any interest or penalties mistakenly imposed on local restaurants.
The problem with the bills, as originally drafted, is that the changes would apply to all local tax collections and every locality in Virginia, even localities where meals tax collections have not been an issue.
VML staff met with the bill’s patrons and proponents to convey our concerns. Ultimately, the patrons proposed to narrow the bills specifically to address meals tax collections but also cities with finance directors, which would have affected a handful of cities. While the latter change seemed designed to minimize potential opposition, the other changes appeared to some lawmakers to create a two-tiered system of meals tax collections.
Today, SB294 was passed by indefinitely in Senate Finance & Appropriations. HB1483 will have its first hearing this afternoon in House Finance, Subcommittee #2.
Fiscal distress
As introduced, HB655 (Coyner) and SB645 (Aird) codified language that has been included in the Appropriations Act since 2017; that budget language established a process and plan to work with localities identified as in “fiscal distress” by the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA).
But the bills go further, ultimately authorizing the appointment of an emergency fiscal manager to assume control of a locality’s fiscal operations, notwithstanding the roles and responsibilities of the elected local governing body and chief executive officer.
VML staff met with the patrons of both bills to communicate our concerns on behalf of all localities that might find themselves in fiscal distress. Those concerns were acknowledged when the bills were heard. So far, the House and Senate versions of the bill have met different fates. Del. Coyner’s version failed on a vote of 6-3 in Counties, Cities and Towns Subcommittee on Thursday, February 1. Yesterday, Sen. Aird’s bill was reported out of Senate Local Government 8-6 with one abstention. The bill was re-referred to the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, where it is likely to be docketed for later this week.
VML will continue to monitor this legislation in the days ahead.
VML Contact: Joe Flores, jflores@vml.org
Education
Priority bills that passed their subcommittees
One-percent local option sales tax to support schools
On Monday, House Finance Subcommittee #3 reported HB805 (Rasoul) on a vote of 5-3 with an amendment. HB805 allows the statewide authority for counties and cities to impose a one percent sales and use tax if approved via referendum dedicated solely to school construction and renovation needs. As amended, HB805 does all the above and adds the ability to use the dedicated funding source for debt services. HB600 (Kilgore) along with all the stand-alone bills were rolled into HB805.
HB805 should be heard by the full House Finance Committee on Wednesday.
Thanks to everyone so far who has reached out to their legislators to support this important legislation!
JLARC recommendations bills
HB624 (Rasoul) would create an omnibus bill encompassing all JLARC recommendations that came from the JLARC SOQ study from this summer. This bill includes items such as eliminating the support cap, including competing cost adjustments for instructional and support staff salaries, amount of funding for at-risk programs, using a three-year average for the local composite index, estimating consumption costs, and amending the SOQ formula and definitions.
HB624 passed unanimously out of the House Appropriations Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee.
HB825 (Cousins) would establish an At-Risk Program defined as any state funding provided for programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation according to the at-risk add-on program designed to support programs for students determined to be educationally at risk. With this new definition funding level criteria are administered. This is in conjunction with the state’s already existing At-Risk Program for which localities receiving state funding would be held harmless if they received more funding with the existing program.
HB825 passed on a vote of 5 to 1 out of the House Appropriations Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Bills that would have taken money from public schools have died
HB1164 (P. Scott) and HB1296 (Griffin) would have created the Education Excellence for All Program which would have taken money intended for public schools and placed it in a savings account for parents to access and use for private needs. Funds would then have been diverted from public education to be used for private schooling. With the growing need for funding in public education this legislation would have been harmful. VML opposed this legislation, and it has been tabled.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Elections
Bad elections bills that won’t move forward in 2024
SB303 (Stuart) would have required all voting systems to produce a printed receipt for each vote cast. Out of the four voting systems Virginia currently uses, none of the machines can accommodate this requirement, making this legislation extremely expensive to localities. This bill was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. SB303 is identical to HB907 (Kent and Green) which has been carried over to the 2025 session.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Bill of concern progresses to committee
HB254 (Sullivan) provides that any candidate nominated by a political party or at a primary election shall be identified by the name of their political party. VML has concerns over this bill for two reasons. First, VML has a long-standing position that local government should not be partisan since filling potholes, police, etc. are not partisan issues. Second, this legislation would go against the Hatch Act which prevents federal employees from holding partisan office. As such, HB254 would disincentivize qualified candidates from running for office. This bill has been referred to the House Privileges and Elections Committee.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
General Laws
Local officials travel expenses bill clears Senate Local Government Committee
SB549 (Perry) Travel expenses; local officials. Requires that any local official anticipating a travel expense to exceed $5,000 shall get advance approval of the governing body and if the expenses exceed that amount, the amount shall be reported to the governing body and noted in a meeting agenda or the minutes. This bill was reported out of the Senate General Laws Committee on Thursday.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Bills reported out of the House Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee late last week
HB1100 (Carr) Trees; Planning District 8 (Northern Virginia), conservation during land development process. This bill was expanded to include the entire Commonwealth and provides that a locality by ordinance may require conservation of trees during the land development process.
