Legislative Bulletin January 27, 2023
Friday, January 27, 2023 - 05:33pm
In this issue:
- Oppose: Jury compensation bill with local fiscal impact to be heard Monday, Jan. 30 at 10:00am
- Oppose: Bill that would add requirements for localities seeking to raise property tax revenue to be heard Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 4:00pm
- Be heard: Short term rental bill to be heard Monday, Jan. 30 at 9:00am
- Upcoming bills that warrant local government attention
- Bills passed out of General Laws
- Bills reported out of Counties, Cities and Towns
- Bills passed out of Senate General Laws
Action Alerts
Oppose: Jury compensation bill with local fiscal 
impact to be heard Monday, Jan. 30 at 10:00am
The House Appropriations General Government Subcommittee will take up HB2317 (Williams Graves) on Monday morning at 10:00am. Please weigh in!
VML members should reach out to their members of House Appropriations specifically to let them know that this bill carries a local fiscal impact as it would increase the compensation for a jury service for both civil and criminal cases from the current $30 to $100 – a more than 230 percent increase!
While this bill and the companion bill (SB789 – Spruill) would increase compensation to $100 a day, by comparison, the federal courts pay jurors $50 a day.
As proposed, the change in jury compensation would go into effect July 1, 2023.
The Code of Virginia stipulates who pays for jury service:
- Jurors in all felony cases shall be paid by the Commonwealth.
- Jurors in misdemeanor cases shall be paid by the Commonwealth unless the charge is written on a local warrant or summons, in which case the jurors shall be paid by the political subdivision in which the summons is issued.
- Jurors in all civil cases shall be paid by the political subdivision in which the summons is issued.
The estimated state fiscal impact is at least $5.0 million. We do not have a good estimate of the local fiscal impact but given that compensation would increase by more than 230 percent, there will a notable local impact.
The state has not increased jury compensation for several years. This lag in payments did not develop overnight, and the solution may be to increase the compensation in stages over the next few years.
Finally, an argument has been put forward that people are not showing up for jury duty because the compensation is so low. However, jury duty is not a “choice” – if someone does not show up for jury duty, that is a matter for the courts to enforce.
Action requested
We urge anyone concerned about the potentially drastic financial impact of this legislation to contact their Delegates. This is especially important If any of your Delegates are a member of the House Appropriations General Government subcommittee and/or a member of the full Appropriations Committee.
General Government Subcommittee members:
| Bloxom (Chair) | DelRBloxom@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1000 |
| Austin | DelTAustin@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1019 |
| Morefield | DelJMorefield@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1003 |
| Fariss | DelMFariss@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1059 |
| Marshall | DelDMarshall@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1014 |
| Torian | DelLTorian@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1052 |
| Plum | DelKPlum@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1036 |
| Krizek | DelPKrizek@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1044 |
| Knight | Â DelBKnight@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1081 |
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Appropriations Committee members:
 Contact information for all member of the House of Delegates is available here >.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Oppose: Bill that would add requirements for localities seeking to raise property tax revenue to be heard Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 4:00pm
HB1749 (Walker) would impose additional requirements upon local governments that want to raise revenues above the current one percent threshold (compared to the prior year’s property tax revenues.
This bill, which is supported by the Administration, would impose additional limitations on local governments based on the amount of proposed increases. Specifically:
- An increase up to 3% would require a public hearing and a majority vote of the governing body;
- An increase more than 3% but less than 5% would require a public hearing and a two-thirds majority vote; and
- An increase of 5% or more would require holding a referendum.
While Administration officials argue that they are merely imposing additional guardrails on local government to raise revenues, members of the House Finance Subcommittee seemed uncomfortable with the Delegate’s proposal. After an attempt to remove references to the referendum in (iii) failed, the bill was passed by for the day.
VML will continue to oppose attempts to infringe on local governments’ ability to raise revenues, if necessary, to meet the needs of communities.
Action requested
Please contact members of House Finance Subcommittee #2 or full House Finance Committee to oppose HB1749.
