eNews March 5, 2021

Per the Constitution of Virginia, the governor has 30-days after Sine Die to return vetoed bills and proposed amended bills, including the budget bill, to the General Assembly for the Reconvened Session.

That is no later than April 1.

The April Fool’s deadline for the governor to submit his amendments to the budget bill (HB1800) means Virginia localities will have to act within the next few weeks to register their support or opposition to the actions taken by the General Assembly.

VML has identified several issues for consideration and will ask for your support. Please review the Budget Conference Report summary for local governments from last week’s e-News for detailed budget actions. Also for your consideration is the below summary of the major actions taken by the 2021 Regular and Special Session.

Finance and Taxation successes

In every legislative session, VML works hard to preserve local taxing authorities. These are the successes from 2021 (so far).

SJ297 would have amended the Virginia Constitution to empower the General Assembly to exempt from real property taxation the property of nonprofit organizations whose purpose is to provide services to veterans. The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted to pass by indefinitely the proposed amendment. The issue is likely to reappear in 2022.

HJ614 would have amended the Virginia Constitution to exempt from taxation the real property of a surviving spouse of a member of the armed services who died while serving or a veteran who died from a service-connected disability or illness. The state constitution provides such tax relief only for the surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces who was killed in action. The proposed amendment was left in the House Privileges and Elections Committee. It is likely to be brought next year before the legislature.

HB2308 increases from 75 to 200 the number of acres of land that any association or post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Spanish War Veterans, Disabled American Veterans, or any similar association of veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States chartered by an act of Congress may hold. The General Assembly granted property tax exemptions for these organizations. The bill, as introduced, would have allowed the real property tax exemption for up to 200 acres. However, the bill was amended so that any such property in excess of 75 acres will not be exempt from taxation unless an ordinance to that effect is adopted by the governing body of the locality in which the property is located.

HB1939 dealt with application of meals taxes. Local food and beverage and meals taxes generally do not apply to food purchased for home consumption based on the federal Food Stamp definition of “food”. Legislation in the 2000 session of the General Assembly excluded certain items from this exemption, allowing the taxes to be levied on the following items: sandwiches, salad bar items sold from a salad bar, prepackaged single-serving salads consisting primarily of an assortment of vegetables, and non-factory sealed beverages. The bill, in effect, would have exempted certain single-serving salads from these taxes. The bill was left in the House Finance Committee.

SB1326 as passed by the Senate was designed to push counties interested in imposing tobacco taxes to form regional cigarette tax boards. However, the Senate’s action also spilled over to cities and towns who already impose such taxes. If a locality imposed a local cigarette tax on January 1, 2021, such locality would not be permitted to impose any such tax on or after January 1, 2026, unless such locality is a member of a regional cigarette tax board. The final version of the bill, as enacted by the General Assembly, dropped the mandate for cities and towns to join regional cigarette tax boards. Instead, the bill directs the Department of Taxation to establish a task force to develop methods for modernizing the local cigarette tax collection system and providing assistance, as appropriate, to localities seeking to form new regional cigarette tax boards.

SB1398 brings finality to a tax issue that has bounced around the General Assembly for over ten-years. That issue focuses on tax remittances submitted by online travel companies (OTC) like Expedia, Hotels.com, etc. by asking the question should state and local taxes be applied to the services these companies charge in addition to the room cost of the hotel or motel? As enacted, SB1398 provides that, beginning September 1, 2021, the retail sales and use tax and transient occupancy taxes on accommodations will be computed upon the basis of the total charges or the total price paid for use or possession of the room. Where a hotel or motel contracts with an online travel company to facilitate the room sale and the online company charges the customer for the room and an accommodations fee, the OTC would be deemed the dealer for the transaction and would be required to separately state the taxes on the invoice and to collect the taxes on the entire amount paid for the use or possession of the room. The bill would also provide for an amount equal to the estimated state sales tax revenue generated from the tax on accommodations fees to be appropriated to the Virginia Tourism Authority (VTA) each fiscal year to be used for promoting tourism. The legislation will increase local transient occupancy tax collections as well as local sales taxes.

Finance and Taxation bills of interest

These are finance and taxation bills that passed the General Assembly and will be of interest to localities.

SB1112 and HB1916 are identical bills permitting taxpayers subject to the bank franchise tax to claim the Research and Development Expenses Tax Credit and the Major Research and Development Expenses Tax Credit. Under current law, these credits may be claimed only against the individual and corporate income tax. The measures are not expected to negatively affect either the state’s portion or the local portion of the bank franchise tax. The reason is that both credit programs are currently oversubscribed by significant amounts. For Taxable Year 2019, taxpayers requested $20.8 million of Research and Development Expenses Tax Credits, in excess of the $7 million cap. Similarly, taxpayers requested $125.8 million of Major Research and Development Expenses Tax Credits for Taxable Year 2019, exceeding the $20 million cap. The bills would not increase the annual credit caps for either R&D program.

SB1130 provides that one motor vehicle (passenger car, pickup truck or panel truck) of a veteran who has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability will be exempt from local personal property taxes. This bill is the enabling legislation for the constitutional amendment ratified by the voters at the November 2020 general election.

