eNews – January 23, 2024
Tax bills to watch, Local option one percent sales tax for schools bill advances, Renewable energy bills threaten local authority...and more!
Tuesday, January 23, 2024/Categories: eNews
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In this issue:
Budget & Finance
General Laws
Education
Health & Human Services
Elections
Natural Resources
VML News
Budget & Finance
Tax collection bills propose statewide solution to a City of Richmond problem
In the days leading up to the 2024 Session, media reports begin to emerge that the City of Richmond was experiencing serious problems with revenue collections. As reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the issues primarily centered around the local meals tax. City officials acknowledged the problems and proposed remedies designed to address the concerns of restaurant owners. The city’s chief administrative officer described the changes as a way to “improve our services and enhance flexibility in payments and collections of past-due balances.”
In the meantime, Delegate Delores McQuinn (City of Richmond) and Senator Bill DeSteph (City of Virginia Beach) have introduced nearly identical bills that make statewide changes to the collection of local taxes – not just the meals tax. These bills are likely to impose additional administrative burdens on localities as well as increased costs.
The changes incorporated into HB1483 (McQuinn) and SB294 (DeSteph) would:
- Upend the universal principle (applied at federal, state, and local levels) that, absent an agreement with the tax collecting official, payments are credited to the oldest obligations first, allowing the taxpayer to pick and choose which unpaid obligations get credited. This will endanger collection of the older obligations, as to which the statute of limitations “clock” is ticking, likely resulting in foregone local revenues.
- Allow taxpayers to collect legal fees in any case in which they successfully challenge an assessment or levy of taxes, a provision that could easily cost localities millions of dollars a year. Conversely, the bills expose taxpayers to liability for the locality’s legal fees if they are unsuccessful in their challenge.
- Require that a delinquent taxpayer be given written notice – in other words, another notice, after many have been issued and failed to get the taxes paid – before the locality can initiate a levy on any property to which a lien is attached. This has the potential to slow revenue collections and exponentially increase the likelihood that property subject to a locality’s lien (such as a vehicle or business personal property) will be spirited out of the jurisdiction.
- Stop the accrual of interest on any tax that a taxpayer has appealed or challenged in any way – correction, administrative appeal, or judicial appeal – after 90 days. Judicial challenges can, and often do, take a couple of years.
VML has concerns when a problem that appears to be confined to one locality leads to legislation that applies statewide (as is the case with HB1483 and SB294). While these bills haven’t made it on the agenda yet, VML staff will monitor this legislation closely when they are heard in the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, respectively.
VML Contact: Joe Floes, jflores@vml.org
Transient Occupancy Taxes inspire competing legislation: One to support and one to oppose
Two competing approaches related to the collection of the Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT) have emerged in the first two weeks of the General Assembly.
HB695 (Ware) – Short-term rentals. This bill doesn’t plow a lot of new ground, mostly reinstating current law regarding information that needs to be provided to localities by accommodations intermediaries (i.e., VRBO, Expedia, Airbnb, etc.) to ensure appropriate collection of TOT. The substantive change requires the Department of Taxation to establish a registry for short-term rentals. Further, the bill requires that as a condition of listing a short-term rental on its platform, an accommodations intermediary shall require each accommodations provider to submit a) the provider's name, b) the unique numerical identifier, and c) the specific address for each short term-rental offered as well as information regarding receipts and taxes paid on a quarterly basis. VML supports this effort to ensure compliance with current law and appropriate collection of TOT taxes at the local level.
HB1328 (McNamara) – Transit Occupancy Taxes. This bill, on the other hand, centralizes the collection of TOT, by requiring the TAX department to collect fees on behalf of local government and redistribute them to counties, cities, and towns. VML opposes this legislation and has expressed our concerns to the sponsor.
Learn more about how TOT collection issues are affecting localities
For a comprehensive summary of the issues surrounding the collection of transient occupancy taxes at the local level, we recommend reading “Cities and counties across Virginia say Airbnb is breaking the law” written by Jason Armesto and published in the Daily Progress this morning.
VML Contact: Joe Floes, jflores@vml.org
Budget amendments update
A glitch in the General Assembly’s IT system dropped some budget amendments; it has been fixed and additional amendments are now listed on the General Assembly’s budget page.
These newly listed amendments include two of interest to local governments. These amendments clarify that no local match would be required for the Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP) fund addressing electricity payment burden and energy use by eligible households and funded through collection of Universal Service Fees from all residential customers of Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power.