House Finance Subcommittee #2 members:
| Fowler (Chair) | DelBFowler@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1055 |
| Orrock | DelBOrrock@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1054 |
| Runion | DelCRunion@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1025 |
| Wiley | DelBWiley@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1029 |
| Greenhalgh | delkgreenhalgh@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1085 |
| Willett | DelRWillett@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1073 |
| Bennett-Parker | DelEBennett-Parker@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1045 |
| Robinson | DelRRobinson@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1027 |
| Simon | DelMSimon@house.virginia.gov | (804) 698-1053 |
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House Finance Committee members:
VML Contact: Joe Flores, jflores@vml.org
Be heard: Short term rental bill to be heard Monday, Jan. 30 at 9:00am
SB1391 states that short term rental properties that are managed by a Virginia realtor do not have to comply with the following short term rental ordinance provisions:
- a prohibition on short term rentals
- limitations on occupancy in a short-term rental property to less than what is allowed under the building code or a local zoning ordinance
- a limitation on the number of days for which a short-term rental property can be rented
- a requirement that an owner shall occupy the property as his primary residence for any number of days
- a requirement for the installation of any type of remote monitoring device on the short-term rental property, including decibel, audio, or video
- exterior or interior inspections of the short-term rental property pertaining to any items defined under the building code more frequently than 3 years, unless a complaint has been filed
- required repairs, renovations, or updates to the structure of the short term rental property that are greater than those required under the applicable building code
- requirement for an owner to add additional or otherwise alter existing parking spaces for the short term rental property.
*For provisions #3 and #4 there is the ability to create a written process whereby the Virginia realtor can apply to rent for more days and apply to rent for more days without satisfying the residency requirement.
There is an additional clause that states that any provision in an ordinance that relates to a short term rental that restricts the number of days or requires the owner occupied provision cannot be enforced for a short term rental managed by a Virginia realtor if the ordinance was not passed prior to January 1, 2023.
Please contact your Senator and members of the Local Government committee before 9:00am on Monday, Jan. 30 to let them know your locality’s position on this proposed legislation. There is not a consensus among VML members.
Senate Committee on Local Government members:
All Senators with contact information available here >.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Finance
Budget decisions loom; bill affecting bank franchise fees evolves
With their minds on the money (and the money on their minds) legislators begin to think about the budget
For two and a half weeks, legislation has been the focus of attention and anxiety in the General Assembly. That begins to change next week when the members and staff from the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees begin to assemble their respective budgets for the House and Senate to consider in less than two weeks. You can expect the attention and patience of lawmakers to wear thin as deadlines approach and budget decisions are made, making it more important than ever to be brief and accurate when making your arguments to Senators and Delegates.
Legislation affecting bank franchise fees continues to evolve
It would appear that HB1896 (Byron) and SB1182 (Ruff) that propose to change the way bank franchise taxes are collected and distributed to counties, cities, and towns, will look very different than a few days ago. We heard yesterday that the provision that would redistribute funding among local governments will be removed from the bill. While we have yet to see the bill’s substitute, the bankers’ association is also proposing that the Department of Taxation convene a work group to examine the issue over the summer. We will ask to be included in that work group. Moreover, we will need to make sure that the language establishing the work group does not presuppose that banks with deposits above a certain threshold be allowed to submit their taxes to the Commonwealth. Instead, the workgroup must be established to assess the proposed changes, determine the cost, and the detail the fiscal impact to local governments.
VML Contact: Joe Flores, jflores@vml.org
General Laws
Upcoming bills that warrant local government attention
Oppose: Bill that would penalize localities in certain enforcement action situations
SB1495 (Surovell) Local enforcement action; willful disregard for applicable law; damages. This legislation states that if a person is aggrieved by an enforcement action by a locality and the action was based on willful disregard for the law, regulation, or ordinance then the aggrieved is entitled to compensatory damages, attorneys fees and a directive to the locality to terminate the enforcement.  VML Opposes this regulation.
Oppose: Bills that would limit local authority over construction management
HB1975 (Leftwich) / SB945 (Petersen) Virginia Public Procurement Act; construction management; construction manger allowed to bid on certain contracts. Would remove the authority of localities to use design-build or construction management at risk contracts for construction projects costing under $125 million. Current law allows their use for projects over $26 million and for complex projects below that amount. While most local projects are constructed using the design-bid-build method of construction, there are certain projects where a locality would prefer to use design-build or construction management.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Bills passed out of General Laws
HB2006 (Roem) Virginia Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”); public-records charges, electronic payment method. This bill began its journey as a mandate to local governments who took electronic payments and would’ve required that the local government take electronic payments for FOIA requests.  During the subcommittee meeting, the patron agreed to make it permissive so now local governments MAY take electronic payments for FOIA requests.
HB2007 (Roem) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; posting of fee policy by a public body. Requires that all state public bodies, any city or county and town with a population of over 250 and any school board shall post on their official government website:
“A written policy (i) explaining how the public body assesses charges for accessing or searching for requested records, and (ii) noting the current fee charged, if any, for accessing and searching for such requested records.”