HB1969 modifies the definition of “qualifying locality” to include any of the 72 localities with a score of 100 or higher on the fiscal stress index, as published by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in July 2020. Under current law, a qualifying locality is one with a score of 107 or higher on the DHCD fiscal stress index, using revised data for 2017. Qualifying localities are able to classify blighted and derelict properties as a separate class of taxable property and assess such property at a higher rate and sell delinquent tax lands six months after the locality has incurred abatement costs for buildings that have been condemned, constitute a nuisance, are a derelict building, or are declared to be blighted. The bill also expands the list of localities that have different requirements for the appointment of a special commissioner to convey tax-delinquent real estate to the locality in lieu of a public sale at auction.

HB2273 is an economic development bill offering a sales tax incentive for data centers. The bill reduces the amount of capital investment and the job creation requirements if data centers locate in “distressed” localities. The capital investment is reduced from $150 million to $70 million. The minimum number of new jobs is reduced from 25 jobs to 10 new jobs. A “distressed locality” (from July 1, 2021, until July 1, 2023) is any locality that had an annual unemployment rate for calendar year 2019 that was greater than the final statewide average unemployment rate for that calendar year and a poverty rate for calendar year 2019 that exceeded the statewide average poverty rate for that year. Under the bill’s provisions all beneficiaries of the tax incentive will have to submit an annual report to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to help evaluate the efficacy of the incentive. The sales tax exemption is in effect through June 30, 2035, and includes computer equipment or enabling software purchased or leased for the processing, storage, retrieval, or communication of data, including but not limited to servers, routers, connections, and other enabling hardware, including chillers and backup generators used or to be used in the operation of the equipment exempted, provided that such computer equipment or enabling software is purchased or leased for use in a data center.

SB1207 and HB2201 are identical bills that expand existing provisions related to siting agreements and zoning special exceptions for solar projects located in an opportunity zone to include energy storage projects. The bills also make the provisions statewide. The measures do not apply to any energy storage project that has received zoning and site plan approval, preliminary or otherwise, from the host locality before January 1, 2021. The bills also provide that its provisions will not become effective with respect to energy storage projects unless the General Assembly approves legislation that authorizes localities to adopt an ordinance for taxation of energy storage projects such as solar projects with a local option for machinery and tools tax or solar revenue share.

VML Contact: Neal Menkes, nmenkes@vml.org

[top of page]

Is the economic news good, bad, or indecipherable?

The news outlets reported today that the national economy added 379,000 jobs in February which is the most since last October, and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.2 percent. Compared with the 166,000 new jobs in January and the loss of 306,000 jobs in December, is it reasonable to assume that the worst of the economic slump is over?

Maybe…or maybe not. February’s sharp job pickup is a long way from the more than 20 million jobs lost during the pandemic.

With so much money being pumped into the economy by the federal government, Oxford Economics forecasts that growth will reach 7 percent for all of 2021, which would be the fastest calendar-year expansion since 1984. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the nation will add a substantial 6.2 million jobs this year, though that will fall well shy of the jobs needed to restore employment to pre-pandemic levels.

A closer look at the new job numbers shows that the gains, roughly 355,000, were driven by large increases in the leisure and hospitality center. This sector of the economy has suffered greatly during the pandemic, so a powerful upswing is welcomed. But employment in this sector is still down 3.5 million positions from a year ago. Some economists think the rebound in the sector is related more to a recovery from job losses in December and January than to the gaping employment chasm that opened last April and May.

Overall, the national economy today has 9 million fewer jobs than pre-pandemic times. And economists warn that the unemployment would be registering higher if not for more than 4 million people leaving the workforce last year. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last month that the “real” unemployment rate is likely closer to 10 percent. Who are these people who have dropped out of the job search? Some 2.5 million women are believed to have left the workforce compared with 1.5 million men.

The Commonwealth employment/economic picture

In Virginia, for the filing week ending February 27, the figure for seasonally unadjusted initial unemployment claims in Virginia was 12,155. The latest claims figure was an increase of 211 claimants from the previous week. Continued weeks claimed totaled 63,998, which was a 0.9% decrease from the previous week, but 41,795 higher than the 22,203 continued claims from the comparable week last year. Over half of claims that had a self-reported industry were in the accommodation/food service, administrative and waste services, retail trade, and healthcare/social assistance industries. The continued claims total is mainly comprised of those recent initial claimants who continued to file for unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the improvement in the job numbers, the revenue impact on local coffers remains uncertain, particularly for property taxes tied to commercial properties. While many states had stronger-than-expected revenue in 2020, a sharp decline in the value of commercial properties is expected to take a big bite out of city budgets when those empty buildings are assessed in the coming months. Dormant offices, malls and restaurants that have turned the central business districts of many cities around the country into ghost towns and may foreshadow a fiscal time bomb for municipal budgets, which are heavily reliant on property taxes and are facing real estate revenue losses of as much as 10 percent in 2021. Commercial property values have not seen such challenges since the Great Recession in 2008. The upswing in residential property values may not be sufficient to make up for declining commercial properties. The overall picture is problematic according to the National League of Cities (NLC). The advocacy organization estimates that cities could face a $90 billion shortfall this year.

The uncertainty surrounding economic recovery and revenue collections may become clearer in the weeks and months ahead. Whether increasing certainty leads to a revival of local economies and local revenue collections remains to be seen. Stay tuned.

