Legislative Bulletin March 31, 2023
Friday, March 31, 2023 - 04:21pm
Governor Youngkin proposes amendments and vetoes
Early this week Governor Glenn Youngkin released his proposed amendments and vetoes in line with the deadline imposed by the General Assembly. The governor proposed amendments and re-writes to more than 75 bills, including the so-called “skinny budget” approved by the General Assembly in the closing hours of the 2023 Session.
Below are summaries of bills of interest to local government amended or vetoed by the governor. The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday, April 12, to review the governor’s proposed actions.
In this issue:
- Amendment: Localities; authorized to create business improvement and recruitment districts.
- Amendment: Economic development; Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Fund and Program.
- Amendments: Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority; eligible site for site development grant.
- Amendment: Board of Education; standards for the maintenance and operations, renovation, and new construction of public elementary and secondary school buildings.
- Amendment: Public elementary and secondary schools; automated external defibrillators required.
- Amendment: Provisional teacher licensure; permissive extension; satisfactory performance evaluations during years of actual employment.
- Amendments: Provisional licenses for providers of behavioral health and developmental services; notice requirement; waiver of appeal right by consent agreement.
- Amendment: Amend and reenact §§ 37.2-203, 37.2-508, and 37.2-608 of the Code of Virginia, relating to performance contracts for community services boards and behavioral health authorities.
- Amendments: Transit Ridership Improvement Program.
- Amendment: Bridges; state of good repair, allocation of funds.
- Veto: Vehicle noise; Department of Transportation shall convene work group to examine issue.
Budget
Amendments: Will the skinny budget gain weight?
At the end of the 2023 Session, the General Assembly passed and sent to the Governor HB1400 (Knight), commonly referred to around Capital Square as a skinny budget because it only included four amendments. The four-page Conference Report included technical adjustments to education funding and fixed the calculation error made to basic aid by the Department of Education last June.
Earlier this week, the Governor proposed four additional amendments to the skinny budget, one which is technical and three that are substantive.
The first amendment makes technical changes by updating estimated general fund revenue collections by $1.4 billion in FY 2023 and $429 million in FY 2024. The changes are based on the passage of federal conformity legislation and adjustments to the balances sheet including required deposits and planned appropriation of contingent amounts from prior year revenue collections including the Revenue Stabilization Fund Deposit, Virginia Retirement System Deposit, and the 2022 Capital Supplement Pool.
The second amendment proposes $15.3 million from the general fund for the anticipated cost of providing mandated cash assistance to Unemployed Parents in the TANF UP Program; the request is slightly less than the Governor proposed in December. According to the Department of Social Services (DSS), monthly caseloads have nearly tripled in the program — from 721 in March 2020 to 2,130 in December 2022. While the Commissioner of DSS speculated that “Increases were driven by impacts of the pandemic, the waiver of work and education requirements, and allowing hardship extensions of time limits”, rising caseloads may also be reflective of a slowing economy.
The third amendment repurposes $38.1 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that was originally appropriated for rate increases to certain Medicaid waiver service providers last session. Instead, the amendment proposes to use funding to assist the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) and Department of Social Services (DSS) with the cost of redetermining eligibility for individuals enrolled in the current Medicaid program. The proposal requests a) $28.1 million to DMAS (up from $20.0 million proposed in the Governor’s Introduced Budget) to procure a one-time vendor to assist in the redetermination of Medicaid enrollees following the end of the federal continuous coverage requirement, and b) $10.0 million to DSS for one-time costs to support local departments of social services staff with the redetermination and appeals process.
The final amendment provides authority for the Department of Planning and Budget to approve a short-term, interest-free, treasury loan to Jefferson Lab for the construction of a high-performance data facility contingent upon the Governor certifying that the U.S. Department of Energy has approved the project. Repayment of the treasury loan will be determined by the Governor and General Assembly at a future date. This proposal is identical to an amendment included within the current House budget.
VML Contact: Joe Flores, jflores@vml.org
General Laws
Amendment: Localities; authorized to create business improvement and recruitment districts.
SB956 (Ruff) provides a tool to localities to create a local business improvement and recruitment district plan in which businesses pay a fee which is used to fund business improvements, promotions, and recruitment.
What does the amendment propose?
The governor’s proposed amendment clarifies that this bill applies to localities with a Main Street District and defines such as a physical setting that includes a commercial area focusing on economic development through locally owned businesses and structures that would benefit from rehabilitation.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Amendment: Economic development; Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Fund and Program.
