eNews Jan. 25, 2019
Friday, January 25, 2019 - 04:35pm
In this issue:
- Action Alert: Feedback needed on USBC bill, BZA bill
- Action Alert: House bill to change Machinery & Tools assessments advances
- Action Alert: Senate parking fine bill retains undesirable amendment
- Action Alert: Promote these good budget amendments!
- Tax reform efforts mystify
- Broadband service bill reported
- Proffer bills move forward
- Stormwater grant bill flows to the Senate floor
- Cancer presumption bill approved by Senate
- Yes, Virginia, there are FOIA bills
- Wedding venue bill raises issues
- Cause of action bills introduced
- Procurement bills advance
- Increased fine for passing a stopped school bus
- LCI/revenue sharing bill before subcommittee
- Late audit requirements move forward
- Smaller BZAs proposed
- GIS for voluntary boundary agreements
- Optional local authority for sidewalks, affordable housing fees
- Photo-red bill recommended by subcommittee
- Human services bills move forward
- Medical care in jails bills break out of subcommittee
- Procedural guarantee bill gets subcommittee’s nod
Feedback needed on USBC bill, BZA bill
Two bills that affect the manner in which localities handle building related issues:
HB1966 (Yancey) deals with the Uniform Statewide Building Code. The bill originally stated that if there is a denial of the issuance of a building, the applicant must be provided with a written explanation of the reasons and the building department must limit its review of the revised application to only those portions deemed inadequate. In a last-minute deal, the bill was amended to include language that the fees had to stay in the building department and that the limited review was “suggested” not mandated.
HB2686 (Knight) changes the vote requirement for certain board of zoning appeals from a majority of the membership to a majority of those present and voting.
Action
We would greatly appreciate feedback on these two bills. Please send comments to Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org.
House bill to change Machinery & Tools assessments advances
HB2640 (Byron) adds the definition of “original total capitalized cost” to state law regarding local taxation of machinery and tools. The definition would make a distinction between machinery and tools acquired in an “arm’s-length transaction,” and those that are not. It further defines when a transaction would be presumed to be an arm’s-length transaction. Localities collect some $200 million annually from machinery and tools taxes.
The bill, in effect, overturns a Virginia Supreme Court decision from December 2017 that validated Hanover County’s machinery and tools assessment methodology. In recent years, two opinions issued by a Republican and a Democratic Attorney General and two opinions issued by the Virginia Tax Commissioner supported the methodology used by local Commissioners of the Revenue. The bill does not offer an alternative revenue source for localities.
HB2640 squeaked out of a House Finance Subcommittee on Wednesday by a vote of 4 to 3. The House Finance Committee will vote on Monday to report the bill to the House floor. Assuming that the Committee approves the bill, floor action will take place by Wednesday of next week.
- In a fiscal impact statement prepared by the Commission on Local Government, a number of localities estimated that the bill could reduce M&T revenue by at least 25% to 30%. The Commission’s fiscal impact statement said that the bill “could potentially open loopholes, complicate the assessment process, alter long-held interpretation for terms such as ‘original cost,’ and produce assessment below fair market value.” Relying on the “original total capitalized cost” methodology, as is used by almost every single city and county, simplifies tax administration, is fair to all taxpayers and is easier for the taxpayer to understand.
Action
VML urges members to contact their House delegates and ask them to vote against HB2640 on the House floor. A strong “No” vote will help in the Senate and, if necessary, with the governor.
VML Contact: Neal Menkes, nmenkes@vml.org
Parking fine bills: Senate version retains undesirable amendment
SB1044 (Black) was introduced to authorize any county or town with a population of at least 40,000 to contract with a private firm for parking enforcement (cities of this size can already do this). Readers may remember that the bill was amended to place a $75 maximum limit on parking tickets. The bill has now passed the Senate with this provision.
HB1818 (Delaney), also introduced to give this same authority to such counties and towns, has now been approved by the House Transportation Committee without the $75 parking ticket amendment.
Action
- Local governments should contact their legislators and tell them that they (1) want HB1818 passed without any amendments; and (2) want the House to remove the $75 parking ticket provision from SB1044.