VML Contact: Neal Menkes, nmenkes@vml.org

[top of page]

Legislation of Interest

Bills of interest to localities: The passed and the failed

VML has listed several bills dealing with the Freedom of Information Act, Procurement, Broadband, Courts, Land Use and Workers’ Compensation. Summaries and updates of these bills are available using the below links.

In reviewing the above document, please be sure to carefully review SB1271 (listed first) which codifies the Budget Language on electronic meetings during a state of emergency with a few tweaks. Also be sure to review HB1931 (listed second) which allows for members to participate remotely up to 25 percent of the meetings in a calendar year under specific circumstances and if the public body has an electronic meeting policy. (HINT: Adopt an electronic meeting policy! Sample language available here.)

Other Freedom of Information Act bills were sent to a study along with some public notice bills.

There are procurement bills listed in both the passed and failed documents – procurement was very prevalent this year and if you look through the failed bills in particular you will see that they are becoming increasingly complicated.

Optional workers’ compensation bills passed for volunteer firefighters along with a COVID presumption bill.

The last category to mention is the qualified immunity bills – both were sent to studies, but it remains to be seen where they will be studied. The House very clearly sent their bill to the Crime Commission, but the Senate voted to pass by indefinitely with the understanding that the Senate Judiciary Civil subcommittee would study the issue. However, there was also chatter in the Senate about looking at both bills outside the Crime Commission because this is a civil cause of action.

Please let us know if you have any questions about the bills.

VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org

[top of page]

Health & Human Services

VDH local match rates – updated information

The budget conference report adopted by the General Assembly last week included an amendment to the Governor’s proposed budget regarding state and local match rates for the Cooperative Health Budget (Item 302#2c). The change proposed by the General Assembly would phase in the proposed changes to the match rates for localities over three years – this includes decreases as well as increases.

The Governor’s proposed budget would have implemented the lower local match rates in Fiscal Year 2022 while providing a one-year hold harmless for those localities who would see their match rates increase (with the full match increase going into effect in Fiscal Year 2023).

The updated spreadsheet from the Virginia Department of Health that includes the amended match rate for Fiscal Year 2022 for each city and county.

View / Download the updated spreadsheet here >.

VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org

[top of page]

Human services bills wrap-up

The human services arena was a busy one during the 2021 session, from some major legislation affecting the Children’s Services Act (CSA) to COVID-19 related measures in the Health Department to funding and operation of a statewide crisis call center under behavioral health. Bills below are grouped by agency. Many other items were addressed through the budget.

Use the links below to jump to each topic:

Children’s Services Act (CSA)
Health Department
Behavioral health
Medicaid
Social Services

Children’s Services Act (CSA)

Two main types of bills addressing the Children’s Services Act (CSA) were introduced this year. The first type addressed the issue of using CSA funds in a public-school special education setting; CSA funds are currently only used to pay for private special education services. The second type addressed additional oversight of local CSA operations and data collection. Both types of bills came about following a study of CSA by the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). An additional bill to create a new kinship guardianship assistance program was not part of the JLARC report but will also affect CSA funding.

CSA and special education. SB1313 (Mason) and HB2117 (VanValkenberg) were the main vehicles on this subject. Mason’s bill incorporated SB1009 (Stuart) and SB1114 (Peake) Another bill, SB1133 (Suttlerlein), was passed by indefinitely in a subsequent committee but components were then incorporated into SB1313.

SB1313 and HB2117 are identical bills that set out the rules for the time-limited use of CSA funds in public school special education settings to allow for transition of a student from a private day setting. The bills also direct the creation of a workgroup to develop a plan to transfer private day special education funds from CSA to the Virginia Department of Education. An initial report is due in 2021 and additional report in 2022. The workgroup would include local government representation. The issues addressed by the workgroup will be of major concern for local governments because of the issue of state and local funding for certain special education programs and private placements going forward – including whether the state will continue sum-sufficient funding or will try to cap its funding obligation.

Local CSA oversight. HB2212 (Plum) requires the Office of Children’s Services to (i) regularly monitor local performance measures and child and family outcomes; (ii) use audit, performance, and outcomes data to identify local programs that need technical assistance; and (iii) work with local programs that are consistently underperforming to develop a corrective action plan for submission to the Office and the State Executive Council for Children’s Services.

The budget as approved by the General Assembly includes funding for an additional position at OCS to help with additional oversight and additional data collection and analysis.

Kinship guardianship assistance program. SB1328 (Mason) affects CSA but was not part of the JLARC report. It creates a state Kinship Guardianship Assistance program to facilitate child placements with relatives and fictive kin to ensure permanency for children. The bill sets eligibility program criteria, requirements for kinship guardianship assistance agreements, and payment allowances to kinship guardians. State funding will come through CSA with a local match required. Federal Title IV-E program funds were previously used for some services to this population and did not require a local match. Finding more permanent placements and the stability it offers children should outweigh the additional local match in the long run.

