The following are bills that VACo has been monitoring, as they will affect local government operations fiscally or operationally.
Eminent Domain Bills
Eminent domain; condemnation proceedings. SB 1158 (Obenshain) adds additional responsibilities to parties who condemn property, primarily relating to procedures in condemnation and the transfer of a defeasible title by certificate. The bill sets forth a definition of reasonable costs of discovery in condemnation proceedings and provides that when a condemnor initiates discovery in a condemnation proceeding, such condemnor shall pay all reasonable costs of such discovery. The bill also specifies that, in a condemnation proceeding, a certificate transferring a defeasible title shall include information describing the property and any rights to the property being taken or damaged. The bill repeals the requirement that the court refer a matter initiating a condemnation proceeding to a dispute resolution orientation. This bill will increase the costs of exercising eminent domain. The bill has passed the Senate 40-0 and is headed to the House.
Eminent domain, compensation to the Commonwealth and localities. SB 1435 (Russet Perry) requires a party that takes by condemnation proceedings any land or right-of-way or similar interest therein that is subject to a conservation easement, to compensate (i) the Commonwealth in an amount equal to the value of any tax credit received by the landowner under the provisions of the Virginia Land Conservation Incentives Act of 1999 during the pendency of the conservation easement and (ii) the locality in which the right-of-way is located (a) in an amount of any property tax avoided by the landowner during the pendency of the conservation easement and (b) if the right-of-way is located on property that is registered with the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, in an amount equal to the additional value conferred upon the property during the period that property was registered. This bill seeks to compensate government entities for tax credits in a condemnation proceeding. The bill has passed the Senate and is headed to the House.
Eminent domain; documents provided to landowner. HB 1690 (Convirs-Fowler) provides that a report showing all matters that affect the current ownership, existing liens, encumbrances, and other matters affecting title as of the date of the title report shall be provided by the condemnor to a landowner in a condemnation action. This bill was introduced to try to ease the administrative burden on localities. This bill has passed the House and is headed to the Senate.
Liability Bills Move Ahead
Civil actions; liability of employer or principal for criminal sexual assault by employee or agent. HB 1730 (Delaney) / SB 894 (Russet Perry), as amended, provide that in an action for injury to a vulnerable person as defined by the bill committed by an employee or agent, such act shall be deemed to have occurred within the course and scope of his employment or agency. The bills provides that the injured person has a cause of action against the employer for the action of the employee. This bill is an expansion of liability for all Virginia Employers . The bill is moving through the House and The Senate version has passed.
Workers’ compensation; injury or death caused by employer’s gross negligence or willful misconduct; cause of action. SB 1299 (McPike) creates an exception to the provision in existing law that the rights and remedies granted to an employee under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act exclude all other rights or remedies of such employee on account of such injury, loss of service, or death. The bill provides a new cause of action in cases where it is alleged that the injury or death of an employee is caused by an employer’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. In such cases, the employee may either claim compensation under the Act or maintain an action at law for damages against the employer. This bill will increase liability for employers and has passed the Senate on a party line vote.
Employment
Labor and employment provisions; application of law; payment of wages; definition of employer. HB 2098 (Maldonado) clarifies that the exemption for the Commonwealth or any of its agencies, institutions, or political subdivisions, or any public body under Title 40.1 does not apply when expressly provided otherwise. The bill extends certain health and safety regulations and requirements for the payment of wages to all agencies, institutions, and localities within the Commonwealth. Currently, only private employers are covered. This bill has been passed by the House.
Military leaves of absence for employees of the Commonwealth or political subdivisions; law-enforcement officers. HB 1602 (Thomas) provides that any person who is employed by the Commonwealth or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth as a law-enforcement officer shall receive paid leaves of absence for up to 388 work hours for which a leave of absence is required, during which such person is engaged in federally funded military duty, to include training duty, or is called forth by the Governor for military duty. This bill will increase costs for many localities. This bill passed the House and is in the Senate.
VACo Contacts: Phyllis Errico, Esq., CAE and Jeremy R. Bennett