- VML also asks all localities with any parking fines exceeding $75 to send information on such fines to Bernie Caton at the below email as soon as possible.
VML Contact: Bernie Caton, bcaton@vml.org
Promote these good budget amendments!
The subcommittees of the House and Senate budget-writing committees are busy reviewing the budget amendments submitted by members and determining which will make the cut for inclusion in their versions of the budget to be unveiled Feb. 3.
Action
The following are amendments that VML worked on in cooperation with its local partners and are deserving of mention to your delegation members, including members of House Appropriations and Senate Finance. This webpage has links to all Delegates and Senators.
House amendments
| 136 #22h | Change state/local SOQ funding partnership | Delegate Krizek |
| 266 #1h | Applying interest earned from cash reserves to Teacher Retirement Plan | Delegate James |
| 397 #2h | More funding for local police depts – HB599 | Delegate Ingram |
| 3-1.01 #2h | Reverse transfer from CS&UT in FY2019 | Delegate Ingram |
| 310 #4h | Address CSB reductions/projected Medicaid savings
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Delegate Sickles
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Senate amendments
| 266 #1s | Applying interest earned from cash reserves to Teacher Retirement Plan | Senator Lucas | ||||
| 136 #4s | Change state/local SOQ funding partnership | Senator Dance | ||||
| 136 #10s | Change state/local SOQ funding partnership | Senator Hanger | ||||
| 310 #3s | Address CSB reductions/projected Medicaid savings | Senator Barker | ||||
| 397 #1s | More funding for local police depts – HB599 | Senator Deeds | ||||
| 3-1.01 #1s | Reverse transfer from CS&UT in FY2019 | Senator Wagner | ||||
| 3-1.01 #1s | Reverse transfer from CS&UT in FY2019 | Senator Ebbin | ||||
VML Contact: Janet Areson (jareson@vml.org); Neal Menkes (nmenkes@vml.org); Jessica Ackerman (jackerman@vml.org)
Tax reform efforts in the General Assembly are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma*
* All due apologies to Winston Churchill
In the House
The Speaker of the House of Delegates, who also serves as the chairman of the House Rules Committee, called the lop-sided Republican majority committee into action on Wednesday. The purpose was to act on five House tax measures that the Speaker had lassoed from the House Finance Committee to his Rules Committee. It was widely known that the House Republican Caucus had designated one of the bills (HB2529) as their choice vehicle for negotiating with the Senate and Gov. Ralph Northam.
In a surprising move taking less than 60 seconds, the Rules Committee voted to send the five bills back to House Finance. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess whether the Finance Committee will report to the House floor any of the bills this coming Monday or assign the measures to the Committee’s subcommittees for consideration next Wednesday. In any case, tax reform in the House is not racing through the legislature.
In the Senate
The Senate Finance Committee, while acting at a quicker pace than the House, is still best characterized as “deliberative” on tax reform bills. On Wednesday, the two co-chairs of the Senate Finance Committee convened a bipartisan special subcommittee to review the tax reform bills referred to Committee. The Senators heard from several Senators with tax measures in the Committee and members of Governor Northam’s finance team.
The next day the Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously to report legislation (SB1083) to the Senate floor to implement a remote sales and use tax collection system in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision. The Senate Finance Committee rolled eight other bills into SB1083. (The bill requires out-of-state internet companies selling in Virginia to collect and remit sales taxes if annual sales revenue exceeds $100,000 and the number of annual transactions are greater than 200.)
However, the Committee did not act on any of the fourteen bills dealing with the state tax implications arising from the 2017 federal tax changes. The co-chairs hinted that major legislation on this issue would emerge next week, possibly as early as next Tuesday when the Committee meets again.
What does the lack of consensus mean?
The lack of consensus between the governor and the General Assembly and between the House and the Senate has two major impacts. The first impact will be felt on Monday when tax season begins. The Virginia Tax Commissioner expects as many as 650,000 returns to be filed within the first ten days. That number doesn’t include the tax returns sitting in the offices of professional tax preparers and with local Commissioners of the Revenue. The Virginia Department of Taxation intends to inform the public that although the agency will accept the returns none will be processed until the General Assembly enacts legislation that is signed into law by the governor.