Health Department

COVID-19 pandemic issues were front and center in the 2021 Session; many of the issues were related to funding and were addressed in the budget. Policy issues addressed ways to increase volunteer assistance with vaccines and vaccination sites, as well as codifying the cooperative health budget formula that has been in place since the 1950s. These bills are as follow:

Volunteers for vaccine administration. HB2333 (Bagby) and SB1445 (Dunnavant), passed during the 2021 regular session with an emergency clause requires the Department of Health to establish a program to enable eligible health care providers to volunteer to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to Virginia residents during the state of emergency declared by the Governor. The bill defines health care providers; directs creation of a registration process for these volunteers; sets training requirements related to vaccine administration; and requires VDH to establish a process by which entities, including medical care facilities, pharmacies, institutions of higher education, localities, may volunteer their facilities as vaccination sites. Also authorizes public and private higher education institutions to volunteer the use of their employees, students, technology, and facilities to VDH and local health departments for data processing, analytics, and program development related to the COVID-19 vaccine. Also permits localities with fire departments, emergency medical services departments, and volunteer rescue squads to establish and staff vaccine administration clinics. The bills had emergency clauses and were signed into law in February.

State-local cooperative health formula. HB1963 (Bagby) puts into the Code of Virginia the long-established state-local cooperative health budget formula, including the local match floor and ceiling (18 and 45 percent). It also requires the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to biennially review the local matching fund amounts and determine if adjustments are necessary as a result of changes to a locality’s revenue generation capacity. This information will be reported to the Governor and General Assembly.

VDH and EMS information sharing. HB1989 (Aird), directs the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to set up a system to share with local emergency medical services (EMS) agencies, in real time, information about confirmed cases of a communicable disease related to a public health emergency. The budget approved by the General Assembly directs use of federal health grant funding for the purpose of setting up and operating this system.

Behavioral health

The major bill of interest during the 2021 session dealt with the crisis call center set up and operation as required by legislation approved during the 2020 Special Session creating the Marcus Alert law. The other major initiative was to create a permanent legislative commission to address behavioral health issues. These bills are as follows:

Crisis call center. SB1302 (McPike) designates the crisis call center called for in the Marcus Alert law (2020 special session) and to be administered by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBDHS) as the 9-8-8 Crisis Hotline Center as part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The call center will be required to comply with federal rules/guidelines, as will the community care teams and mobile crisis teams responding to calls.

The center’s set-up and operating funding would come from an increase in wireless E-911 surcharges and prepaid wireless E-911 charges.

Behavioral health commission. SB1273 (Deeds) creates the Behavioral Health Commission as a legislative branch agency. This would succeed the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services in the Commonwealth, which has been in place since 2014. The Commission would continue to study and make recommendations for the improvement of the Commonwealth’s behavioral health services and system; encourage policies to increase service quality and access to a full continuum of high-quality services across the Commonwealth; and provide oversight of services and the system.

Medicaid

Broadened Medicaid services in schools. SB1307 (Dunnavant) Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the Medicaid state plan to provide for payment of qualified medical assistance services delivered to Medicaid-eligible students and which may be provided by school divisions, regardless of whether the student has an individualized education program, or the health care service is included in a student’s individualized education program. This applies to all services covered under Virginia’s Medicaid state plan or by the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment benefit as specified in § 1905(r) of the federal Social Security Act. Eligible services delivered by telemedicine are covered as well. The Department of Medical Assistance Services is directed to provide technical assistance to the Department of Education and local school divisions regarding these provisions and compliance with federal requirements.

Social Services

Many issues regarding social services were addressed in the budget, including funding for salary increases for certain local social services employees and a whole bunch of studies for the coming year. Legislation of interest approved by the General Assembly included the following:

Produce Rx Pilot Program HB2065 (McQuinn) requires the Virginia Department of Social Services and Department of Medical Assistance Services to convene a work group to develop a plan for a three-year pilot Produce Rx program to create incentives for greater consumption of qualifying fruits and vegetables by eligible individuals whose health care provider recommends such consumption. A report on the workgroup’s activities and elements of its plan is due to the House and Senate budget committees by Oct. 1, 2021.

Study of auxiliary grant program SJR293 (Spruill) requests the Joint Commission on Health Care to study data regarding assisted living and auxiliary grants and develop a blueprint for implementing recommendations that will allow for a more realistic system of addressing housing and care needs. Requires the work to be completed by November 2021. A separate bill that would have increased the auxiliary grant payments by 200 percent ( SB1185 -Dunnavant) was passed by indefinitely earlier in the Session, but the General Assembly included a 10 percent increase for the program beginning July 1. Local governments are responsible for a 20 percent match, which means their costs for this program will increase on July 1.

VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org

[top of page]

Liberty Amendments Month coming to Virginia

SJR 323 (Locke)/ HJR 583 (Bagby) designates June 19 through the third Monday in July beginning this year and in each succeeding year, as Liberty Amendments Month in Virginia. Liberty Amendments Month would begin on Juneteenth, which was formally made a state holiday during the 2020 Special Session (SB5031 (Locke)/HB5052 (Bagby).

Liberty Amendments Month would be designated on the General Assembly’s calendar (not a state holiday); the goal is to spotlight the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Nineteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, ratified between 1865 and 1920, that provided voting rights and other rights that allow each citizen to participate in the governance of their state and the United States.

This resolution was brought forward by the Town of Vienna and Town Manager Mercury Payton; a position of support for the resolution is in VML’s General Laws Policy Statement.

VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org

[top of page]

Elections

Elections bills that have passed both chambers

The bills listed below have passed the House and the Senate. The governor has until March 31 to act.

Use the links below to jump to each topic:

Voting Access
Referenda and Constitutional Amendments
Miscellaneous

Voting Access

HB1810 (VanValkenburg) establishes protocols in the event of failure of the state’s online voter registration system. This was inspired by the accidental cutting of electrical lines on the last day of voter registration prior to the November 2020 election.

HB1888 (VanValkenburg) addresses accessibility and transparency issues relating to absentee voting, including requiring that officer of election begin processing absentee ballots before the close of polls; requiring prepaid postage; establishing standards for absentee ballot drop boxes; and establishing procedures for registration for the permanent absentee voter list. The final version of this bill includes language regarding marked ballots for voters with visual impairments or print disabilities to accommodate for the passage of SB1331 (Reeves).

HB1890 (Price) / SB1359 (McClellan) the Voting Rights Act of Virginia effectively establishes preclearance requirements for all localities before implementing changes to local election procedures, requiring a 90-day public comment process or a 60-day preclearance application process from the Office of the Attorney General. These bills also establish civil penalties for registrars, electoral board members, and officers of election in the event of errors in the implementation of elections.

HB1921 (Price) makes curbside voting a less complicated process for voters requesting physical accommodations. Previously, a voter or their representative would have to physically enter a polling place to request curbside voting.

HB1968 (Bagby) gives local registrars the option of offering early in-person voting on Sundays as well as Saturdays.

HB2020 (Helmer) effectively prohibits party nomination by convention, banning methods of nomination in which all qualified voters do not have an opportunity to participate.

HB2125 (Lopez) allows eligible Virginia residents ages 16 and 17 to preregister to vote. Unlike most legislation, which becomes effective July 1, 2021, HB2125 has an effective date of October 1, 2022.

SB1097 (Favola) removes the requirement for a witness signature on absentee ballots during elections held during a declared state of emergency. The adopted version of SB1097 requires the Department of Elections to convene a work group to develop recommendations for alternatives to witness signatures.

SB1157 (Spruill) requires that all local elections be held in November. VML, along with Virginia First Cities, has requested that the Governor amend SB1157 to add an effective date of November 30, 2024. This would allow localities additional time to shift their election cycles to either an odd or even year to align with either state or federal elections, respectively.

SB1245 (Deeds) establishes further requirements regarding drop boxes and absentee ballots, including the development of security standards for drop boxes and requiring that any absentee ballot deposited in a drop box prior to the date of an election be contacted in the event of any errors that would render the ballot invalid.

SB1331 (Reeves) expands voting accessibility for voters with visual impairments or print disabilities.

Referenda and Constitutional Amendments

HJ555 (Herring) restores voting rights to persons convicted of a felony upon their release from prison. As a reminder, constitutional amendments must pass the General Assembly two sessions in a row before they are presented to voters in a referendum.

Miscellaneous

HB2081 (Levine) prohibits the carrying of firearms within 40 feet of polling places during, one hour before, or one hour after election activities, with exceptions in place for qualified or retired law enforcement officers, private citizens who reside within 40 feet of a polling place and are keeping firearms in the home, and licensed security officers.

HB2198 (Convirs-Fowler) requires that only voters who live within district or ward boundaries may vote for a candidate whose eligibility is ward- or district-based.

SB1148 (Kiggans) moves the date of June primaries from the second Tuesday in June to the third Tuesday in June.

SB1239 (Bell) allows general registrars to contract with third party vendors for the printing, compiling, and mailing of absentee ballots.

VML Contact: Jessica Ackerman, jackerman@vml.org

[top of page]

Education

Education bills that have passed both chambers

The bills listed below have passed the House and the Senate. The governor has until March 31 to act.

COVID- and Declared Emergency-related bills

SB1303 (Dunnavant). In response to challenges faced by students, families, and teachers during the pandemic thus far, this bill requires each local school district to offer in-person learning to all registered students for the 2021-22 academic year. School districts must make all reasonable efforts to comply with CDC guidance and must also offer virtual options to families who are uncomfortable sending their children back for in-person learning. After extensive debate, this bill has an effective date of July 1, 2021 and expires on August 1, 2022.

HB1790 (McNamara) / SB1132 (Suetterlein) allows local school divisions to declare unscheduled virtual learning days in response to weather emergencies (snow days, etc.), but limits the total number of unscheduled virtual learning days to 10 per school year unless the State Superintendent of Public Instruction grants an extension.

Other education bills

HB1865 (Delaney) requires school divisions to offer reading intervention services to students in Kindergarten through third grade who demonstrate deficiencies on their SOL tests. Parents must be notified before the intervention begins and must be updated on students’ progress.

HB1823 (Askew) requires all school divisions and licensed child day care facilities housed in buildings constructed prior to 2015 to install carbon monoxide detectors.

HB2135 (Roem) requires school divisions in which at least 50 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced meals and in which extracurricular and enrichment activities are offered after school to participate in the federal Afterschool Meals Program. The Superintendent of Public Instruction will grant waivers to school divisions whose budgets cannot accommodate participation in the program.