HB2161 (Williams) Local Government; standardization of public notice requirements for certain intended actions. Standardizes and streamlines the frequency and length of time that notices of certain meetings, hearings, and other intended actions of localities must be published in newspapers and other print media. The notice provisions included in the bill are organized into the following three groups: (i) publication required one week before the meeting, hearing, or intended action; (ii) publication required two consecutive weeks before the meeting, hearing, or intended action; and (iii) publication required three consecutive weeks before the meeting, hearing, or intended action. In addition, the bill amends provisions related to the content of notices for zoning ordinances and amendments to such ordinances by removing the requirement that such notices contain a descriptive summary of the proposed action and providing that such notices shall include the street address or tax map parcel number of the parcels subject to the action. In cases where the intended action affects more than 25 parcels, the notice must also include the approximate acreage subject to the intended action. The bill also removes the requirement that notices of proposed amendments to a zoning map state the general usage and density range of the proposed amendment and the general usage density set forth in the applicable part of the comprehensive plan. The bill directs the Virginia Code Commission to convene a work group to continue review of the notice requirements throughout the Code of Virginia and requires the Virginia Code Commission to submit a report to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology summarizing the work and any recommendations of the work group by November 30, 2023.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Bills reported out of Counties, Cities and Towns
HB1473 (Fowler) Land use plans; zoning, notice. Similar to HB2161 above.
HB1482 (Ward) Vacant building; registration. HB1612 (Williams Graves) bill regarding vacant buildings and registration was rolled into Delegate Ward’s bill. While the new language has not been posted, the intent is to allow a locality to require owners of buildings vacant for 12 month or more and may endanger the public health, safety, or welfare to register such buildings.
HB1944 (Hodges) Solar photovoltaic projects; extension of land use approvals, extends sunset provision. Provides that any special exception or similar permit for a solar project outstanding as of July 1, 2023 – that has a deadline in the exception permit or in the local zoning ordinance that requires commencement of the project within a certain time – it MAY be extended by a resolution of the governing body until July 1, 2026, or a longer period if agreed upon by the locality.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Bills passed out of Senate General Laws
SB1263 (Hackworth) Uniform Statewide Building Code; stop work orders, appeals. Defines a “stop work order” and states that if there is an appeal of a stop work order and the locality loses the locality could be assessed attorney’s fees and costs.
SB1305 (Hanger) Farm buildings and structures; building code exemptions. Amends the building code exemptions to include “any farm building or structure (i) where the public is invited to enter for an agritourism activity, as that term is defined in 3.2-6400, for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes and (ii) which is used for display, sampling, or sale of agricultural, horticultural, floricultural, or silvicultural products produced on the farm….”  The exemption outlines minimal safety regulations to be required.
SB1351 (Marsden) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; electronic meetings, local and regional public bodies. This amends the electronic meeting policy for local or regional public bodies to allow 50 percent of their meetings to be held virtually rather than the 2 times or 25 percent which is current code. It still does not include local governing bodies, local school boards, planning commissions, architectural review boards, zoning appeals boards and boards with authority to deny, revoke, or suspend a professional or occupational license.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Human Services
Auxiliary grant bills conformed and moving forward
HB1906 (Hope) and SB1269 (Edwards) started out as identical bills to expand the Auxiliary Grant program to include individuals in independent living situations. Both bills were amended and appear to be identical with substitute language. VML supports the substitute bills.
SB1269 was reported from committee and is on the Senate floor; HB1906 was recommended for reporting by a Health, Welfare, and Institutions subcommittee on Thursday and will be before the full committee on Jan. 31.
The substitute adds an enactment clause requiring the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) to develop an implementation plan for expanding the program to add independent living situations, including the services that recipients may need;Â identification of potential recipients; and whether the current AG program levels are sufficient when considering state and local components of the program (local governments pay a 20 percent match on each grant). The report would be due to General Assembly committees by Nov. 1, 2023.
Also added was a re-enactment clause, meaning the bill would need to be approved by the 2024 General Assembly in order to go into effect.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Jail compensation bill progresses
SB966 (Peake) was reported by Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services earlier today and referred to Senate Finance and Appropriations, as has been the case for a number of years. The legislation would direct the Department of Corrections to pay local/regional jails the actual cost of incarceration for any state-responsible inmate (estimated at $107 a day) who remains in the jail after the date they should be picked up by the state. VML supports the bill.