HB1842 (Knight) creates the Virginia Business Ready Sites Acquisition Program for the purposes of (i) acquiring sites for the purpose of creating and maintaining a portfolio of project-ready sites to promote economic development in the Commonwealth, (ii) developing such sites to increase their marketability for large scale economic development projects or (iii) entering into development agreements with private employers for large-scale economic development projects. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority shall administer the Program, in consultation with the Department of General Services.
What does the amendment propose?
The Governors proposed recommendation changes the size of an eligible site to 500 acres and allows for the Commonwealth to purchase a site after giving notice to the locality and allowing them 14 days to purchase or obtain an option.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Amendments: Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority; eligible site for site development grant.
SB1308 (Deeds) and HB2332 (Campbell) reduces the acreage from 100 to 50 as the minimum contiguous acreage for a non-brownfield site to satisfy the acreage requirement in a site development grant from Virginia Business Ready Sites Program Fund by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority.
What do the amendments propose?
The Governor’s proposed recommendations are to restore the 100-acreage requirement and restores language dealing with criteria for eligible sites.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Education
Amendment: Board of Education; standards for the maintenance and operations, renovation, and new construction of public elementary and secondary school buildings.
SB1124 (Stanley) requires the Virginia Board of Education to make recommendations to the General Assembly by Dec. 1, 2023, for amendments to the Standards of Quality (SOQ) establishing minimum standards for maintenance, operations, renovations, and new construction in public schools. The bill also requires the Board to solicit the input of relevant stakeholders and the public in developing such recommendations. The bill was a recommendation of the School Construction and Modernization Commission.
What does the amendment propose?
The Governor’s amendment would extend the Board of Education’s deadline for another six months, to July 2024. In doing so, the Board would be given more time to determine the maintenance standards to prevent adding to the current $26 billion problem.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Amendment: Public elementary and secondary schools; automated external defibrillators required.
SB1453 (McPike) changes from an option to a requirement that each local school board develop a plan for the placement, care, use, and training, of an automated external defibrillator (AED) in every public school building.
What does the amendment propose?
The Governor’s amendment would require the Department of Education to compile and make available on its website a full list of available programs, grants, or funding sources to pay for defibrillators.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Amendment: Provisional teacher licensure; permissive extension; satisfactory performance evaluations during years of actual employment.
HB2375 (Sewell) requires the Board of Education to extend for at least one additional year, but for no more than two additional years, the three-year provisional license of a teacher upon receiving from the division superintendent (i) a recommendation for such extension and (ii) satisfactory performance evaluations for such teacher for each year during the original three-year provisional license that such teacher was actually employed. Current law requires satisfactory performance evaluations for such teachers for each year of the original three-year provisional license in order to be eligible for such an extension.
What does the amendment propose?
The Governor’s proposed amendment would add to the wording of the criteria that a filed performance evaluation received each year be a factor in granting a provisional license extension.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
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Health and Human Services
Amendments: Provisional licenses for providers of behavioral health and developmental services; notice requirement; waiver of appeal right by consent agreement.
HB1900 (Hope) requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to direct any provider who is issued a provisional license to review all pertinent state and federal regulations and other contractual requirements, etc., to determine any possible limitations on them imposed by any state agency, including restrictions on reimbursement imposed by the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). Requires that a consent agreement signed by such provider waiving his right to appeal a provisional license issuance decision shall direct the provider to review all the pertinent state and federal regulations, etc., to determine any restrictions on reimbursement that may be imposed by state agencies or payor sources and that a copy of the signed consent agreement be provided to DMAS. Also requires DBHDS and DMAS to develop a joint agency protocol requiring DMAS to collaborate and consult with DBHDS prior to imposing limitations on a provider that could lead to reimbursement restrictions.
What do the amendments propose?
The Governor’s proposed amendments remove the language that states that to ensure that providers are properly notified, DBDHS and DMAS must develop a joint agency protocol requiring DMAS to collaborate and consult with DBDHS prior to imposing limitations on a provider that could lead to restrictions on reimbursement.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Amendment: Amend and reenact §§ 37.2-203, 37.2-508, and 37.2-608 of the Code of Virginia, relating to performance contracts for community services boards and behavioral health authorities.