HB61 (Wright) Enterprise zones; renewal periods. Authorizes the Governor, upon the recommendation of the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, to renew enterprise zones for up to four five-year renewal periods for zones designated on or after July 1, 2005, and for up to two five-year renewal periods for zones designated before July 1, 2005. Under current law, zones designated on or after July 1, 2005, may be renewed for up to three such periods and zones designated before July 1, 2005, may be renewed for up to one such period.
HB478 (Coyner) Community revitalization fund; expanding use for all localities. This legislation is a recommendation of the housing commission and allows all localities to create a community revitalization fund for the purpose of preventing neighborhood deterioration.
HB4 (Martinez) Plastic bag tax; distribution to towns. Provides that any town located within a county that has imposed a disposable plastic bag tax shall receive a distribution of revenues collected by the county based on the local sales tax distribution formula for appropriations to towns. The bill requires that towns use such revenues for the same purposes allowable for a county or city.
HB476 (Coyner) Vacant buildings; registration. Allows any county, city, or town to require a vacant building registration if the building has been vacant 12 months and it meets certain criteria. This bill was recommended by the Housing Commission.
Charters:
- HB91 (Wachsmann) Smithfield, Town of; amending charter, municipal elections, repealing outdated provisions.
- HB136 (Campbell) Staunton, City of; City allowed to reduce or waive utility connection feed in certain areas.
- HB227 (Cherry) Colonial Heights City of; amending charter, relating to duties of city manager, etc.
- HB1127 (Arnold) Pulaski, Town of; amending charter, municipal elections.
- HB1512 (Phillips) Martinsville, City of; amending charter, notice of special meetings to council members.
- HB1511 (Phillips) Martinsville, City of; amending charter, granting of town status.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Bills sent to the Housing Commission
HB900 (Srinivasan) Zoning; developmental and use of accessory dwelling units. This bill is the same as SB304 (Salim) that is included in the “Oppose” Action Alert [LINK]. The bill allows accessory dwelling units in single family zoning without a special use permit.
HB1236 (Marshall) / SB721 (Mulchi) Local government actions related to comprehensive plans, etc.,; approval process. These bills would have gutted local government authority in the land use realm. They will be studied in the housing commission over the summer.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Courts & Public Safety
Bill would require suits over voting rights to be heard in City of Richmond Circuit Court
HB623 (Price) expands the ability of voters to challenge election rules and practices of a locality in court. The most significant effect for localities is that it requires that any lawsuit over a locality’s voting practices be heard in the Richmond Circuit Court. Litigation expenses will increase significantly for localities that are not in the Richmond region.
The bill adds groups representing voters to those who may sue. Current law restricts suits to those filed by voters. It adds changes to satellite voting places to practices that require extra local advertising and hearings. It allows suits over changes to satellite offices.
A Privileges and Elections subcommittee recommended the bill on Thursday. The bill will almost certainly be reported by the full committee, as Delegate Price is the chair.
VML Contact: Mark Flynn, markkflynn@gmail.com
Firearms bill amended for the better
HB1386 (Convirs-Fowler), which deals with local government authority over weapon-carrying rules for employees and the public, was amended at the request of VML to provide that a locality’s rules regarding employees carrying weapons must be at least as strict as those rules for the public. As a result, the locality may keep rules that prohibit employees from carrying firearms, even if it has not enacted a similar rule for the public. VML appreciates the patron’s cooperation. The bill will next be heard in House Public Safety Committee.
VML Contact: Mark Flynn, markkflynn@gmail.com
Two bills – one good, one bad – that won’t move forward
HB1521 (Higgins) would have provided that in civil cases in circuit court, the parties (instead of the locality) must pay jury duty pay. This bill was supported by VML but died in a House Privileges and Elections Subcommittee.
HB704 (Wiebert) would have ended sovereign immunity for any car wreck case, where the locality owns or operates the vehicle involved. The bill was opposed by VML and the patron had the bill struck, so there will no further action.
