Author: Gage Harter

Oppose Unfunded Mandate that Requires Locality to Supplement Public Defender Salaries

SB 282 (Ebbin) and HB 862 (Lopez) mandate local governments to supplement public defenders’ salaries if they supplement the salaries of Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices. Similar to legislation that failed in 2020, VACo opposes these bills that require that the governing body of any County or City that supplements the compensation of the Attorney for the […]

VACo Speaks in Favor of Bill Increasing Eligibility for Local Use of State Broadband Funds

On January 24, HB 249 (Davis) was heard in the House Communications, Technology, and Innovation Committee. As previously reported, this bill expands the eligibility criteria for counties applying for Virginia Telecommunications Initiative grant (VATI) funds. Specifically, the bill directs the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to align the eligibility criteria with the same […]

School Security Officer Veterans and Scope of Employment Bill Passes House

On January 25, the House of Delegates voted on party lines, 52-46, to pass HB 8 (Anderson). This bill would allow school security officers to be responsible for any duty assigned by the local school board, in addition to current enumerated duties, but excluding enforcement of discipline reserved solely and exclusively to school administrators. Additionally, […]

Elections Bills Roundup

The House Privileges and Elections Committee began to hear legislation for the 2022 session on January 21, and reported several bills of interest to local government. HB 76 (Ware) requires the General Assembly to reimburse local governments for the cost of absentee voting in accordance with a plan to be established in the Appropriation Act. […]

School Bus Seatbelt Bill Tabled

On January 25, by a unanimous vote of 8-0, the House Education Committee’s K-12 Subcommittee voted to table HB 313 (Krizek). This seemingly perennial bill would have mandated that new school buses purchased by school divisions be equipped with lap and shoulder strap seatbelts and that all school buses be equipped with such devices by […]

Budget Amendments Introduced to Address County Priorities

As in past years, VACo worked with members of the General Assembly to introduce a package of budget amendments that address top county priorities.  Budget amendments were required to be submitted by Friday, January 14; Senate member amendments were made available on Wednesday, January 19, and House member amendments were made available on Thursday, January […]

Friends and colleagues remember Jay Stegmaier

VACo remembers Jay Stegmaier as a kind and inspirational leader. Jay was always eager to teach many of our educational sessions, especially those that focused on finance and leadership. He was a friend to many VACo members and will be dearly missed. Chesterfield County posted the message below on its Facebook page. Chesterfield mourns the […]

INTRODUCING A NEW PREMIER PARTNER – Blue Line Solutions

Blue Line Solutions’ TrueBlue Highway Safety Program in School Zones and Construction Zones is not about revenue generation. Their photo speed enforcement public safety program is a data driven, solutions approach that includes public information and education throughout the life of the program and a 30-day initial warning period in new programs before citations are issued. This short […]

Visit Smyth County and the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail

Located in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail is a 68-mile trail between Elk Garden and VA Rt. 94. It features mountainous terrain, valley views and valley crossings. The trail includes parking and primitive camping for those who trailer horses. SOURCE: VisitSmythCountyVa.com

INTRODUCING A NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBER – AIA Virginia

AIA Virginia Hosts First Community Dinner Since Pandemic On September 29th, AIA Virginia held its “Blueprint for Better Communities” Dinner in Norfolk. Created in 2019, this initiative is centered on a simple concept of bringing together architects and community influencers over a private dinner to discuss how we can work together to pursue the city’s […]

cashVest – Year in Review: 2021

  By Joe Rulison | Jan 11, 2022 It is our pleasure to share with you all of the topics we covered in 2021 with our partners across the country. The links below highlight the great work of our clients across the nation who contend with the same challenges that you do everyday. We had […]

Bills would impose restrictions on local budget process

HB 1010 (Durant) and SB 620 (Cosgrove) would impose new restrictions on the local budget process by requiring a referendum if growth in real estate assessments would generate more than 101 percent of the previous year’s collections and the locality did not reduce the tax rate accordingly.  VACo is opposed to this legislation. Under current […]

School Construction Local Authority Financing Bill Advances

On January 19, by a vote of 14-2, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted to report SB 472 (McClellan). VACo spoke in strong support of the measure, which would permit any county or city to impose an additional local sales and use tax of up to 1 percent, if initiated by a resolution of […]

VACo Supports Helpful Public Notice Bill in Committee Tomorrow at 9am

VACo supports HB 167 (Ransone), which provides that in any instance in which a locality has submitted a correct and timely notice of public hearing to a newspaper published or having general circulation in the locality and the newspaper fails to publish the notice or publishes it incorrectly, such locality shall be deemed to have […]

Bill Proposes Elimination of BPOL

HB 380 (Freitas) would prohibit any county, city, or town from imposing any license tax or fee in any taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2023, with the exception of coal and gas severance taxes that are levied as license taxes.  VACo is opposed to the elimination of this local revenue source, which […]