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Home My WebLink AboutI. D. 2025 DRAFT LEGISLATIVE AGENDA 10.1.2024Draft General Assembly Legislative Agenda October 1, 2024 The City of Virginia Beach Today’s Presentation 1.Today’s ask 2.Legislative Agenda timeline 3.2025 General Assembly session background information 4.Policy Priorities 5.City Charter Amendments 6.Virginia Code Amendments 7.Budget requests 8.General Assembly Reception 9.Questions and Guidance moving forward Guidance At the conclusion of today’s presentation, we are looking for: 1.Any initial guidance on issues that should be added/changed/removed 2.Guidance on moving forward with a legislative reception on the proposed date Legislative Agenda Planning In September of 2023, Council adopted a policy regarding the process and adoption requirements for the City’s Legislative Agenda. •A legislative agenda item for the draft legislative agenda may be proposed in one of three manners: 1. Proposed by the Mayor 2. Proposed by at least three members of the City Council 3. Proposed by a City Department and approved by the City Manager •Legislative Agenda items require 2/3s majority for approval •Charter amendments to the legislative agenda requires 3/4s majority for approval Legislative Agenda Timeline Timeline Action October 1 Present Draft Legislative Agenda October 15 Public Hearings for Legislative Agenda and potential City Charter Amendment October 22 Council provides feedback based on public input as to what they would like to see in the final agenda November 5 Election Day (No council meeting) November 12 Legislative Agenda is brought to Council for adoption November –December Legislative Agenda is communicated to Virginia Beach Delegation and bill patrons are requested 2025 General Assembly Session •Session begins on January 8th •Per the Virginia Constitution, odd year sessions run for up to 45 days (aka a “short session”) •“Non-Budget year” •Will amend existing budget •Governor will introduce amendments to the budget in December •2025 is an election year! •All three state-wide offices up for election •All 100 members of the House of Delegates 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Senate House CURRENT MAJORITY 51 49 19 21 Policy Priorities Affordable Housing The City of Virginia Beach seeks to address the growing need for affordable housing with the goal to ensure that all residents have access to safe, high quality, and affordable housing and to promote inclusive and diverse communities. •Because every locality has its unique challenges, the City of Virginia Beach encourages the General Assembly to provide funding, incentives, and policy flexibility to allow localities to tailor solutions that will fit their communities while maintaining the ability to control land use decisions at the local level. •The City of Virginia Beach supports the renewal of the Virginia Housing Opportunity Tax Credit that is set to expire in December of 2025 and an increase in the annual cap from $60 million to $100 million. •The City of Virginia Beach supports the passage of a Constitutional Amendment that gives localities, at their discretion, the authority to create tax abatement programs to support affordable housing projects. Economic Development The City of Virginia Beach aims to implement a dynamic and forward-thinking economic development strategy designed to foster sustainable growth, enhance economic diversification, and promote innovation. •The City of Virginia Beach encourages the General Assembly to support local and regional efforts to attract and retain talent that will support the growing workforce needs of Hampton Roads. •The City of Virginia Beach encourages the General Assembly to support initiatives that provide funding, incentives, and policy flexibility that aligns with the City’s economic growth strategy for redevelopment and revitalization, including additional funding for the Virginia Brownfields Restoration and Economic Redevelopment Assistance Fund. •The City of Virginia Beach requests support from the General Assembly to increase access to affordable childcare. Education The City of Virginia Beach seeks to support the Virginia Beach School Board’s efforts to enhance educational resources, teacher support, and student development to foster a robust educational environment and prepare students for future success. •The City of Virginia Beach encourages the General Assembly to implement reforms to increase the Commonwealth’s share of education funding as was identified in the 2024 JLARC study regarding Virginia's K-12 Funding Formula, including eliminating staffing caps and addressing compensation gaps for teachers and support staff. •The City of Virginia Beach supports efforts by the General Assembly to provide additional funding to support school construction. As construction costs continue to increase, it is critical that localities have support from the Commonwealth to continue to modernize our school facilities. Energy The City of Virginia Beach seeks to establish a forward-looking multi-pronged energy policy designed to enhance energy sustainability, reliability, and resilience. This policy aims to integrate renewable energy sources, improve energy efficiency, and prepare for future energy demands while reducing the city’s carbon footprint. •The City of Virginia Beach supports efforts by the General Assembly to reduce the cost and administration of renewable energy interconnectivity at municipal facilities. •While the City of Virginia Beach supports the Commonwealth’s goals to increase the use of clean energy, it is critical to recognize the potential impact utility scale energy projects have on communities and localities. Because of these potential impacts, the City of Virginia Beach encourages the General Assembly to continue to support the authority of localities to regulate the siting and development of energy facilities. Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Impacts The City of Virginia Beach seeks to address fiscal challenges and annual budgetary impacts in a responsible manner that effectively meets essential services and community needs. •The City of Virginia Beach requests that the General Assembly refrain from capping, removing, or restricting local government revenue sources without replacing the source with a sustainable revenue source of equal rate. •The City of Virginia Beach requests that the General Assembly refrain from creating additional unfunded mandates. City staff have identified more than 75 mandates from the state and federal governments that have created an unfunded burden of more than $125 million annually. •The City of Virginia Beach requests that the Commonwealth provide financial support to fill the gaps created by the Commonwealth for the Veterans 100% disabled tax relief program. •The City of Virginia Beach requests that the General Assembly provide local government essential taxing and regulatory authority, as they create new revenue streams for Commonwealth. Flooding and Stormwater The City of Virginia Beach aims to improve resilience to flooding, enhance stormwater infrastructure, and promote sustainable practices to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events and climate change. •The City of Virginia Beach requests that the Commonwealth develop a state funding program to support the non-federal match requirements of localities for federal grants that support large- scale flood relief projects. Multiple localities in the Hampton Roads region will soon join the City of Norfolk with a completed U.S. Army Corps (USACE) Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) study and with tens of millions of dollars in obligated matching funds to implement the coastal resilience solutions that are developed by the studies. •The City of Virginia Beach supports continued investment in the Storm Water Local Assistance Fund (SLAF) for improvements and installation of effective storm water management controls. •The City of Virginia Beach supports increased funding for the Community Flood Preparedness Fund and requests that the fund provide funding through grants rather than loan programs. Land Use The City of Virginia Beach aims to utilize a comprehensive land use and development strategy to guide sustainable growth, optimize land utilization, and enhance the quality of life for its residents. •The City of Virginia Beach requests that the General Assembly refrain from passing legislation that would reduce or eliminate the authority of the Commonwealth’s localities from making their own land use decisions. •The City of Virginia Beach supports preserving local authority to regulate short term rentals and to enhance enforcement of those regulations. Public Safety The City of Virginia Beach seeks to ensure a safe and healthy community for residents and visitors through proactive measures, enhanced technology, and increased resources. •The City of Virginia Beach requests that the General Assembly prioritize increased dedicated funding to police, fire, and emergency medical services. •The City of Virginia Beach requests that the General Assembly preserve existing local authority to implement public safety technology and support expanding local authority to install speed enforcement cameras beyond school and construction zones. •The City of Virginia Beach supports Commonwealth-wide efforts to provide annual cancer screenings for career and volunteer fire fighters. Transportation The City of Virginia Beach seeks to enhance mobility, reduce congestion, and improve sustainability of transportation infrastructure through modernizing road networks, supporting public transit and multi-modal options, and ensuring safety and accessibility for all users. •The City of Virginia Beach supports efforts to improve sustainability in transportation infrastructure projects. •The City of Virginia Beach supports efforts to continue to improve highway and secondary roadway infrastructure throughout Hampton Roads. •The City of Virginia Beach supports efforts by Hampton Roads Transit to protect and enhance transit programs and funding including appropriate essential, consistent funding to meet HRT’s capital and operating needs, including innovative transit options such as micro-transit. •The City of Virginia Beach supports General Assembly efforts to continue investing in trail projects with a request that the Virginia Beach Trail be considered for any future funding opportunities. •The City of Virginia Beach supports efforts by the General Assembly to protect vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. City Charter Amendment Request that the General Assembly amend the City Charter to adopt the City’s ten single-member district system Single Member Voting Districts Virginia Code Amendments Requests that section §15.2-1400 of the Code of Virginia be amended to reflect the City’s ten single- member district system Single Member Voting Districts General Law Request that the General Assembly create and fund the “Good Friday” First Responders Fund “Good Friday” First Responders Fund Request that the General Assembly grant ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement authority to act as the primary law enforcement agency for reporting purposes. ABC Store Larcenies Request that the General Assembly increase the annual assessment levied on businesses that sell fire insurance premiums from the amount of one percent of the total direct gross premium income for such insurance to one and a half percent. Fire Programs Fund Aid to Localities Request that the General Assembly make a minor modification to Va. Code Section 25.1-204(D)(iii) that will clarify that the documents to be provided to the landowner should be those listed in the title report. Property Title Report in Eminent Domain Proceedings Resolutions Request that the General Assembly designate the first full week of September as Zero Waste Awareness Week Zero Waste Awareness Week Budget Amendments Support Virginia Department of Emergency Management proposal to fund a study that will determine the feasibility of creating a Commonwealth Individual Assistance program that includes temporary housing, housing repair and rebuild, rebuild of private roads and bridges, and other needs. Commonwealth Individual Assistance (IA) Program Study Request $10 million to support the renovation/expansion of the aging infrastructure at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. The Virginia Aquarium would utilize funds from the Commonwealth in their overall strategy in seeking funds through the Federal Government along with City and private funding. Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Legislative Reception •Recommendation: 1.Open reception in the evening 2.Here at City Hall 3.Targeting November 21st 4.Goal is to continue to strengthen relationships between City Council and General Assembly delegation and to communicate legislative agenda items Legislative Reception Proposal 1.Any initial questions and guidance on issues that should be added/changed/removed? 2.Guidance on moving forward with a legislative reception on the proposed date Guidance and Questions