eNews Special Edition – Feb. 3, 2024
2024 General Assembly: Items to support/oppose
Saturday, February 3, 2024/Categories: eNews
This past Thursday, the Virginia Municipal League was pleased to welcome our members to Richmond for the 2024 Local Government Day. Thank you to everyone who made the trip to hear staff reports and to meet with their legislators! Your voices are essential to making sure that your representatives understand how legislation being considered will affect local governments.
We are now entering a busy time for the 2024 General Assembly session with crossover coming on February 13. VML encourages our members to continue to voice their support or opposition to legislation still making its way through the chambers. This Special Edition of eNews details the items most important to local governments and VML’s position on each. Thank you for everything you do!
In this Issue:
Resources for contacting legislators
Items to Support/Oppose
Education
Finance
Cannabis
Human Services
Courts & Public Safety
Elections
Transportation
Environment
General Laws
Housing and Land Use
Education
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Support: School construction legislation – House bills docketed for Monday, Feb. 5!
HB600 (Kilgore), HB805 (Rasoul), and SB14 (McPike) would permit any county or city to impose an additional local sales and use tax of up to 1 percent, if initiated by a resolution of the local governing body and approved by voters at a local referendum. The revenues of such a local tax would be used solely for capital projects for the construction or renovation of schools. Any tax imposed shall expire when the costs for capital projects are to be repaid and shall not be more than 20 years after the date of the resolution passed. Currently, this authority is limited to the qualifying localities of Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville.
HB600 and HB805 will be in the House Finance Subcommittee #3 Monday, February 5.
Key Points:
- According to the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, more than half of K-12 school buildings in Virginia are more than 50 years old. The amount of funding needed to replace these buildings is estimated to cost $24.8 billion.
- This legislation was a unanimous recommendation by the Commission on School Construction and Modernization.
- This bill is about parity for local governments, giving all counties and cities the same authority currently given to nine localities.
- This bill is NOT a tax increase. It would merely create a local option and another tool for local governments, which would only be enacted by local referendum.
Support: Budget amendments to improve education in the Commonwealth
Item 125 #17h (Carr) and Item 125 #9s (Deeds) come as a request of VML and VACo to add $1.2 million each year of the biennium to the School Construction Assistance Grant Program.
This program was created in 2022 to provide grants to qualifying localities for construction and renovation needs. Initially, this program was funded by general fund dollars in the amount of $450 million in FY23. These funds have been utilized leaving the fund at $0. The School Construction Assistance Grant Program is to be funded by the Gaming Proceeds Fund which is funded by casino profits. However, the Gaming Proceeds Fund only has $80 million each year of the biennium which is not enough. This amendment adds an additional $120 million each year resulting in a combined total of $400 million which is similar to the initial amount of funding placed in this program.
Item 125 #14h (Reid), Item 125 #43h (Simonds), Item 125 #12s (Carroll-Foy), and Item 125 #30s (Favola) provide $200.3 million in FY25 and $202 million in FY26 to eliminate the inflation cap placed on support positions in 2009. This would change the number of support positions from 20 per 1,000 students to 24 per 1,000 students. This is also a request of VML and VACo.
Item 125 #32s (Deeds) allocates $312 million each year of the biennium using general funds to implement the JLARC recommendation from the 2023 report to remove the support cap and other Great Depression Era cuts. This moves the inflation cap on support positions from 20 per 1,000 students to 24 per 1,000 students.
Key Points:
- Virginia desperately needs to increase funding in all schools regardless of location. Teachers and other support and instructional staff deserve to be paid more and proportionately.
- Schools also must be clean, safe, and inviting places to learn. Leaking roofs, cracked ceilings and antiquated heating/cooling infrastructure make learning difficult if not impossible.
Support: JLARC recommendation bills
Following the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissions (JLARC) study on how to improve the Standards of Quality (SOQ) in the Commonwealth, which was released this summer, several legislators have introduced legislation. JLARC provided twelve recommendations that can be accomplished in the short term. Each of these recommendations has been addressed through legislation specified below.
