eNews: Action Alerts – February 1, 2022
Tuesday, February 01, 2022 - 05:33pm
Action Alerts
The following bills that negatively impact local governments will be heard tomorrow:
Oppose SB571, SB609, SB380, HB90, and HB1008:
- Local budges should be held harmless if groceries are exempted from taxes
- Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee at 9:00 AM
- House Finance Committee one-half hour after adjournment
Oppose SB764:
- Cybersecurity incident reporting bill creates undue burden on localities
- Senate General Laws and Technology one-half hour after adjournment
Oppose SB571, SB609, and SB380: Local budges should be held harmless if groceries are exempted from taxes
Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee at 9:00 AM / House Finance Committee one-half hour after House of Delegates adjourns
Tomorrow, February 2, at 9:00 AM, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee and the House Finance Committee will hear debate and testimony on multiple bills to fully exempt groceries from state and local sales and use taxes.
Why do these bills mean trouble for local budgets?
Groceries are about 17 percent of sales. The Department of Taxation estimated that exempting these products from sales taxes would mean a revenue reduction of $650 – $700 million every year to the Commonwealth and its localities.
Legislation to oppose
SB571 (Newman), SB609 (DeSteph), and HB1008 (Durant) would fully exempt groceries from state and local sales taxes, but these bills currently would not replace lost revenue to local governments.
As drafted, SB380 (McDougle) and HB90 (McNamara) would replace most of that lost revenue to local governments. However, in their current form, neither bill fully replaces the local revenue that would be lost.
Action Requested
VML encourages our members to contact the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee (see below) before 9:00 AM tomorrow to oppose SB571, SB609, and SB380.
The House bills will be heard in the afternoon in the House Finance Committee (see below) one half-hour after the adjournment of the House of Delegates. Please contact the committee members to oppose HB1008 and HB90.
Talking points
- Local governments cannot afford funding cuts, particularly as demands for public services continue to increase.
- State-led changes to local tax rates must be joined at the hip with state-proposed solutions that will prevent funding cuts to local governments, especially for public education, public safety, and public health as we emerge from the pandemic.
Committee members
Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee:
| Howell (Chair) | district32@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7532 |
| Saslaw | district35@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7535 |
| Norment | district03@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7503 |
| Hanger | district24@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7524 |
| Lucas | Â district18@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7518 |
| Newman | Â district23@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7523 |
| Ruff | district15@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7515 |
| Vogel | district27@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7527 |
| Barker | district39@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7539 |
| Edwards | district21@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7521 |
| Deeds | district25@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7525 |
| Locke | district02@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7502 |
| Petersen | district34@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7534 |
| Marsden | district37@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7537 |
| Ebbin | district30@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7530 |
| McClellan | district09@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7509 |
House Finance Committee:
 VML Contact: Carter Hutchinson, chutchinson@vml.org
Oppose SB764: Cybersecurity incident reporting bill creates undue burden on localities
This bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb. 2nd). Senate General Laws and Technology convenes half an hour after adjournment of the General Assembly floor session.
SB764 (Barker) would require all public bodies to report any known incidents that compromise and threaten the security of the public body’s information technology systems to the STATE Chief Information Officer (CIO) within 24 hours from when the incident was discovered.
Why is this bill bad for local governments?
- 24-hour reporting requirement – 24 hours is not enough time to properly assess the extent of the situation, formulate the best strategy, and speak with staff and other individuals affected.
- Lack of guidance – VML has serious concerns about the lack of definition of “incident”. Without a definitive definition the term “incident” becomes extremely vague allowing for misinterpretation on what constitutes as an incident that must be reported. Furthermore, the bill lacks specific language as to what and how much needs to be reported. Taken together, these deficiencies in the legislation allow too much room for misinterpretation.
- Creates another reporting mandate for public bodies – SB764 requires the public body to report the incident to the State before having the opportunity to discuss the matter with its insurance company, provider, or agency of choice.
Action requested
Tonight, or early tomorrow, VML asks that you contact your legislators and members of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology (see below) to strongly oppose this bill and/or suggest that a study be conducted first.
VML asks that you use the language when suggesting a study:
“The Virginia Information Technologies Agency, working with state and local stakeholders, should develop and publish guidance concerning the scope and implementation of the required incident reporting”
You may also sign up to speak on this legislation during the committee meeting here >.
Additional resource
Opposition Letter endorsing VML’s position from HRPDC available here >.
Committee Members
Senate General Laws and Technology Committee:
| Barker | district39@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7539 |
| Ruff | district15@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7515 |
| Locke | district02@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7502 |
| Vogel | district27@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7527 |
| Ebbin | district30@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7530 |
| Reeves | district17@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7517 |
| McPike | district29@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7529 |
| Dunnavant | district12@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7512 |
| Mason | district01@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7501 |
| Boysko | district33@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7533 |
| Stuart | district28@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7528 |
| Pillion | district40@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7540 |
| Bell | district13@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7513 |
| Hashmi | district10@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7510 |
| Kiggans | district07@senate.virginia.gov | (804) 698-7507 |
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
