HomeMy WebLinkAboutGeneral Assembly Update Council Presentation 1.16.24Brent McKenzie, Legislative Affairs Liaison
January 16, 2024
General Assembly Legislative Update
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2024 General Assembly Update
Today’s update:
•Key dates and organizing information
•Status of Legislative Agenda items
•Legislation of interest
•Bill position requests
Goal of today’s presentation is to provide an update on the General
Assembly session and to ascertain the Council’s position on key bills
coming up for a vote.
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2024 General Assembly
•2024 is a 60-day “long ” session; (46 days in odd-numbered years)
•Filing deadline for legislation is January 19th at 3:00pm
•~ 1,400 in House | ~ 700 in Senate
•Local Government Day, February 1st
•Crossover; February 14th
•Chamber of origin to complete work on its Budget;February 22nd
•Sine die; Saturday March 9th
•Reconvene Session; Wednesday April 17th
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Committee Assignments
•Delegate Alex Askew
o Appropriations,Counties, Cities and Towns, Education
•Delegate Rob Bloxom
o Agriculture, Appropriations,General Laws,Privileges and Elections
•Delegate Kelly Convirs-Fowler
o Education, Finance, Labor and Commerce, Privileges and Elections (Vice-chair)
•Delegate Michael Feggans
o Labor and Commerce, Public Safety, Transportation
•Delegate Barry Knight
o Appropriations, Counties, Cities and Towns, General Laws
•Delegate Anne Ferrell Tata
o Counties, Cities and Towns, Education, Transportation
•Senator Christie New Craig
o Education and Health,General Laws and Technology,Rehabilitation and Social Services
•Senator Bill DeSteph
o Commerce and Labor,Privileges and Elections,Rehabilitation and Social Services,Transportation
•Senator Aaron Rouse
o Commerce and Labor,General Laws and Technology, Privileges and Elections (Chair),Rehabilitation and Social Services, Rules
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Status of Legislative Agenda items
Charter Amendments Bill & Patron Status
Adopt the ten single-member district system used in the
2022 elections and adopted by the City Council in its
decennial redistricting ordinance
HB 410 Askew
SB 189 Rouse
SB 189 passed the Senate Local Government
Committee unanimously
HB 410 referred to C C & T subcommittee
Increase the membership of the City of Virginia Beach
Board of Equalization from four members to five members
and add an alternate
HB 236 Tata
SB 262 Craig
SB 262 passed the Senate Local Government
Committee unanimously
HB 236 referred to C C & T subcommittee
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Status of Legislative Agenda items
Code Amendments Bill & Patron Status
Reflect Election System Adopted by Council HB 409 Askew
SB 188 Rouse
HB 409 referred to P&E committee
SB 188 passed unanimously in
P&E committee
Emergency Response Toxic Exposure Grant Fund and Program;
(Formerly known as the "Good Friday” First Responders Fund)
HB 133 Convirs-Fowler
SB 650 Rouse
HB 133 referred to General Laws
subcommittee
SB 650 referred to Rules committee
Photo Speed Monitoring Devices on Local Highways 3 versions of this legislation have been
introduced by members in other parts of
the Commonwealth
Referred to Transportation committee
Photo Speed Monitoring and Failure of Recipient to Respond HB 1032 Bloxom Pending committee referral
Opioid and Fentanyl Awareness Education HB 134 Convirs-Fowler Referred to Education
Local Taxing Authority for Vaping and E-Cigarette Products HB 1036 Bloxom Pending committee referral
Establish the Virginia Creative Economy Grant Fund and Program HB 642 Glass Referred to Labor & Commerce
subcommittee
Obstruction of Right-of-Way Violations HB 235 Tata Referred to C C & T subcommittee
Re-Establish the Virginia Minority Business Commission HB 132 Convirs-Fowler &HB 374 Feggans Both referred to Rules committee
Violation of a Short-Term Rental Ordinance HB 1034 Bloxom Pending committee referral
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Status of Legislative Agenda items
Budget requests Patron
Augment Localities for 100% Disabled Veteran Tax Exemption
5/31 Memorial Senator Rouse
Delegate Convirs-Fowler
Stormwater Operations Center Delegate Feggans
Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Renovation/Expansion Senator DeSteph
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Legislation of interest
Taxation
Title Summary
(Multiple bills) Retail sales and use tax holiday; establishes an
annual tax holiday that takes place in August
•Reestablishes the annual sales-tax holiday
Sales and use tax, local; additional tax authorized in all counties &
cities to support schools.