SB 609 (Aird) and HB 825 (Cousins) 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.
SB 228 (Hashmi) require additional positions to be added to the basic aid support list such as special education and English as a second language support staff.
SB 128 (VanValkenburg) place several parameters around the SOQ funding calculations. Parameters include adding facilities and transportation staff to the calculations, including facilities staff in the cost of competing adjustment, prohibiting caps on support positions during rebenchmarking, and using a three-year average for the local composite index.
HB 359 (Simonds) require the Department of Education to include costs associated with leased facilities and work-related travel into nonpersonal costs, examine division spending on support costs, require support positions to be funded based on prevailing costs, and prohibit a cap being put on instructional and support positions.
SB 227 (Hashmi) and HB 624 (Rasoul) 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.
Key Point: Per code, the state should be funding 55 percent of the cost of education and localities should be funding 45 percent of the cost of education. However, over time localities have been forced to pay far more than 45 percent.
Finance
VML Contact: Joe Flores, jflores@vml.org
Support: Budget amendments to restore the hold-harmless for K-12
Item 125 #11h (McNamara) and Item 125 #7s (Boysko) reflect the net additional funding required to be provided to hold school divisions harmless ($121.3 million in FY 2025 and $121.8 million in FY 2026).
The introduced budget does not include funding to maintain the state’s commitment to replace lost revenue for K-12 associated with elimination of the state’s portion of the sales and use tax on food (i.e., the grocery tax), which took effect January 1, 2023. Language in the budget proposes to override the statutory requirement to provide an amount equal to the revenue that would have been distributed for this purpose had the state portion of the “grocery tax” not been eliminated. This action runs contrary to the understanding at the time that the state’s portion of the grocery tax was eliminated. That understanding – which was incorporated into statute – was that the revenue replacement would be ongoing.
The patrons of the 2022 legislation that eliminated the state’s portion of the grocery tax have introduced these budget amendments that would honor the 2022 commitment and restore the hold-harmless for K-12.
Key points:
- Please thank the patrons and encourage your legislators to support the amendments.
- The Administration has argued that its proposal to expand the sales tax base will make up for the elimination of general fund resources provided to local school divisions as part of the “hold harmless” agreed to in 2022. But if the Governor’s sales tax proposal fails to pass, local school divisions will lose critical general fund support. Hence, the need for the restoration of general funds for schools.
Support: Remove salary caps for city council members
HB456 (Callsen) removes the statutory caps for council members in a city. The bill has been referred to the Senate Local Government Committee.
Support: Expand authority for use of community revitalization funds
SB49 (Locke) / HB478 (Coyner) expand the current law to allow all localities the ability to establish a community revitalization fund to be used to prevent neighborhood deterioration. Currently only the City of Richmond has this authority. This legislation was recommended by the Housing Commission. SB49 has passed the Senate and a House subcommittee has recommended reporting HB478.
Oppose: Transient Occupancy Taxes – Bill would cease local collection for accommodation intermediaries
HB1328 (McNamara) would allow accommodation intermediaries (Airbnb, etc.) the ability to submit one check for transient occupancy tax to the Department of Taxation and the Department would disburse the money to the localities. Currently transient occupancy tax is collected at the local level. This would create a different model for hotels and accommodation intermediaries. The bill has been assigned to a subcommittee of the House Finance Committee.
Key Points:
- The transient occupancy tax is a local tax that should continue to be administered locally, where collections can best be audited and verified.
- Although the legislation stipulates that the Department of Taxation shall not withhold any portion of the local taxes collected to cover its administrative expenses, it is unclear how the electronic interface would be funded, and it is possible that in the future the Department would need to turn to this revenue stream to fund its costs of collection.