These amendments are:
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
General Laws
Reported out of the Senate Local Government Committee
SB13 (Favola) Board of Education; child day programs; licensure and use of office buildings. This permissive bill allows any locality to enact an ordinance for the waiver of any requirements for zoning permits for the operation of a child day program in an office building, defined as any building containing more than two rental units that are rented primarily for retail, commercial, or professional use, provided that such facility satisfies the requirements for state licensure as a child day program.
SB171 (Craig) Zoning; civil penalties; commercial uses. Allows enhanced civil penalties for zoning violations involving nonpermitted commercial uses.
SB296 (VanValkenburg) Local planning commission; action on proposed plats, site plans, and development plans; residential use. Requires local planning commissions to use the same approval process for residential and commercial development projects.
SB595 (Bagby, Aird) Comprehensive plan; healthy communities strategy. Authorizes localities to adopt a healthy communities strategy in their comprehensive plan if they so choose and sets out what the strategy may include.
Charter Bills
SB475 (Hackworth) Charter; Town of Pulaski; SB618 (Pillion) Charter; City of Bristol
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Passed out of the House General Laws Committee
HB151 (Helmer) Energy, Department of; building standards for certain local buildings. Clarifies that school boards should be included in designing new or renovated buildings to meet energy efficient standards. In 2021 Virginia Code 15.2-1804.1 was enacted and this legislation provides technical changes to the existing statute.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Reported out of the House General Laws subcommittee
HB894 (Bennett-Parker) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; electronic meetings. Except for local governing bodies, local school boards, planning commissions, architectural review boards, zoning appeals boards, and boards with the authority to deny, revoke, or suspend a professional or occupational license, any public body may hold all-virtual public meetings two times per year or no more than 50% of the meeting provided that they have an electronic meeting policy in place. Previously it was 25%.
HB1040 (Bennett-Parker) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; definition of “caregiver,” remote participation in meetings. This legislation would allow a person with a disability or a caregiver as defined to participate in a meeting remotely and be counted are part of a quorum.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Legislation local governments should watch closely
HB1386 (Convirs-Fowler) requires that any workplace rules of a locality relating to the control of firearms be consistent with related local ordinances and other rules that apply to members of the general public. Current law allows localities to impose greater restrictions on employees than the public. Some localities prohibit employees, despite not having a general ban on weapons. VML is concerned that HB1386 will limit local government authority over personnel matters. It has been referred to the Committee on Public Safety.
HB1149 (Cordoza) allows the Governor to initiate a removal petition for a member of a city or town council. This bill introduces politics into removal petitions, in any case where a Governor objects to a single member of a council. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections.
HB1521 (Higgins) provides that in civil cases in circuit court, the parties must pay jury duty pay. This is a proper move. Current law has the locality pay the costs. For example, when Smith sues Jones, the city or town has no role in the lawsuit and should not be responsible for the costs of seating a jury. The bill has been referred to the Committee for Courts of Justice.
HB704 (Webert) would end sovereign immunity for any car wreck case, where the locality owns or operates the vehicle involved. The bill was sent to the Transportation Committee’s Highway Safety Policy subcommittee.
VML Contact: Mark Flynn, markkflynn@gmail.com
Education
Legislation supporting a local option one percent sales tax for school construction and renovation clears committee
SB14 (McPike) – which 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 renovations – reported from the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on a vote of 10-4 this morning. Along with a representative from VML, nearly two dozen advocates testified in support of this legislation! Thank you to everyone who contacted members of the committee to support this bill.
Similarly, one of the standalone versions of this bill – which grants the authority only to Prince Edward County – was reported from the same committee on a vote of 10-2. This demonstrates the need for this authority to be available statewide rather than on a case-by-case basis.