The second impact runs throughout the proposed state budget. At stake is an estimated $1.2 billion in revenue for this biennium if the General Assembly chooses to conform to the new IRS Code and to keep unchanged state policy about deductions.
Northam wants to direct half of the revenue to lower-income Virginians with the rest going for a range of spending items.
House Republicans want to change state tax policies to permit Virginians to itemize their returns even if they choose to use the federal standard deduction. Their aim is to benefit middle class Virginians defined as married couples earning between $120,000 and $150,000 a year. (The state’s median household income is $54,000.)
The Senate Republicans may be seeking some sort of middle ground. Their caucus is interested in providing tax cuts for middle-income taxpayers. But, Senate Finance co-chairman Emmett Hanger has twice mentioned his budget amendment that would substantially increase state appropriations for public education (Item 136 #10s). This budget amendment cannot be funded without some portion of the new revenues.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees will report out their respective budget packages. The content of those packages will be heavily influenced by what happens on the tax reform front.
VML Contact: Neal Menkes, nmenkes@vml.org
Broadband service bill reported
HB2141 (Thomas) adds broadband to the list of activities for which localities could create service districts. The industry tried to get the bill amended to require that localities had to contract with private service providers to offer the broadband but have not been successful to date. House Counties, Cities & Towns reported the bill on Jan. 25.
VML supports the bill.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Proffer bills move forward
Bills making changes in the proffer process have cleared the House and Senate. As expected, the House passed an amended version of HB2342 (Thomas) on Jan. 24 on a 90 yes, 7 no vote. As previously reported, on Jan. 21 the Senate passed SB1373 (Favola) on a vote of 29 yes, 10 no and 1 abstention. The bills, which are identical, make extensive changes to the conditional zoning process. Some improvements in the amended versions include language to better encourage discussion among the parties, a pathway to submit any on or offsite proffer that is reasonable and appropriate in the signed proffers and language that states that lawsuits against the public body may only be brought if the applicant objected in writing regarding the proposed condition prior to the grant or denial.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Bill expanding stormwater grants to localities flows to the Senate floor
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality administers a Stormwater Local Assistance Fund that provides matching grants to local governments for capital projects that reduce pollutants from stormwater discharges. SB1328 (Hanger) would also allow a portion of the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund to be used for grants to localities to design and implement stormwater best management practices that are not related to the State’s stormwater discharge permits (MS4).
The bill was approved unanimously by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources on January 24; it now goes to the Senate floor for a vote.
VML Contact: Bernie Caton, bcaton@vml.org
Cancer presumption bill approved by Senate
SB1022 (Chase), SB1172 (McPike), SB1528 (Vogel) were all rolled into SB1030 (Cosgrove), which now adds colon, brain and testes cancers to list of diseases that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act when firefighters and certain employees develop such cancers. SB1030 also removes the requirement that the employee who develops the cancer has to prove contact with a toxic substance in the line of duty. This bill has passed the Senate.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Yes, Virginia, there are FOIA bills
- SB1431 (Obenshain) requires local elected officials to complete FOIA training within six months of taking office and once every two years while they are in office. It also eliminates the three-day notice requirement for a hearing alleging an open meeting violation of the act. VML opposes this bill, which is in Senate General Laws & Technology. The committee meets Monday 45 minutes after adjournment of the Senate floor session.
- SB1554 (Surovell) provides an additional penalty for persons who intentionally alter or destroy required records prior to the record retention period. There is also an additional penalty added if a member of a public body votes to certify a closed meeting that was improper. SB1554 is also in Senate General Laws.