- Laws already in place provide the framework for accommodations intermediaries to comply with their reporting and payment obligations, and most short-term rental operators are in compliance with current law. Legislation enacted in 2022 requires intermediaries to submit on a monthly basis the property addresses and gross receipts for all accommodations facilitated by the accommodations intermediary in each locality, and 2023 legislation requires the Department of Taxation to post on its website the current transient occupancy tax rates imposed in each locality after timely submission of the data from local tax-assessing officers.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Support: Land use authority, taxation authority, and referendum authority
SB 448 (Rouse) is the consolidated Senate cannabis retail legislation that has begun moving through the committees of the Virginia Senate. The bill allows for the licensing of marijuana retail and cultivation facilities to begin July 1, 2024, and retail sales to begin January 1, 2025. Furthermore, the legislation includes authority for a local option referendum to opt of retail marijuana sales, local ordinance authority for public use and possession on school properties. Half of the 12 percent state tax collected under the bill is to be distributed to localities based on the sales that have occurred within a locality. Finally, SB 448 protects local land use authority to make decisions regarding the placement of cannabis retailers.
HB 698 (Krizek) is the House cannabis retail legislation that provides for the retail sale of cannabis products from existing medical dispensaries as early as July 2024. The bill proposes to allow retail cannabis to be sold by licensed medical dispensaries July 1, 2024, and authorizes the licensing of cannabis retail facilities July 1, 2025, with retail sales anticipated in 2025. HB 698 provides local referendum authority to opt out of retail cannabis sales as well as local authority to levy a local option 6 percent tax with at least 50 percent of locally collected revenues required to be used for school construction, teacher salaries, to support individuals from disadvantaged communities, or the Virginia Indigent Commission. The legislation does not include any local land use authority.
Human Services
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Support: Budget amendments to clarify use of funds to reimburse local social services agencies for administrative costs
HB 29/SB 29: Item 340#1h (Sullivan); Item 340#1s (Deeds)
HB 30/SB 30: Item 324#8h (Sullivan); Item 324#3s (Deeds)
These amendments clarify that non-general funds from the Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP) Fund shall be used to reimburse local departments of social services for the administration of the PIPP program, consistent with § 56-585.6 of the Code of Virginia.
Key Points:
- The PIPP program is a non-general fund program, funded by collection of Universal Service Fees from all residential customers of Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company. No public funds are involved.
- The objectives of the PIPP program are to reduce the energy burden of eligible participants and to reduce the amount of energy/electricity used by these households.
- There are no state or federal funds involved, so no local match for these private funds was envisioned when the program was approved by the General Assembly.
- These amendments would clarify that no local match should be required for this privately-funded program.
Support: Budget amendments to replace VaCMS eligibility and enrollment case management software
HB30/SB30: Item 334#2h (Carr); Item 334#1s (Aird) fund the replacement of the benefits eligibility and enrollment system (known as the Virginia Case Management System or VaCMS) used to manage cases statewide for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Child Care Subsidy Program, and Energy Assistance Programs.
Key Points:
- The system is used by approximately 6,000 staff at 120 local departments of social services.
- The current legacy systems would be replaced by a next-generation platform with better design, testing, and training capabilities.
- The proposed system would be developed with input from local social services staff, who use the system every day.
- Funding would also be used to modernize the CommonHelp website used by individuals to apply for public benefits electronically.
Support: Budget amendments to expand child welfare workforce development/retention stipend program
HB30/SB30: Item 329#2h (Coyner); Item 329#3s (Favola) fund an expansion of Virginia’s Child Welfare Stipend Program (CWSP) to include individuals preparing to work in Child Protective Services (CPS) slots and other child welfare position slots.
Key Points:
- The CWSP is a workforce development program, in partnership with five public state universities in Virginia.
- The program prepares Master of Social Work (MSW) and Bachelor of Social Work students for a career in public child welfare.
- Students receive a $10,000 stipend per academic year and receive extensive training with local departments; in exchange, the recipient must commit to work at a local Department of Social Services within Virginia in foster care or adoption services for one year for each year of stipend funding.
- This is a recommendation of the Commission on Youth.
Support: Workgroup to study Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
HB177 (Gardner) directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to convene a work group of relevant stakeholders to assess and make recommendations related to reimbursement rates for the federal Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities. The bill is currently House Appropriations Sub-Committee: Health & Human Resources.