The Code of Virginia sets the timeline for DOC to pick up a state-responsible inmate from a jail. However, language in the Appropriations Act allows DOC to decide when it will pick up a prisoner. This has led to an often tardy response by DOC and resulting substantial overcrowding in some local and regional jails. The state has been more responsive during this fiscal year, but that is very unusual behavior, and no one knows how long this responsiveness will last. This bill would create a fiscal disincentive for the state to keep its inmates in local jails after the pick up date.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
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Education
The week in education legislation
Different outcomes for education voucher bills
As previously reported, the 2023 General Assembly has several variations of legislation creating an Education Savings Account Program. This program would allow per pupil state funds for public schools to follow an individual student for non-public school uses (i.e., private school tuition, uniforms, etc.). All these Education Savings Program bills were heard in committee this week. Here are the outcomes:
- HB1508 (Davis): Reported 10-9
- HB1396 (March): Passed by indefinitely
- HB1371 (Scott): Go by for week
- SB823 (Chase): Passed by indefinitely
- SB1191 (Reeves): Passed by indefinitely
- SB1290 (DeSteph): Passed by indefinitely
Local option Sales and Use Tax for school construction tabled
Early today, a House Finance Subcommittee tabled HB2316 (Bourne), which would allow for statewide authority to impose a one percent local option sales tax for school construction purposes. The bill was tabled without any public comment allowed.
One of VML’s legislative priorities for this session is to support the statewide authority for cities and counties to impose a one percent sales tax (if approved by referendum) to be used solely for school construction needs.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Public Safety
Sovereign immunity for cities and towns under threat
SB1379 (Deeds) would end sovereign immunity for medical providers, including doctors, nurses, therapists, dentists, physical therapists, psychologists, clinical social workers, and others who provide medical services to inmates they treat. The bill was filed in response to a Virginia Supreme Court opinion that relied on sovereign immunity to stop an inmate’s malpractice suit against a doctor employed by the city to care for inmates. The bill is in the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee but may be moved to the Judiciary Committee.
VML has two concerns with SB1379:
- This would be the first of a thousand cuts that kills sovereign immunity. If that immunity disappears and city employees are faced with being personal defendants in lawsuits, it will become difficult to hire workers and will cause the cost of operating to dramatically increase.
- The bill may mean that any city, town or county nurse or ambulance crews that respond to a call at a local or regional jail could be subject to litigation over the inmate’s care. This will increase insurance costs and will discourage potential employees from taking EMS jobs.
We urge any local government officials or staff who share our concerns with this bill contact their Senator to oppose it.
Contact: Mark Flynn, markkflynn@gmail.com
Environment
Natural resources and energy bills of note for localities
Bills still in play
SB849 (Chase) Public utilities; customer consent to install smart meter. Prohibits a public utility from installing smart meters for water, gas, or electricity without customer consent. For any smart meters installed before July 1, 2023, the utility must get retroactive consent. If the customer declines consent, then the utility must remove the smart meter at no cost to the customer. A “smart meter” is defined as being interconnected with the utility via the internet, telephone connection, or radio frequency.
SB1013 (Edwards) Waterworks; contaminants; PFAS chemicals; notification to customers. Requires a public waterworks owner to notify customers via mailings and newspaper publication when a water quality analysis reveals that PFAS chemicals are present in a water supply or when a PFAS contaminant exceeds maximum contaminant levels.
SB1129 (Hanger) / HB1485 (Webert) Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan; effective date. Extend the date of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2030. The bills also allow a combination of point and nonpoint pollution reductions other than agricultural BMPs when determining when Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan commitments have been met. The Senate has not acted on SB1129. HB1485 Passed the House 52-47
HB1634 (Bulova) Comprehensive plan; strategies to address resilience. Requires a locality’s comprehensive plan to include strategies to address “resilience,” including anticipating, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from “multi-hazard threats” to a locality’s social well-being, health, economy, and environment.
HB2189 (Rasoul) Requirements to test for PFAS; publicly owned treatment works; discharges into state waters. Requires industrial users of publicly owned treatment works who clean, repair, refurbish, or process items that contain PFAS to test waste streams for PFAS before and after undertaking their work. The bill also requires prompt testing for PFAS after discharging certain toxic agents or materials.
SB1447 (Edwards) Disconnection suspensions for certain utilities; residential customers; report. Suspends electric, gas, water, or wastewater utilities from disconnecting residential customers for nonpayment of bills or fees during a state of emergency for 30 days after the emergency has been declared. This applies to utilities subject to regulation by the State Corporation Commission and to utilities owned and operated by a municipality. Other provisions are included regarding when disconnections are suspended.
