Bill to Preempt Local Authority to Regulate Short-Term Rentals Passes
By a vote of 52 to 38, the House of Delegates passed SB 544 (Bagby). The legislation prohibits a locality from adopting a local ordinance that requires a special exception, special use, or conditional use permit be obtained for the use of a residential dwelling as a short-term rental where the dwelling unit is also […]
Information Technology Access Act Bill Carried Over and Sent for Study
HB 1355 (Tran) would have made numerous organizational changes to the Information Technology Access Act. The bill defines “information and communications technology” as it relates to digital accessibility, defined in the bill, for all persons with disabilities. The bill permits the head of each covered entity, defined in the bill, to designate an employee to […]
Bills of Note Dealing with Transparency, Freedom of Information, and Public Notice Advance through Process
Transparency and Public Notice HB 69 (Bulova) requires the local governing body or elected school board making an interim appointment to fill a vacancy in the membership of such body or board to hold a public meeting at least seven days prior to making such appointment. The bill specifies that at such meeting, the body […]
Finance Legislation Roundup
Meals taxes: Bills introduced in response to issues with meals tax collection in the City of Richmond were passed by indefinitely in Senate Finance and Appropriations on February 27. HB 1483 (McQuinn), as initially introduced, applied to all localities and contained provisions that would have hampered local tax collections, but as amended prior to crossover, […]
Update on Elections Legislation
Ranked choice voting: The two remaining bills dealing with ranked-choice voting were heard in the House after crossover. SB 270 (Subramanyam), which would have allowed for presidential primaries to be conducted via ranked-choice voting, at the option of the political party, subject to a feasibility determination by the state, was continued to 2025 in House […]
Bill Preempting Local Authority on Siting Solar and Battery Storage Facilities Fails
In light of strong opposition from Virginia counties, a subcommittee of House Counties, Cities and Towns voted to carry over to the 2025 legislation session, SB 697 (VanValkenburg). At the request of the chair of the full committee, the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation will review the bill. The legislation mandates that any local ordinance […]
School Construction Financing Bills Fly through Senate and House
SB 14 (McPike) and HB 805 (Rasoul) have passed their respective houses after crossover, and will soon advance to Governor Youngkin. On February 26, the House passed SB 14 (McPike) on a 68-28 vote, and on February 23, the Senate passed with a substitute, HB 805 (Rasoul), on a vote of 27-12. As previously reported, […]
Capitol Contact ALERT! Call Now to Oppose Bill to Preempt Local Authority to Regulate Short-Term Rentals
Bill to be Heard on the House Floor this Week – Call Your Delegates Now to Oppose SB 544 (Bagby) prohibits a locality from adopting a local ordinance that requires a special exception, special use, or conditional use permit be obtained for the use of a residential dwelling as a short-term rental where the dwelling […]
VACo Analysis of House and Senate Budget Proposals
The fourth bullet in the Tax Policy section was revised on March 2, 2024. On Thursday, February 22, the full House and Senate passed their respective budgets, marking another milestone in the process of adopting a new biennium budget and revisions to the FY 2024 budget. The House voted to approve its version of the […]
Visit Lee County and the Lee County Historic Courthouse
Location: 5 Main Street / Church StreetBuilt: 1933 – 1934Style: Neo-ClassicalArchitect: D R BeesonContractor: V L Nicholson & Company of Tennessee Description: The building faces north and is a two story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Jonesville. The north front has a portico […]
School Construction Financing Bills Advance Through Committees, Headed Back to Senate and House Floors!
On Wednesday, February 21, the House Finance Committee reported with a substitute SB 14 (McPike) on a bipartisan vote of 13-8. As previously reported, this bill 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 the local governing […]
Local Speed Limits Authority Bill Gets Green Light
HB 1071 (Carr) seeks to achieve a long sought-after transportation safety policy goal of Virginia localities. This bill would allow the governing body of any locality to reduce to less than 25 miles per hour, but not less than 15 miles per hour, the speed limit of highways that are part of the state highway system. The bill further […]
“Money Committees” Report Budgets
The House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee advanced their respective versions of the caboose and biennial budgets on February 18. In keeping with “Budget Sunday” tradition, subcommittee chairs presented key elements of each committee’s proposal prior to the full committee voting to report its budget revisions to the full House or Senate. […]
Photo Speed Enforcement Bill Amended
SB 336 (Roem) as introduced, would permit a state or local law enforcement agency to place and operate a photo speed monitoring device at a “high-risk intersection,” as defined in the bill, located within the locality. Before operation of the photo speed camera, the state or local law enforcement agency must certify that a traffic […]
Teacher Compensation Bills Advance with Differing Language
Dueling bills that would impact Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions are making their way through the General Assembly. HB 187 (Clark) and SB 104 (Lucas) as originally written both sought to codify a requirement that public school teachers be compensated at a minimum of, at, or above the national average teacher salary. In […]
VACo Seeks Input for Water Withdrawal Permitting Prioritization Bill
SB 673 (Stuart) directs the Department of Environmental Quality and the State Water Control Board to prioritize the preservation of water for human consumption and food production in all permitting and regulatory processes related to groundwater and surface water resources. VACo seeks member input on how, if adopted, SB 673 would impact your locality. VACo […]