Support: Budget amendments to create a training academy model for family services program staff
HB30/SB30: Item 324#1h (Coyner); Item 324#2s (Favola) would fund establishment of a centralized training academy model to bring Virginia in line with best practices used by states with similar social services models.
Key Points:
- Current initial training for local benefits and family services specialists, administrative professionals, and supervisors does not adequately prepare workers to handle complicated and demanding caseloads; scheduling is also difficult to arrange.
- This academy model would use in-person, virtual instructor-led, and other technologies to provide a more structured and consistent foundational training program.
- This is a recommendation from the Virginia Commission on Youth.
Oppose: Bill limits those who can be members/alternates for juvenile detention homes, etc.
SB438 (Suetterlein) requires 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. The bill has been referred to the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.
Key Point: This bill 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.
Courts & Public Safety
VML Contacts: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org; Mark Flynn Mark Flynn, markkflynn@gmail.com
Support: Budget amendments to increase the state per diem for “local-responsible” inmates in local and regional jails
HB 30/SB 30: Item 61#2h (Krizek); Item 61#1s (Peake) would provide $8.7 million in FY 2025 and $17.7 million in FY 2026 to restore the per diem rate for local-responsible inmates to the rates paid prior to the Great Recession. The first-year amount reflects a partial year due to the schedule of Compensation Board reimbursements.
Key points:
- In 2009, local-responsible per diems were $8/day for local and regional jails and $22/day for jail farms.
- In 2010, the state reduced these per diem rates to $4/day for local and regional jails and $18/day for jail farms.
- This remained frozen until Fall 2023, when the General Assembly increased these per diems by $1 each.
- These amendments would return the local-responsible per diem to the 2009 level.
Support: Budget amendments to fund substance use disorder treatment in local/regional jails
HB30: Item 60 #12h (Coyner) / Item 394 #20h (Coyner)
SB 30: Item 60 #13s (Favola) / Item 394 #8s (Favola)
These amendments move funding from the Compensation Board to the Opioid Use Reduction and Jail-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Transition Fund administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services and increases funding from $500,000 to $2.0 million each year.
Key points:
- VML supported the creation of the Virginia Opioid Use Reduction and Jail-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Transition Fund which was established (but not funded) in 2023.
- This fund is to be used for the planning or operation of substance use disorder treatment services and transition services, such as medically assisted treatment therapies, addiction recovery, and other services for persons with substance use disorder who are incarcerated in local and regional jails.
Support: Budget amendments to provide Medicaid coverage of behavioral health/SUD treatment for incarcerated individuals in local/regional jails
HB 30/SB 30: Item 288#55h (Coyner) ; Item 288#5s (Favola) direct the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to seek a waiver or state plan amendment to expand Medicaid coverage for behavioral health and substance use treatment for qualifying incarcerated individuals. Such coverage would be provided during the first 30 days of incarceration and the last 90 days prior to release.
Key points:
- In 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance on a new Medicaid Reentry Section 1115 Demonstration Opportunity that would allow federal funding to cover certain medical and behavioral health services for state prisoners and local and regional jail inmates while they are in a correctional facility. Currently, Virginia Medicaid covers only costs incurred during a hospital admission for these individuals.
- Jails continue to serve large numbers of individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders, despite commendable efforts to develop a comprehensive continuum of community-based services, including crisis services. The State Compensation Board indicates that approximately 22 percent of the jail population is known or suspected to have a mental illness; of those with a mental illness, approximately 55 percent have a co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD). Of those without a mental illness, approximately 12 percent of the jail population is reported to have a SUD.
- Avoiding gaps in health care coverage for those reentering the community has been demonstrated to assist in a successful transition and avoid recidivism.
- The assumption is that the program would be operational by at least July 1, 2026.
Support: Civil case bill moves cost from locality to parties
HB 1521 (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. This bill is not yet docketed.