•Allows localities, by ordinance, to hold a referendum for a 1% sales-tax increase
to support school construction
HB 1159 Individual income tax; distribution of revenues; local
school construction.
•Requires distribution of one percent of the individual income tax revenues
collected from residents of a locality to be distributed to that locality. The bill
requires such funds to be used for school construction or renovation purposes
and to be repaid to the state if used for any other purpose.
SB 110 Sales tax; exemption for food purchased for human
consumption and essential personal hygiene
•Eliminates the 1% local sales tax on groceries and essential personal hygiene
products.
•The bill also provides an allocation of state revenues to fund the distribution to
localities for funding that would have been distributed to them absent the
exemption created by the bill.
•Under current law, such products are exempt from state sales and use tax but
are subject to the standard local rate of one percent.
HB 1308 Tangible personal property tax relief; rate of taxation.•Eliminates the car tax for residents
•Requires the Commonwealth to reimburse localities for 100% of the car tax
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Legislation of interest
Short-Term Rentals
Title Summary
HB 1328 Transient occupancy taxes; administration.•Centralizes the collection of the transient occupancy tax with the Commonwealth rather
than locally
HB 263 Retail Sales and Use Tax; accommodations for
transients.
•Sales and use tax; accommodations for transients. Provides that the term "retail sale" shall
include the sale of accommodations to transients for less than 30 days.
•Under current law, "retail sale" includes such sales to transients for less than 90 days.
SB 544 Short-term rental property; locality's ability to
prohibit use of accessory dwelling unit
•Prohibits a locality from barring the use of or requiring that a special exception, special
use, or conditional use permit be obtained for the use of an accessory dwelling unit for a
short-term rental in an area zoned for residential use where the primary dwelling unit on
the site is occupied by the property owner.
HB 695 Short-term rentals; registration; civil penalty.•This bill is the recommendation of the Commissioner of Revenue Association
•Directs the Department of Taxation to establish a registry of short-term rental properties
•The Department will issue each provider a unique numerical identifier for each such
property
•An accommodations intermediary will have to provide a contact person that state and
local officials can contact regarding noncompliant short-term rental listings
•Each listing will have to include the unique identifying number
•Requires the intermediary to report receipts and taxes paid quarterly to the Department of
Taxation
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Legislation of interest
Skill Games
Title Summary
HB 590 Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act;
established.
•No local authority to limit or prohibit games
•Gross revenue taxed at 15%
•15% of that goes to locality where game machine is located
•10% to School Construction Fund
•10% appropriated to provide additional basic aid funding for public schools,
apportioned to local school boards
SB 212 Virginia Small Business Economic Development Act;
established.
•No local authority to limit or prohibit games
•Gross revenue taxed at 15%
•15% of that goes to locality where game machine is located
•10% to School Construction Fund
•10% appropriated to provide additional basic aid funding for public schools,
apportioned to local school boards
SB 307 Regulation of electronic gaming devices; penalties.•Locality may, by ordinance, prohibit electronic gaming as long as that ordinance
is passed by January 1, 2025
•Gross revenue taxed at 34%
•26% of that goes to locality where game machine is located
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Legislation of interest
Cannabis
Title Summary
HJ 63 Study; Virginia Cannabis Control Authority; creation of a
retail cannabis market; report
•Requests the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority to study the creation of a
retail cannabis market in the Commonwealth
•The resolution requires that such regulations include (i) appropriate application
and license fees; (ii) reasonable restrictions on cannabis advertising; (iii)
restrictions on product size and potency; (iv) transaction limits; (v)
comprehensive enforcement mechanisms; (vi) provisions regarding tax
collection and revenue allocation; (vii) provisions regarding participation in the
retail marijuana market by persons in socioeconomically disadvantaged
communities; and (viii) any other restrictions or requirements necessary to
protect public health and safety, prevent diversion, and enforce regulated sales.