VML Contact: Jessica Ackerman, jackerman@vml.org

[top of page]

Transportation

Transportation bills that have passed both chambers

Transportation bills in the 2021 session were focused on continuing the work started during the 2020 session with the omnibus transportation package. The 2021 legislation focused on issues that were not quite as expansive as the previous General Assembly, instead focusing on transportation issues of regional concern and initiating studies to look at issues like the resiliency of infrastructure.

The bills listed below have passed the House and the Senate. The governor has until March 31 to act.

HB1801 (Del. Edmunds) authorizes a locality to increase the fee for littering to no less than $500 and no more than $2,500 under §33.2-802 on public property, including a public highway or right-of-way.

HB1813 (Del. Krizek) increases from $600,000 to $700,000 the value of highway maintenance and construction projects eligible to be performed in an emergency by state or local employees.

HB1841 (Del. Keam) directs the commissioner of Highways to convene a stakeholder group including the Virginia Municipal League and other local government organizations to determine if whether model policies on crosswalk design are necessary and recommend any model policies. This bill was amended to create a study instead of a local mandate on crosswalk design after as the result of local government and VDOT representative’s testimony in subcommittee.

HB1832 (Del. Subramanyam) / SB1259 (Sen. Bell) requires the involvement of Virginia Department of Transportation personnel to review and provide comment to the State Corporation Commission (SCC) on the analysis submitted for toll rate increases. The costs of such personnel involvement are indeterminate at this time and would need to be absorbed within existing resources.

HB1846 (Del. Robinson) eliminates the provision prohibiting a holder of a provisional driver’s license to operate a vehicle while using a wireless communication device. Such provision was specific only to the holder of a provisional license.

HB1854 (Del. Sullivan) authorizes the board of any locality that has adopted the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) to name any section of U.S. Route 29 located within the boundaries of the locality. The bill provides that the Department of Transportation will place and maintain appropriate signs that will be paid for by the locality.

HB1893 (Sen. Edwards) authorizes the creation of a regional passenger rail station authority in Planning District 4 to assist in the creation and maintenance of passenger rail in the region. The authority would be authorized to enter into revenue sharing agreements and to issue revenue bonds. The authority would be governed by a board consisting of members of each participating locality and institution of higher education.

HB1903 (Del. Carr) authorizes local governing bodies to reduce the speed limit to less than 25 miles per hour, but not less than 15 miles per hour, in a business district or residence district.

HB2071 (Del. Convirs-Fowler) / SB1350 (Sen. Lewis) adds resiliency to the Statewide Transportation Plan Requires that the Commonwealth Transportation Board as part of the project recommendations assessed by Smart Scale as part of the Six-Year Improvement Program include whether a project is designed to be resilient among the criteria already included in addition to the SMART Scale score of each project. Resiliency will not be a weighted factor used to score a project under SMART Scale but is to be included when scores are reported prior to the CTB acting upon the proposed Six-Year Improvement Program.

HB2262 (Del. Hurst) authorizes and clarifies that motor vehicles may overtake bicycles, mopeds, animal drawn vehicles, and personal mobility devices by changing lanes to overtake and eliminates provisions in state code regulating when cyclists are allowed to ride two abreast in addition to creating a work group convened by the Department of State Police to include local law enforcement agencies, cyclist organizations, and cycling enthusiasts to consider policies related to allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yields. The report is due to the Chairs of the House and Senate Transportation Committee by 12/1/2021.

HB2318 (Del. Roem) authorizes localities by ordinance to require motor vehicle dealers in the locality to notify a buyer or potential buyer that test driving a motor vehicle in a residence district that has been designated for increased fines is prohibited, unless the buyer or potential driver is driving to or from his residence. The bill requires the locality to notify licensed motor vehicle dealers located within the locality of the enactment of such ordinance and send a copy of such notification to the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board. The bill authorizes the locality to notify the Board if a buyer or potential buyer is convicted of a traffic infraction while conducting a test drive in a prohibited location. The bill provides that the Board may determine if the proper notice was given and impose a civil penalty if such notice was not given.

SB1253 (Sen. McPike) directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board to develop guidelines that consider the impact by the number of jobs expected to be created, the proposed capital investment by the private sector at the site and other criteria related to the economic development project. These criteria will be used to whether or not the board will construct or improve a road under consideration as part of an economic development project.

SB1260 (Sen. Bell) requires the Commissioner of Highways or a locality to provide a landowner with 30 days’ notice of the intent to enter and inspect property to ascertain suitability of the property for transportation purposes and eliminates the requirement that the Commissioner first request permission to enter the property and then provide notice of intent to enter if permission is not granted.

SB1335 (Sen. Stuart) eliminates the provisions that except in a driver emergency or when the vehicle is lawfully parked or stopped, no holder of a learner’s permit shall operate a motor vehicle on the highways of the Commonwealth while using any cellular telephone or any other wireless telecommunications device, regardless of whether or not such device is handheld.