HB2310 (Williams) Study; DHCD; opportunities for rural areas of the Commonwealth to upgrade their public water and sewer systems; report. Requests the Department of Housing and Community Development to conduct a study of opportunities for rural water systems to upgrade public water and sewer systems, with technical assistance provided by the Virginia Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Quality.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Transportation
Transportation legislation affecting localities
Bills still in motion
SB979 (Marsden) Towing trespassing vehicles; limitations on fees. Pre-empts local authority to set towing fees at a rate other than the state maximum rate.
SB1326 (McClellan) Transit Ridership Incentive Program; funds; improving accessibility; transition to zero-emissions. Directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board to increase flexibility for transit systems seeking to use the Transit Ridership Incentive Program by increasing the amount of funding available under this program for capital improvements for passenger facilities like bus shelters and for systems transitioning to a zero emissions fleet and related capital costs. SB1326 was reported from Senate Transportation Committee by a vote of 8-5, referred to Senate Finance and Appropriations.
SB847 (Favola) Pedestrian control signals; applicability to persons riding bicycles and other devices. Authorizes cyclists to proceed with pedestrian signals at stop lights. SB 847 was reported from Senate Transportation Committee by a vote of 10-5, referred to Senate Finance and Appropriations.
HB2104 (Bourne) School crossing zones. Authorizes any locality to place a school crossing sign in a school zone, increases the default boundary of a school zone from 600 feet to 750 feet, and authorizes localities in Planning District 8 to reduce the speed limit in school zones below 25 mph without first conducting a traffic engineering study. HB2104 passed the House of Delegates on a vote of 99-1 and was referred to Senate Committee on Transportation.
In its current form, HB2104 allows localities to expand the size of a school zone up to 750 feet from 600 feet currently. The amendments accepted in subcommittee eliminated the provisions of the bill that would have expanded local authority to reduce speed limits in school zones to all localities and provisions that would have allowed all localities, irrespective of whether the locality maintains their roads or not, to post “school crossing” or “school” signs.
SB868 (Cosgrove) Passing stopped school buses; civil penalty. Reduces the penalty for violations involving passing a school bus when the stop arm is activated.
A committee substitute eliminates the introduced bill’s reduction of fines for passing a school bus when the stop arm is activated and maintains the current fine of $250. The bill clarifies an infraction is a civil penalty and does not count as a conviction that appears on the vehicle operator’s record and shall no such conviction shall be used for insurance purposes and expands the number of days from 10 to 30 days that a summons must be issued for a violation of this code section.
SB868 passed the Senate on a 39-0 vote.
SB1106 (Newman) / HB2302 (Adams, L.R.) similar to budget language in the Governor’s introduced budget (Item 452 subsections L-R). Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund. Requires the Governor to include an appropriation of up to $200 million with no more than $100 million each year for the Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund. These funds would be available for transportation improvements associated with economic development projects identified by the Governor and distributed by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. This funding would be an off the top distribution from transportation revenues and reduce total transportation funding by $100 million each year for a reduction of at least $600 million over the six-year transportation improvement program.
SB1106 was amended in Senate Committee on Transportation to remove elements that would have impacted transportation funds leaving. As amended the bill expands the types of economic development projects that can receive funding and eliminates existing statutory limits on the amount of funds that can be used to support a project when recommended by the Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Commerce and Trade and approved by the Governor.
Reported on a 14-0 vote and referred to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Marijuana
Legislation for retail marijuana on the move this week
There are three bills introduced in the General Assembly to legalize the recreational sale of marijuana and marijuana products either through the creation of a regulated retail market or through existing medical dispensaries selling direct to the public without a recommendation from a prescriber.
One of these bills saw action this week.
SB1133 (Ebbin) Cannabis control; retail market; transitional sales; regulated hemp products; penalties. Establishes a framework for recreational sales to take place and for relevant state agencies and departments to promulgate the necessary regulations for the establishment of a market in the next two years and in the intervening period of time allow existing medical marijuana retailers starting July 1, 2023 to sell marijuana and marijuana products to persons 21 years and older without a prescription as is currently required. Includes local authority to hold a referendum on whether or not recreational sales will be allowed in a locality, provides local authority to levy a 3% tax on recreational sales by ordinance, does not include local zoning authority.
This week, SB1133 was reported from the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services on a vote of 9-6. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