Elections
VML Contacts: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org; Mark Flynn, markkflynn@gmail.com
Support: Budget amendments to assist with early voting costs
Item 486 #1h (Carr), an amendment to the “caboose” bill, would reverse the proposed action in the introduced budget to revert ARPA dollars allocated for early voting in 2021, and Item 77 #1s (Deeds), an amendment to the biennium budget, would direct the Department of Elections to expend the funds by December 31, 2024.
Key points:
- The recent expansion of early voting opportunities has been largely funded by local dollars. This federal funding will provide important assistance in supporting early voting, which will be particularly helpful with a Presidential election later this year.
- The 2021 budget language directed that this funding be used to “support local efforts to expand early voting to include the adoption of Sunday voting.” This language has been interpreted to award funds based on expansions to early voting beyond what was offered in November 2020. More flexible language may be needed to allow these dollars to support early voting in general, rather than using an election conducted during the pandemic as the baseline.
- These budget amendments would ensure that $2.9 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act that was appropriated in 2021 to support early voting will be spent for that purpose.
Oppose: Problematic legislation could fast-track removals of elected officials
HB 1149 (Cordoza) would make a significant change to the process of removing an elected officer or officer who has been appointed to fill an elective office. Under current law, the removal process begins with a petition to a circuit court signed by registered voters within the jurisdiction equating to ten percent of the total number of votes cast at the last election for the office that the officer holds. HB1149 would create an alternative process that would allow the Governor, instead of the voters, to petition the court.
Key Point: This bill would substitute one person’s judgment for the will of a subset of the voters in a jurisdiction in initiating the removal process.
Oppose: Bill would require suits over voting rights to be heard in City of Richmond Circuit Court
HB 623 (Price) allows organizations representing members of a protected class of voters to institute a civil suit for violations of certain laws related to the rights of voters. The bill moves all such lawsuits to the City of Richmond Courts. This bill is not yet docketed.
Key Point: The cost and inconvenience of having all such proceedings only allowed in the City of Richmond would be a hardship for many localities.
Transportation
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Support: Photo speed monitoring devices bills (Update: Late Friday these bills were carried over to 2025)
SB 336 (Roem) permits a state or local law-enforcement agency to place and operate a photo speed monitoring device at a high-risk intersection segment, defined in the bill, located within the locality for the purpose of recording violations resulting from the operation of a vehicle in excess of the speed limit, provided that such law-enforcement agency certifies that a traffic fatality has occurred since January 1, 2014, in such segment.
HB 521 (Laufer) expands local ordinance authority to use photo speed enforcement on roads with a speed limit of more than 35 mph, in a location where speed, crash, or fatality data support the need for stronger enforcement, the ordinance identifies the speeding offense to be enforced by the locality and in localities with VDOT controlled roadways the road is in the secondary highway system or is a designated Virginia byway.
Key Points:
- These bills are narrowly targeted public safety bills.
- These bills allow local governing bodies to respond to constituent concerns regarding traffic safety within the locality.
Support: Budget amendment for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
Item 433 #1s (Marsden), Item 433 #1h (Sickles), and Item 433 #2h (Krizek) provide general fund support of $65.0 million the first year and $65.0 million the second year for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) during the implementation of a corrective action plan to provide for rightsizing of the Authority's total costs, operating costs, headcount, and automation.
Item 433 #2s (Marsden) is a language amendment that would provide an exemption from the three percent cap on increases to the state share of WMATA's budget due to recent increases in inflation, provided that planning and reporting requirements are met.
Support: Local authority for reduction of speed limits
HB 1071 (Carr) expands the current authority of any locality to reduce the speed limit to less than 25 miles per hour, but not less than 15 miles per hour, on highways within its boundaries that are located in a business district or residence district to include highways within the state highway system, provided that such reduced speed limit is indicated by lawfully placed signs.
Environment
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Support: Budget amendments for the Water Quality Improvement Fund
The Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF) is the primary funding source for Virginia’s wastewater treatment plant improvement projects.