SB1740 (Sen. Barker) / HB1960 (Del. Bell) expands eligibility for a special communication needs indicator on a vehicle registration to vehicle owners whose vehicle is regularly occupied by an individual who has a disability that can impair communication. Current law authorizes those vehicle owners who have a disability that can impair communication to apply for such an indicator. The bill authorizes the removal of such indicator by request in writing to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org

[top of page]

Agriculture & Natural Resources

Agriculture and Natural Resources bills that have passed both chambers

Agriculture and Natural Resources bills touched on some of the most high-profile issues of the 2021 session such as marijuana legalization and impactful legislation related to local compliance with statewide water regulations, the Enhanced Nutrient Removal Certainty program. These bills focused on some of the biggest issues facing the Commonwealth of Virginia and localities across the Commonwealth.

The bills listed below have passed the House and the Senate. The governor has until March 31 to act.

Marijuana Legalization

SB1406 (Sen. Ebbin) / HB2312 (Del. Herring). These bills propose a path for the sale of legal recreational marijuana to individuals over the age of 21 starting 1/1/2024 and the elimination of the prohibition on the possession, growing and use of marijuana. This legislation proposes the establishment of an independent regulatory agency, permitting process for licensing the growing, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and related products.

A 21 percent tax rate is imposed by the Commonwealth and a local option sales tax of 3 percent on retail sales is authorized in addition to any other locally imposed taxes (sales and use, meals, businesses licensing) with local taxes retained by the locality.

This legislation legalizes of the possession of an ounce of marijuana or less in public, the retail sale of an ounce of marijuana or less, the legalization of the gifting of marijuana, the legalization of growing up to 4 plants (two mature and two immature) at home while creating a framework for the expungement of criminal records for those previously convicted of marijuana offenses.

Local authority in the bill focuses primarily on retail operations, local opt out by referendum prior to the start of retail sales and maintains local authority with respect to zoning pre-empts localities from prohibiting the use, possession, or cultivation of marijuana by individuals, while authorizing localities to ban the use of marijuana in public.

Enhanced Nutrient Removal Certainty Program (ENRC Program)

SB1354 (Sen. Hanger) / HB2129 (Del. Lopez) requires the State Water Control Board to adopt by June 30, 2022, regulations establishing a Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan Enhanced Nutrient Removal Certainty Program (ENRC Program), consisting of a number of total nitrogen and total phosphorous waste load allocation reductions assigned to particular water treatment facilities with schedules for compliance. The bill provides that the ENRC Program shall operate in lieu of certain Chesapeake Bay waste load regulations. The bill directs the Board to modify affected discharge permits to incorporate the provisions of the ENRC Program and requires certain compliance plans due from treatment works by February 1, 2023, to address the requirements of the ENRC Program.

The bill provides that the funding of certain design and installation costs for implementing nutrient upgrades pursuant to the ENRC Program shall be eligible for grants from the Water Quality Improvement Fund. The ENRC Program is required to proceed regardless of whether such grants will exceed the available funds in the Fund for a given fiscal year. The bill lists the projects and the total nitrogen or total phosphorus waste load allocation reductions that specified facilities are to complete. The bill provides that when grants to finance nutrient removal technology reach a sum sufficient to fund the completion of the ENRC Program at all publicly owned treatment works, certain General Assembly committees shall review funding needs and mechanisms.

This legislation will eliminate the floating cap proposed in the third Watershed Implementation Program.

Other bills of interest to localities

HB1902 (Del. Carr) prohibits the dispensing by a food vendor of prepared food to a customer in a single use expanded polystyrene food service container. The bill requires certain chain restaurants to stop using such containers by July 1, 2023, and by all food vendors as July 1, 2025. The bill exempts nonprofit organizations from the definition of “food vendor” and provides a process by which a locality may grant consecutive one-year exemptions to individual food vendors due to economic hardship. The bill provides a civil penalty of not more than $50 for each day of violation, to be collected in a civil action brought by the Attorney General or the relevant locality. The penalties collected are to be deposited in the Litter Control and Recycling Fund or to the treasury of the relevant locality, as appropriate.

HB1982 (Del. Bulova) authorizes a facility that has been issued a Virginia Pollution Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permit regulating stormwater discharges to acquire, use, and transfer nutrient credits for compliance with any waste load allocation established as an effluent limitation in its VPDES permit. Current law allows only a facility registered under the Industrial Stormwater General Permit to use nutrient credits for such purpose.

HB1983 (Del. Bulova) provides that when a water protection permit applicant is required to purchase wetland or stream mitigation bank credits, but no credits are available (i) in any mitigation provider’s primary service area or (ii) at a cost of less than 200 percent of the price of credits available from a fund dedicated to achieving no net loss of wetland acreage and functions, the applicant may purchase or use credits from a mitigation provider’s secondary service area. The bill provides certain requirements that the permit applicant must comply with in order to purchase or use such credits from a secondary service area, including minimum tree canopy requirements.

HB2030 (Del. Krizek) directs the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to study beekeeper and pollinator best practices and propose improvements to improve communication between beekeepers and pesticide applicators. These proposals are to be informed by a stakeholder workgroup beekepers and representatives of agricultural and lawncare interests as well as the Virginia Cooperative Extension with a report due to the relevant committee chairs by 1/1/2021.

HB2148 (Del. Willett) includes energy storage equipment rated at 150 megawatts or less as a “small renewable energy project” for the purposes of the Code of Virginia. The bill also directs the Department of Environmental Quality to promulgate regulations regarding energy storage equipment by 1/1/2022.