- HB1772 (Mullen) and SB1182 (Stuart) are recommendations of the FOIA Advisory Council. HB1772 states that that any officer, employee, or member of a public body alleged to have willfully and knowingly violated the FOIA statute who acted in good faith reliance upon an advisory opinion issued by the FOIA Council may introduce the advisory opinion as evidence that the alleged violation was not made willfully and knowingly. This bill is on the uncontested docket for today’s meeting of the full House Courts of Justice Committee. SB1182 clarifies certain requirements of law regarding participation in public meetings through electronic communication when there is a state of emergency declared by the Governor. The bill is in Senate General Laws & Technology.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Wedding venue bill raises issues
Some agritourism bills fall by the wayside
- HB2364 (Knight) amends the definition of “agritourism activity” to include service as a wedding venue for not more than 12 weddings a year. Each wedding would be limited to 250 guests. The change in definition would apply to the statutory limit on what local governments can regulate. VML opposes the bill.
- HB2522 (Fowler) and SB1245 (Reeves) deal with agritourism resorts that are not subject to the short-term rentals laws or bed and breakfast laws. HB2522 has been sent to a study and SB1245 was struck by the patron. SB1064 (Stanley) has been passed by indefinitely by a Senate committee.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Cause of action bills introduced
As introduced, HB2263 (Krizek) and SB1494 (Edwards) create a cause of action for first responders if the Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technicians Procedural Guarantee Act is not followed. HB2263 was amended in subcommittee to state that if the Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technicians Procedural Guarantee Act is violated than any statements made cannot be used as evidence. The creation of the cause of action was removed. The bill is on the uncontested docket for today’s meeting of the full House Courts of Justice Committee. SB1494 is on the docket for Senate General Laws for Monday, 45 minutes after adjournment of the Senate floor session.
VML supports an amendment that will put SB1494 in the same posture as the house bill out of concern of the effect of adding a cause of action on a locality’s liability.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Procurement bills advance
- HB2071 (Bell) increases the maximum one-year amount of job order contracting contracts from $5 million to $7 million and, moving forward, adds an increase based on the cost of living. The bill also allows for job order contracting for safety improvements and traffic calming measures. The bill was reported on Jan. 24 by the House General Laws Committee. A similar bill (SB1153-Black) has passed the Senate.
- HB2328 (McNamara) prohibits a small business awarded a contract as part of an enhancement or remedial measure to subcontract with any other business with which it has an affiliation. House General Laws reported the bill on Jan. 24.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
HB2273 (Webert) as amended places a mandatory fee of $250 for persons who pass a stopped school bus. The bill is on the uncontested docket for today’s meeting of the full House Courts of Justice Committee.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
HB1838 (Marshall) would apply to localities that enter into a revenue sharing agreement under the Virginia Regional Industrial Facilities Act whereby a portion of tax revenue is paid to one locality and redistributed to another. The bill requires the Tax Department to apportion the percentage of tax revenue ultimately received by each locality in its calculation of the true value of real estate, which is one of the factors in the computation of the local composite index. The bills, therefore, would alter the LCI. VML is concerned that the bill would have a chilling effect on encouraging jurisdictions to cooperate. The bill is in House Counties, Cities & Towns Subcommittee #2, which meets Wednesdays at 4 p.m.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Later deadline for filing of comparative costs report also proposed
The House Counties, Cities & Towns Committee unanimously reported HB1866 (Peace) on Jan. 25. The bill requires that a locality that is late in submitting the annual audit to the Auditor of Public Accounts will have to post on its website a statement that the required audit is pending, the reasons for the delay, and the estimated date of completion. The statements also have to be made available to the public at the next scheduled meeting of the local governing body. The bill further requires that any town with a population of less than 3,500 that voluntarily has an audit prepared must submit the results of the audit to the Auditor of Public Accounts.
VML has not taken a position on the bill but will continue to keep you posted on the bill.