Item 365 #5s (Marsden) provides $200.0 million GF each year for the Commonwealth's portion of municipal wastewater facility projects that are now under or entering active construction to meet the Commonwealth's obligations under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Virginia Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan.
Item C-53.50 #1s (Marsden) and Item C-53.50 #1h (Bulova) authorize $400.0 million in Virgina Public Building Authority (VPBA) tax-supported bonds for the Commonwealth's portion of municipal wastewater facility projects that are now under or entering active construction to meet the Commonwealth's obligations under the U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay TMDL and Virginia Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan.
Key Points:
- Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, which administers the WQIF, reports that over $340 million projects are planned through FY25.
- Absent additional appropriations these projects will be stalled indefinitely.
Support: Budget amendments for Stormwater Local Assistance Fund
The Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF) provides matching grants to local governments for the planning, design, and implementation of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) that address cost efficiency and commitments related to reducing water quality pollutant loads.
Item 365 #6s (Marsden) / Item 365 #2h (Bulova) as well as Item 365 #7s (Marsden) provide $35.0 million and $50.0 million respectively from the general fund each year for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund cash flow to support the Commonwealth's portion of municipal stormwater nutrient reduction projects to meet the Commonwealth's obligations under the U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay TMDL and Virginia Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan. VML and VACo support.
General Laws
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Support: Budget amendment to facilitate COIA training
HB 30: Item 15#1h (Hodges) provides state funding each year for the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council to hire an additional position to perform training duties and respond to inquiries. Currently, the Council does not have enough staff to provide training at specific times of the year. VML sought this amendment.
Key Points:
- State and local elected officials are subject to COIA provisions.
- Local elected officials are required to take COIA training after election to office.
- The lack of staff at the state council’s office causes significant delays in receiving required training, particularly early in the calendar year when local officials take office.
- The addition of a staff person can help ensure in-person training events, which are more beneficial for participants.
Support: Electronic meetings bills
VML/VACo Support: HB894 (Bennett-Parker) / SB734 (Marsden) 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 2 times per year or no more than 50 percent of the meeting provided that they have an electronic meeting policy in place. Previously it was 2 times per year or no more than 25 percent.
HB894 has passed the House and has been referred to the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology. SB734 has been reported from the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee.
SB244 (McPike) FOIA; meetings held through electronic communication during declared states of emergency. Provides that meetings by electronic means due to a state of emergency stated in FOIA are declarative of existing law since March 20, 2020. Any meeting by a public body that took place from March 20, 2020, to July 1, 2021, along with the actions taken during those electronic meetings are validated with respect to FOIA if all the notice and access requirements were met.
SB244 has passed the Senate.
SB85 (Favola) / HB1040 (Bennett Parker) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; definition of “caregiver;” remote participation in meetings by persons with disabilities and caregivers; remote voting. A person with a disability or their caregiver can participate remotely as part of the public body in a meeting and count as part of a quorum as if the individual is physically present.
SB85 has passed the Senate. HB1040 has passed the House and has been referred to the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology.
Housing and Land Use
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Support: Allow localities to require registration of vacant buildings
SB48 (Locke) / HB1486 (Thomas) Vacant buildings; registration. Allow any county, city, or town to require a vacant building registration if the building has been vacant 12 months and it meets certain criteria. These bills were recommended by the Housing Commission.
Oppose: Bill mandating localities to approve utility-scale solar and battery storage facilities
SB 697 (Van Valkenburg) requires localities to permit utility-scale solar and energy storage facilities as a “special exception” per 15.2-2288.8 of Virginia Code and to develop an ordinance that establishes “reasonable criteria and requirements” for the siting of utility-scale solar and battery storage projects. Additionally, the legislation states that such reasonable criteria and requirements “…shall not include limits on the total amount, density, or size of solar and storage facilities that can be developed.”
The legislation effectively requires localities to permit any application, regardless of the cumulative impact of such facilities, so long as the requirements of a local ordinance with “reasonable” criteria are met.
It is anticipated that SB 697 will be heard in the Senate Local Government Committee on Monday, February 5.