Related legislation
HB600 (Kilgore) and HB805 (Rasoul) allow 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 renovations. Both bills have both been referred to the House Finance Committee. While these have not been docketed, we encourage members to please reach out to your representatives on the committee. This is a legislative priority for VML. Please reach out to Josette Bulova (jbulova@vml.org) for more information or any additional documents to share with legislators.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Education legislation of interest
SB128 (VanValkenburg) addresses funding calculations of the Standards of Quality (SOQ) and requires the Department of Education to include various staff members in the cost of salaries, including the cost of compensation for instructional and support positions, prohibit a cap being placed on inflation rate adjustments during rebenchmarking, and utilize a three-year average when calculating the local ability to pay. These come as recommendations from the JLARC study on the SOQs. VML supports this legislation which has been referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
HB1164 (Scott) and HB1296 (Griffin) create the Education Excellence for All Program which would take money intended for public schools and place it in a savings account for parents to access and use for private needs. Funds would then be diverted from public education to be used for private schooling. VML opposes these bills which would divert needed funding from public education. These bills have been referred to the House Education Committee.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Health & Human Services
Health care workforce bills supported by VML
Several bills have been introduced this General Assembly session to address health workforce issues. This legislation includes:
HB1289 (Willett) directs the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority to establish a program to strengthen the health and health sciences workforce. The bill is in the House Health and Human Services Committee.
HB1291 (Willett) establishes a Virginia Health Workforce Innovation Fund be administered by the Board of the Virginia Health Workforce Authority. Funds would be used to provide grants for regional collaboration on health care innovation and workforce development, including the formation of regional, employer-led partnerships focusing on workforce growth and training. The bill authorizes the formation of regional councils with public and private participants. The bill is in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB1285 (Willett) adds programs and management of the Health Workforce Innovation Fund to the duties of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority. The bill is in the House Health and Human Services Committee.
SB155 (Head) adds members to the Virginia Health Workforce Authority, addresses changes to regulations regarding qualifications for nursing faculty and qualified mental health professionals, directs establishment of a work group to address health workforce shortages, and creates a program for health workforce development. The bill was reported by the Senate Education and Health Committee and is in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
VML supports efforts to address workforce needs, particularly in human services and education.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Food truck bill is back; nonprofit food sales expansion bills introduced
HB1204 (Scott, P.A.) requires state and local health departments to amend their rules to allow mobile food units to conduct up to 20 percent of their sanitation and food preparation activities within a 50-foot radius of their mobile food unit. The bill has been referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee.
A similar bill was introduced in the 2023 Session but was withdrawn by its patron.
In related news, HB57 (Wright) and SB141 (Ruff) expand the current exemption from Department of Health restaurant permits/licensure in regard to nonprofit food sale/provision to the public. Currently, churches, fraternal or school organizations, 501(c)(3) exempt organizations, and volunteer fire and EMS agencies that hold occasional dinners, bazaars and other fundraisers of one- or two-days’ duration are exempt from these regulations. These bills would expand that exemption to include occasional participation in other organized dinners/bazaars/fundraisers that the group offering food is not directly sponsoring. In all cases, such food would be (i) prepared in the homes of members; (ii) prepared in the kitchen of the church, school, or organization; or (iii) purchased or donated from a licensed restaurant. This food would be offered for sale to the public without the organization applying for any permits or licensure from the State Department of Health.
HB57 is in the House General Laws Committee; SB141 is in Senate Education and Health Committee.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Elections
Elections legislation of concern for localities
SB303 (Stuart) / HB907 (Kent) would require 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 which would make implementing this legislation extremely expensive for localities.
SB303 was passed by indefinitely by a vote of 8 to 6 in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. today. HB907 has been referred to the House Committee on Privileges and Elections.
HB254 (Sullivan) requires the party identification of a candidate for local office be shown on the ballot if the candidate is chosen in a party process. VML has two significant concerns with this bill. First, VML has a long-standing position that local government should not be partisan since filling potholes, police, etc. are not partisan issues. Second, the Federal Hatch Act makes it illegal for any federal employee to participate in any partisan election (i.e., those in which the party identification is shown on the ballot). For cities and towns in Northern Virginia, Tidewater, and places like Salem, where the VA hospital is the biggest employer in the city, this would limit the people who could be involved in the local governing body. Recently, one council member resigned her federal position due to Hatch Act issues directly affected by HB254. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Privileges and Elections.
VML Contacts: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org; Mark Flynn, markkflynn@gmail.com
Natural Resources
Solar and wind energy production bills threaten local zoning authority
SB567 (Deeds) and HB636 (Sullivan) provide priority to solar and wind energy production, transmission and storage facilities at the expense of local zoning authority. These bills seek to eliminate local authority as it currently exists and conform local ordinances to a set of standards outlined in the legislation. SB567 and HB636 replace court review of legislative action with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) and give the SCC the authority to review local denials of solar, wind or energy storage projects. Localities that do not currently have solar or wind facility projects may still be affected by these bills if they pass as introduced. VML members are encouraged to carefully consider how SB567 or HB636 may impact their community.