SB1633 (Boysko) changes the annual deadline for local submittal of the comparative report of local government revenues and expenditures from November 20 to December 15th. This report goes to the Auditor of Public Accounts. The bill is on the Senate floor.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
HB2224 (O’Quinn) would authorize a circuit court, for any town with a population of 3,500 or less, to appoint three residents of the town to the local board of zoning appeals. Current law requires appointment of either five or seven residents of the locality. The original bill applied only to the town of Glade Spring but was amended by subcommittee and reported on Jan. 25 by the House Committee on Counties, Cities & Towns.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Voluntary boundary agreements: use of GIS proposed
When a voluntary boundary agreement is adopted by localities, each locality has to petition the circuit court to approve the agreement. HB1649 (Fowler) and SB1594 (Dunnavant) allow the petitioners to attach a Geographic Information System (GIS) rather than a metes and bounds survey. Both versions have passed their respective committees.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Optional local authority proposed for sidewalks, fees associated with affordable housing
HB1913 (Bulova) amends the subdivision ordinance to allow localities to require sidewalks in certain areas. This bill is still being “tweaked,” but did report out of House Counties, Cities &Towns this morning.
The committee also reported HB2229 (Bagby), which allows localities by ordinance to waive building permits and other local fees associated with affordable housing developments. The bill also allows the locality to determine what affordable housing is.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Photo-red bill recommended by subcommittee
HB2465 (Collins) requires that engineering safety analyses and monthly evaluations conducted by a locality related to red-light cameras be posted on the locality’s website and requires the reporting of traffic incident and financial data. Further, the bill requires localities to establish a 15-day probationary period during which only advisory letters are issued for recorded red-light violations when a system is implemented or expanded. The bill has a June 30, 2020 delayed effective date for localities that have existing red-light systems. The bill was reported on a 17 yes, 3 no vote by House Counties, Cities & Towns on Jan. 25.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Human services bills move forward
A bill to exempt local parks and recreation programs for school-age children, as well as before- and after-school programs run by public schools, from recently approved state social services licensure requirements passed out of committee on Jan. 24 and is on the way to the House floor. HB2280 (Head) would not affect parks and recreation agencies that operate and register specific programs as day care programs. VML supports this legislation.
The Senate Education and Health Committee reported and sent to the Finance Committee SB1576 (Suetterlein), which would allow the Department of Education to create between two and eight pilot programs with local school divisions to focus on strategies (with potential funding streams such as from the Children’s Services Act (CSA)) to transition children back from private special education day placements to their local public school division. VML supports this legislation as well. The Senate Finance Committee meets Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9 a.m.
A subcommittee of House Health, Welfare & Institutions has recommended reporting HB2014 (Peace) which would put Virginia in compliance with the new federal Family First Prevention Services Act. The federal Act, approved in Feb. 2018, substantially rewrites foster care requirements and programs with a focus on keeping families together through prevention-based services and intervention for both parents and children. The bill will be heard in full committee on Jan. 29.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Medical care in jails bills break out of subcommittee
A subcommittee of House Health, Welfare & Institutions on Jan. 24 recommended reporting several bills dealing with medical care in jails, including:
- HB 1918 (Stolle) which would direct the Board of Corrections to establish minimum health care standards covering physical health, mental health, dental, and pharmaceutical services in local and regional jails; enforcement of those standards; and reporting by jails on the status of their services. Quarterly standardized reports to the Board of Corrections that would be posted on the Board’s website.
- HB 1917 (Stolle) which would codify a health care continuous quality improvement committee within the Department of Corrections and require local and regional jails to participate and submit reports on efforts to improve health care services within the jails. The Department currently has such a committee, but there is currently no requirement to publicly post reports related to the committee’s work.
- HB 1942 (Bell) which would create minimum mental health care standards for local and regional jails and require new forensic discharge planning requirements for inmates with serious mental illness. Jails will also be subject to annual unannounced inspections. The bill includes an enactment clause sought by VML, VACo and the regional jail association to require the Board of Corrections to create a workgroup with local and state government representation to examine the costs of any proposed regulations and requirements and report findings and conclusions in November 2019; the new standards will go into place July 1, 2020.
The bills will be heard in full committee on Jan. 29.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Procedural guarantee bill gets subcommittee’s nod
The House Appropriations Public Safety Subcommittee gave a preliminary green light to HB2656 (Collins), which would extend law enforcement officer procedural guarantee requirements to local and campus police departments with three or more officers. The current floor is 10 or more officers.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