HB2185 (Rasoul) and SB1169 (Hanger) are identical bills that modify and reorganize provisions related to the requirements of performance contracts entered into by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) with community services boards (CSBs) and behavioral health authorities (BHAs). Provisions of these bills were recommendations of the Behavioral Health Commission and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
What does the amendment propose?
The Governor’s proposed amendment would change the effective date of the most critical portion of the legislation from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2024. The Department of Planning and Budget impact statement from the 2023 Session states that “Modern data exchanges between DBHDS and the CSBs will be required for DBHDS to provide greater oversight and enforce more meaningful accountability of the performance contract,” and that DBHDS “projects it will be at least 18 months until a new data platform and reports are finalized.” DPB also notes that the level of accountability would require three additional full-time equivalents (FTEs) to monitor and work with CSBs regarding the new requirements; it is unclear if funding is included for these positions in FY24.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Marijuana
Amendments: Industrial hemp product regulations licensing, regulation, and penalties for the production and sale of hemp products.
HB2294 (Kilgore) and SB903 (Hanger) establish new definitions for what classifies as a “hemp product” as well as a “hemp product intended for smoking”, create new limits on the amount of THC products sold in Virginia can contain, and establish new regulations, licensing, and penalties for the sale of “regulated hemp products” under the purview of the Virginia Commissioner and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS).
What do the amendments propose?
The governor’s amendments require every retailer that sells a regulated hemp product to register with VDACS, pay an annual fee of $1,000, establishes standards for the packaging and labeling required of registered hemp products for sale which includes child-resistant packaging, a list of ingredients, and a certificate of analysis of intoxicating ingredients. Furthermore, the amendments prohibit any products sold from being in the shape of a “human, animal, vehicle, or fruit” or in any packaging that is trademarked under federal law or using a likeness to existing trademarked products. Licensed retailers and regulated hemp products sold are also subject to inspection and testing by VDACs during business hours. Violations of these regulations are subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day a violation occurs. Exempted from these regulations and licensing requirements are topical hemp products that are labelled to indicate they are not intended for human consumption, products approved by the Food and Drug Administration, or products sold by a medical marijuana dispensary licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Transportation
Amendments: Transit Ridership Improvement Program.
HB2338 (McQuinn) and SB1326 (McClellan) expand the types of uses for TRIP funds by allowing up to 30% of funds to allow local, regional or state entities to improve transit accessibility for passenger facilities. The program was established in 2020 to promote improved transit service in jurisdictions with a population greater than 100,000 and to reduce barriers to transit use for low-income people. Currently these funds can be directed to “routes of regional significance” with 25% of TRIP funds directed towards reducing the impacts of fares on low-income individuals to include fare reduction or elimination programs and another 25% to support regional transit initiatives.
What do the amendments propose?
The governor’s proposed amendments include expenses for “crime prevention and public safety for transit passengers, operators, and employees” as eligible under the TRIP program. They also propose to eliminate costs for transitioning transit fleets to a zero-emission fleet from the program (Note – these costs were included in the bill that passed the House and Senate). In the governor’s explanation of his amendments, he states that allowing TRIP funds to be spent on zero emission fleet transition costs are unnecessary as they are duplicative of existing programs.
If the Governor’s recommendations are adopted, TRIP funds will be eligible to fund improvements that increase accessibility of transit bus facilities and increase the safety of transit riders and employees. This will allow for greater flexibility for TRIP funds and provide a needed funding source for transit capital improvements such as bus shelters, lighting, and other amenities and safety improvements as deemed appropriate by the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Amendment: Bridges; state of good repair, allocation of funds.
SB1035 (McPike) expands the criteria for a bridge to be eligible for state of good repair funds so long as a major component receives a poor general condition rating. This will allow for improvements to bridges to extend their service life. The bill also changes the funding distribution to a needs-based distribution among highway construction districts from the current needs-based distribution with percentage limits for each transportation district.
What does the amendment propose?
The governor’s amendment restores the minimum funding level for the formula of distribution which will ensure that each construction district receives no less than 5.5% of the total funding allocated in any given year.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Veto: Vehicle noise; Department of Transportation shall convene work group to examine issue.
SB 1085 (Ebbin) would have directed the State Police to convene a work group of specific stakeholders to examine the issue of vehicle noise in the Commonwealth.
Why did the governor veto the legislation?
In vetoing SB1085 the governor explained that it is unnecessary given bipartisan legislation signed in 2022 making exhaust systems not in good working order a primary offense.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