VML Contact: Mark Flynn, markkflynn@gmail.com
Transportation
Photo speed enforcement bills die in House subcommittee
The four House bills on photo speed enforcement met a swift end late Friday when they came before the House Transportation ad hoc Subcommittee on Innovations. HB521 (Laufer), HB533 (Seibold), and HB905 (Shin) were recommended to be incorporated into HB20 (Jones) and carried over until 2025. This morning, the full House Transportation Committee officially carried over the bills as recommended by the subcommittee. These actions came after extensive public testimony in support of photo speed enforcement technology from local elected officials, concerned citizens and advocacy groups. Meanwhile the Senate photo enforcement legislation, SB336 (Roem), passed the Senate last week by a vote of 22-18 on a bipartisan basis.
Bottom line: Prospects for expanded authority to use photo enforcement devices outside of work zones and school zones (as the code currently allows) seems unlikely this year absent a change of heart by members of the House Subcommittee that failed to advance HB20.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Speed limit authority legislation advances
HB1071 (Carr) expands the authority for all localities to reduce the speed limit to less than 25 mph but not less than 15 mph in business and residential districts provided that appropriate signage is in place. HB1071 has reported with a vote of 14-8 from the House Committee on Transportation with amendments to allow localities to reduce or increase speed limits below up to 25 mph and no less than 15 mph. HB1071 is now before the full House of Delegates and awaiting further action this week.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
License plate reader legislation progresses in the Senate
The Senate Committee on Transportation approved SB503 (Surrovell) by a vote of 9-6 and referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Courts of Justice for further consideration. SB503 establishes criteria for law enforcement use of license plate reader technology, directs the Virginia State Police to establish model policies for law enforcement use of license plate reader technology, limits storage of license plate reader data to 30 days, establishes reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies that use license plate reader technology, and directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board to promulgate regulations for local law enforcement agencies to place license plate readers on state highway right-of-way. SB539 (Bagby) and HB920 (Shin) – which also establish criteria for the operation of license plate readers by law enforcement – have not yet been heard in committee.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Cannabis
Cannabis legislation on the move
The House held their first hearing on legislation to establish a retail market for cannabis on Friday reporting an amended version of HB698 (Krizek) with a vote of 5-0 with one abstention. This legislation was amended to decrease the local option marijuana tax to 4.5% from 6% in the introduced version but does contains authority for cities, counties, and towns to hold a referendum on whether the operation of marijuana establishments is prohibited in their locality. Unfortunately, HB698 does not provide protections for local land use authority. HB698 will be heard by the full General Laws committee today.
Meanwhile, SB448 (Rouse) is working its way through the Senate after reporting from the Senate Courts of Justice committee by a 7-5 vote with 3 abstentions. This bill is headed to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee where it is expected to be heard this week.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Human Services
House Appropriations Committee addresses hazardous duty, line of duty bills
The House Appropriations Committee voted on Feb. 5 to carry over to the 2025 General Assembly session several bills addressing hazardous duty enhanced retirement benefit bills, including HB1438 (Wiley) which would require local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to juvenile detention specialists beginning July 1, 2024.
The Committee approved HB321 (McQuinn) which increases the Line of Duty payment from $25,000 to $100,000 for any death caused by occupational cancer, respiratory disease, or hypertension or heart disease occurs on or after January 1, 2025. A similar bill making its way in Senate Finance & Appropriations, SB649 (Salim), would increase the payment from $25,000 to $50,000 on or after July 1, 2024.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
House Health and Human Services Committee bills of interest
The House Health and Human Services Committee reported the following bills of interest on Feb. 6:
HB855 (Herandez) as amended, requires that the State Board of Social Services promulgate regulations to allow applications for the Home Energy Assistance Program be submitted throughout the year, provided that adequate funding is available for such period of time. Exempts the provisions of this bill from the provisions of the Administrative Process Act except for a period of public comment on the regulations prior to adoption.
The Department of Social Services is already in the process of adopting regulations on this issue; if approved by the General Assembly this bill will speed up the process for adoption of regulations.
HB1052 (Batten), as amended, requires a locality to review the Department of Health's database prior to notifying the owners of an alternative or conventional onsite sewage system of their maintenance responsibility for such system. The aim is to ensure proper maintenance requirements are provided to the owners of these systems. As introduced the bill would have required the Virginia Department of Health to submit quarterly reports to each local government with an accurate record of private properties categorized by the presence of an alternative or conventional onsite sewage system.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org