A closer look at the legislation
SB567 and HB636 pre-empt local land use approval and permitting processes for any energy facility* approved by the SCC. The bills also create a shot clock of 120 days within filing for the approval or denial of any energy facility.
*“Energy facility” is defined to mean any wind, solar, or energy storage facility and solar energy facility is defined to include “related equipment and facilities” which includes: Access roads, Distribution, collection and feeder lines, Wires and cables, Conduit, Footings, Foundations, Towers, Poles, Crossarms, Guy lines and anchors, Substations, Interconnections or switching facilities, Circuit Breakers and Transformers, Overhead and underground control, Communications and radio relay systems, Telecommunication Equipment, Utility lines and installations, Generation tie lines, Solar monitoring stations, Accessory equipment and structures.
The bills create the following standards for local ordinances:
- Solar energy facilities: 300-foot setbacks from occupied buildings and 50 feet from roads/rights of way and property lines. Solar panels can be no higher than 25 feet. The bills also establish maximum noise levels of 55 decibels and allow the SCC to create more restrictive standards to comply with federal law.
- Wind facilities: Setbacks of 2.1 times the “maximum blade tip height” from occupied dwellings or nonparticipating properties, and 1.1 times the “maximum blade tip height” from public roads or rights of way and overhead communication and electric lines. The bills establish standards for a maximum of 30 hours of shadow flicker per year experienced by occupied buildings or residences and a maximum sound level of no more than 55 average hourly decibels, as well as other requirements.
- Energy storage facilities: Must be sited at least 300 feet from occupied community buildings or dwellings on nonparticipating properties and a minimum of 50 feet from roads or rights of way or nonparticipating property lines. The energy storage facility must be compliant with national fire protection standards, may not create sounds greater than 55 average hourly decibels and use “dark-sky” friendly lighting solutions.
Given the narrow standards created by these bills for solar, wind, and energy storage facilities, localities would be precluded from considering the impacts these facilities may have on erosion and sediment control, historic resources, flood plains or other local considerations.
VML Contact: Michell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
VML News
Registration for Local Government Day closes on January 25
The Virginia Municipal League invites its members to Local Government Day happening Thursday, February 1 at the Richmond Downtown Marriott. This is the day when all cities, towns and counties come together and advocate on behalf of our communities. Join us for Local Government Day!
Register here until Thursday, January 25 >.
Agenda:
- 11:00 a.m. | Registration
- 11:30 a.m. | Lunch
- Noon | Local Government Day
- Afternoon | Visit the Capitol to speak with legislators
- 5:30 p.m. | Reception
Lodging: The room block at the Richmond Downtown Marriott has sold out. However, there are two other options:
- Hilton Downtown Richmond (501 E. Broad Street, 23219). The Hilton is located directly across the street from the Marriott. Room rates at the Hilton Downtown Richmond start at $189 (single room occupancy). Reserve rooms at the Hilton Downtown Hilton here >.
- Delta Richmond Downtown (555 East Canal Street, 23219). The Delta is about six blocks from the Marriott. The hotel has a free shuttle available. Room rates at the Delta Richmond Downtown start at $165 (single room occupancy). Note – Online reservations for the room block are no longer available, but inquiries can be made by calling Evan W. Anderson, Assistant Director of Sales at 804-344-2972.
VML Contact: Rob Bullington, rbullington@vml.org
Eligibility for 2024 “If I Were Mayor” essay contest expanded to 7th and 8th graders
Deadline to enter is Monday, March 18
The Virginia Municipal League (VML) invites 7th and 8th grade students who reside or attend school in a VML member locality* during the 2023-2024 school year to submit an entry for our “If I were Mayor” essay contest.
*The full list of VML member localities is available here >.
Eight regional winners selected from around the state will each receive a $150 gift card and a plaque. One statewide winner chosen from the regional winners will receive a $250 gift card and a plaque. The runner-up from the region that receives the statewide award will become that region’s winner.
Winning essays will be featured in the May issue of VML’s magazine Virginia Town & City.
What's new for 2024: In past years, the essay content was limited to 7th graders. Beginning this year, participation has been expanded to include both 7th and 8th graders.
Complete rules and regulations as well as instructions on how to submit entries and a link to view past winning entries are available here >.
VML Contact: Manuel Timbreza, mtimbreza@vml.org