HB2159 (Del. Guy) establishes a civil penalty of $25 for the release of nonbiodegradable balloons with funds directed to the Game Protection Fund.

HB2187 (Del. Hodges) directs the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency (CCRFR) to evaluate the development of a Flood Resiliency Clearinghouse Program for coordinating flood mitigation solutions. Requires the CCRFR to work with the Department of Conservation and Recreation to evaluate solutions that manage both water quality and flooding and emphasize nature-based solutions, including currently approved and not-yet approved storm water best management practices. Requires the CCRFR to report the results of its findings to the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by November 1, 2021.

HB2302 (Del. Wyatt) establishes farmers markets shall be treated the same as grocery stores if such stores are allowed to remain open as essential businesses during a state of emergency declared by the Governor.

HB2311 (Del. Runion) adds land owned by a battlefield preservation organization and land on which such organization holds an easement to the category of lands on which it is unlawful to intentionally damage, disturb, or remove any object of antiquity. Current law prohibits such acts on any designated state archaeological site or on state-controlled land and provides that a violation of the prohibition is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

SB1135 (Sen. Marsden) restructures the procedure for adjudication of a dog as a dangerous dog, the determination of whether a surrendered dog is a dangerous dog, and the transfer of dangerous dogs.

SB1210 (Sen. Peterson) directs the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene and preside over two working groups. The first working group is to develop a new annual fee schedule for nonhazardous solid waste management facilities due to the Governor and the General Assembly 12/11/2021. The goal of the working group’s discussions is to create recommendations for a fee schedule that is sufficient to reflect the direct costs of permitting, compliance, inspection, monitoring, training, and enforcement in the nonhazardous solid waste management program when aggregated and combined with other program permit fees. The second working group is to conduct a similar analysis of water withdrawal permit programs. DEQ is to submit to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2021 a summary of the working group’s discussions and recommendations for a schedule of annual maintenance fees sufficient to reflect no less than 40 percent of the direct costs required for the development, administration, compliance, and enforcement of such permits.

SB1258 (Sen. Marsden) requires the State Water Control Board to administer a Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program (VESCP) on behalf of any locality that notifies the Department of Environmental Quality that it has chosen not to administer a VESCP for any solar photovoltaic (electric energy) project with a rated electrical generation capacity exceeding five megawatts. SB1258 is contingent to sums sufficient for the Department of Environmental Quality to hire sufficient staff to accomplish the purposes of the bill.

SB1274 (Sen. Marsden) directs various agencies to consider and incorporate, where applicable, wildlife corridors and any recommendation of the Wildlife Corridor Action Plan. The bill directs the Department of Wildlife Resources to assist state agencies and political subdivisions, and by request any federal agency, in considering and incorporating, where applicable, wildlife corridors and the recommendations of the Plan when developing any governmental strategic plan, map, or action; and to publish the Plan and any subsequent updates on its website.

SB1291 (Sen. Mason) requires surface water withdrawal permit applications include a water auditing and leak detection plan and requires the Water Control Board promulgate regulations for water auditing and leak detection plans.

SB1311 (Sen. McClellan) requires applications for natural gas pipelines greater than 36 inches in diameter include sediment and stormwater plans as part of the application process and requires the Department of Environmental Quality also consider how these plans will impact adjoining and upland areas.

SB1374 (Sen. Lewis) directs the Secretary of Natural Resources, jointly with the Secretary of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to convene a task force for the purpose of studying carbon sequestration in the Commonwealth and submit a report of its findings before the first day of the 2022 Session of the General Assembly.

SB1404 (Sen. Lewis) authorizes grants from the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund awarded for projects related to Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements to take into account total phosphorus reductions or total nitrogen reductions. The bill authorizes grants awarded for eligible projects in localities with high or above average fiscal stress as reported by the Commission on Local Government to account for more than 50 percent of the costs of a project.

VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org

[top of page]

Announcements

New episode of VML podcast now available

The VML Voice is back with the second half of our episode about Petersburg.

Check it out here >

In part 1, we explored how Petersburg nearly went off the rails when it faced financial ruin just a few short years ago. In part 2 we spend some more time with Mayor Samuel Parham, City Manager Aretha Ferrell Benavides, Deputy City Manager Lionel Lyons and Economic Development Manager Clay Hamner as they discuss some recent good news and their hopes for the future of the city that is now back on track. VML’s financial policy analyst Neal Menkes makes a special appearance to help us set the record straight on the state’s role in saving the city back in 2016. We also check in with Bill Hartsock, a member of the Historic Petersburg Foundation and real estate agent to discuss the city’s unique and flourishing real estate market.

VML Contact: Rob Bullington, rbullington@vml.org

[top of page]

Zencity Acquires Elucd for a new approach to civic engagement

VML Community Business Member Zencity has announced that Elucd is now part of Zencity! By bringing Zencity and Elucd’s capabilities under one roof, ZenCity now offer actionable insights based on organic feedback alongside proactive, representative resident surveys to ensure local governments can effortlessly hear from all corners of their communities 24/7.

Learn more here >

ZenCity Contact: Director of Urban Policy & Partnerships, Assaf Frances, frances@zencity.io

[top of page]