•The resolution requires the Authority to include certain persons in its study and
to submit its executive summaries and reports to the General Assembly by the
first day of the 2026 Session of the General Assembly
SB 423 Cannabis control; retail market; penalties.•Allows for localities to hold a referendum on whether to prohibit sales within
locality
•Allows for a locality by ordinance to impose an additional 6% tax on sales of
marijuana products
SB 448 Cannabis control; retail market; penalties.•Allows for localities to hold a referendum on whether to prohibit sales within
locality
•12% tax imposed on all sales; half of which comes back to the localities
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Legislation of interest
Local Offices
Title Summary
HB 130 Constitutional officers; dual office holding, prohibited for
deputies and other persons
•Provides that the current prohibition on dual office holding that is applicable
to constitutional officers also applies to deputies of such officers and any
persons serving in such officer's absence until a special election to fill the
vacancy is held
HB 345 Municipal elections; city or town allowed to hold its
elections on first Tuesday in May
•Allows a city or town by majority vote of the local governing body to hold its
municipal elections on the first Tuesday in May
HB 69 Vacancies in elected local offices; interim appointments,
notice requirement
•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.
•Requires that at such meeting, the body shall announce the names of all
persons being proposed for the interim appointment
•Shall make available for inspection each person's resume and any other
materials required by the body or board
HB 79 Special elections; elections permitted to be held on the
same day as a primary election
•Permits a special election to be held on the same day as a primary election
HB 417 Vacancies in elected local offices; timeliness of special
election to fill vacancy
•Requires when a vacancy occurs in an elected local office that is subject to a
ward-based or district-based residency requirement, the election to fill such
vacancy shall be ordered and held within 365 days of the vacancy occurring
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Legislation of interest
Legislation identified by staff for opposition
SB 567 Siting of energy facilities; approval by the State Corporation Commission
HB 636 Siting of energy facilities; approval by the State Corporation Commission
•Establishes a procedure under which an electric utility or independent power provider (applicant)
is able to obtain approval for a certificate from the State Corporation Commission for the siting of
an energy facility rather than from the governing body of a locality.
•The bill applies to any solar energy facility with a capacity of 50 megawatts or more, any wind
energy facility with a capacity of 100 megawatts or more, and any energy storage facility with a
nameplate capacity of 50 megawatts or more and an energy discharge capability of 200 megawatt
hours or more.
SB 233 Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth Act; construction of affordable
housing
*Support allowing faith organizations the authority to work with local
governments to build affordable housing where it fits within the locality’s zoning
authority or where it is appropriate, but oppose the ability to supersede the local
zoning authority
•Permits a religious organization to construct affordable housing on real estate owned by that
religious organization
•Supersedes a locality’s authority
•All of the housing development's total units must be for persons of low income, except that up to
20 percent of the total units may be for persons of moderate income, and five percent of the units
may be for staff of the religious organization that owns the land; and
•The housing development remains dedicated for persons of low income at the levels described in
subdivision 2 for at least 99 years.
HB 1328 Transient occupancy taxes; administration.•Centralizes the collection of the transient occupancy tax with the Commonwealth rather than locally
HB 263 Retail Sales and Use Tax; accommodations for transients.•Sales and use tax; accommodations for transients. Provides that the term "retail sale" shall include
the sale of accommodations to transients for less than 30 days. Under current law, "retail sale"
includes such sales to transients for less than 90 days.
SB 544 Short-term rental property; locality's ability to prohibit use of accessory
dwelling unit
•Prohibits a locality from barring the use of or requiring that a special exception, special use, or
conditional use permit be obtained for the use of an accessory dwelling unit for a short -term rental
in an area zoned for residential use where the primary dwelling unit on the site is occupied by the
property owner.
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Questions?