Key Points:
- VACo and VML support maintaining local authority to address all impacts and all choices associated with utility-scale installations of solar power and battery storage facilities.
- The state should not require localities to permit these facilities, regardless of the total amount, density, or size of such projects.
Oppose: Bills giving local land use authority to SCC for the siting of utility-scale solar, wind and energy storage projects
HB636 (Sullivan) / SB597 (Deeds) give the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) the authority to override local comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances for the siting of utility-scale solar, wind and battery storage facilities. The legislation sets up the process for applicants to essentially bypass local planning commissions and local governing bodies when seeking approval for the siting and operations of solar projects with a rated generation capacity 50 megawatts (MW) or more, wind projects of 100 MW or more, and energy storage facilities of 50 MW or more.
HB 636 and SB 567 modify the current law regarding the host site agreement that an applicant must seek when proposing a utility-scale solar or battery storage facility. Specifically, the bills propose to:
- Include “wind energy facilities” (turbines) that produce energy for sale to the requirement to apply for a siting agreement with the host locality.
- Within the 30 days of the initial meeting to discuss the siting agreement, the locality must notify the applicant if they have a “compatible renewable energy ordinance”. The legislation then defines the parameters of what qualifies as a compatible renewable energy ordinance with specific limitations on what a locality can require regarding facility setbacks, height and other design and operating features. The result is one statewide ordinance for all jurisdictions to follow.
- If the locality fails to act on the application within a specified time period, or if it denies the application for land use approval, even though such application complies with minimum requirements of the statewide ordinance, then it may apply for approval from the SCC. If the SCC approves the application, then it “shall be exempt from obtaining approvals or permits, including any land use approvals or permits under the regulation and ordinances of the host locality.”
It is anticipated that SB567 will be heard in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Monday, February 5. HB636 will be heard in the House Labor and Commerce Committee.
Key Points:
- Utility-scale energy projects such as solar, wind, and battery storage are in effect largescale power plants, many of which may have oversized footprints. For example, a solar facility with a generating capacity of 100 MW can occupy 1,000 acres or more of land.
- Local review and approval of utility-scale solar, wind and battery storage projects are necessary to determine if the use and location are consistent with a locality’s land use goals and objectives. The state should not usurp local authority to determine how such facilities fit within local landscapes.
Oppose: Bills to make accessory dwelling units (ADU) a by-right use
SB 304 (Salim) / HB 900 (Srinivasan) mandate all localities to permit accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as an accessory use in residential zoning districts. The legislation also prohibits a locality from requiring (1) dedicated parking for the ADU; and (2) lot sizes or setbacks for the ADU greater than that of the primary dwelling.
It is anticipated that SB304 will be heard in the Senate Local Government Committee on Monday, February 5. HB900 will be heard in the House Counties, Cities and Towns Subcommittee #2 on Thursday, February 1 at 7:00 AM.
Key Points:
- Local governments have the authority to allow for the inclusion of ADUs within their zoning ordinances and determine the context of where ADUs can be reasonably accommodated to meet the needs of residents and homeowners.
- A mandate to authorize an ADU in all single-family zoning districts excludes input from citizens and communities on whether, and how, ADUs can fit within existing and proposed residential developments.
Oppose: Bill to make short-term rentals a by-right use
SB544 (Bagby) prohibits a locality from barring the use of or requiring that a special exception, special use, or conditional use permit be obtained for the use of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) for a short-term rental in an area zoned for residential use where the primary dwelling unit on the site is occupied by the property owner. A substitute may be offered on Monday that will say that local governments cannot require a homeowner to obtain a conditional/special use permit when the short-term rental use is for the homeowner’s primary residence.
It is anticipated that SB544 will be heard in Senate Local Government Committee on Monday, February 5.
Key Points:
- Local governments have the authority to regulate and address any potential impacts from the operation of short-term rentals within their community.
- Mandated changes to this authority, including exemptions, will erode the ability of local elected officials to address impacts from the operation of short-term rentals.