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General Assembly Update 1.14.20252025 General Assembly Week 1 update Brent McKenzie, Legislative Affairs Director 2 2025 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. 3 2025 General Assembly •2025 is a 46-day “short” session; (60 days in even -numbered years) •Filing deadline for legislation is Friday, January 17th at 3:00pm •1,762 pieces of legislation (and counting!) •1,136 in House | 626 in Senate •VML Local Government Day, Thursday, January 30th •Crossover; Wednesday,February 5th •Chamber of origin to complete its Budget; Wednesday,February 12th •Sine die; Saturday, February 22nd •Reconvene Session; Wednesday April 9th at noon 4 Status of Legislative Agenda items Code Amendments & Resolutions Bill & Patron Status “Good Friday” First Responders Fund HB 2494 Delegate Askew SB 972 Senator Rouse HB 2494 Committee Referral Pending SB 972 Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology ABC Store Larcenies HB 1925 Delegate Ward SB 1297 Senator Craig HB 1925 Committee Referral Pending SB 1297 Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services Increase the Fire Programs Fund HB 2069 Delegate Garrett Committee Referral Pending Property Title Report in Eminent Domain Proceedings HB 1690 Delegate Convirs - Fowler Assigned Courts sub: Civil Obstruction of Right-of-Way Violations HB 1966 Delegate Ta t a Committee Referral Pending Short-Term Rental Delisting HB 1688 Delegate Convirs - Fowler Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns Zero Waste Awareness Week HJ 446 Delegate Feggans Committee Referral Pending 5 Policy Priorities Section Bill Summary Affordable Housing HB1701; HB2048: SB828 Housing Opportunity Tax Credit – Increasing the annual threshold and the extending the sunset Economic Development HB1616 Workforce Development for Offshore Wind Industry Education SB1307 Local authority to call for a referendum on a 1% sales tax for school construction Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Impacts SB1312; HB2164 Reimbursement to localities for 100% disabled veteran's tax deduction Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Impacts HB2488 HB 2488;Local tax authority; nicotine vapor products. Flooding and Stormwater SB1337; HB1949; HJ434 Commonwealth to study state support for local CSRM projects Public Safety SB852; SB1233; HB1664; HB1673; HB1666; HB2041 All are legislation that would expand a localities authority to utilize speed cameras including legislation that would expand that technology to stop signs and pedestrian crossings Public Safety HB2461 Disaster Assistance Fund; established. 6 Policy Priorities Section Bill Bill & Summary Energy HB2113 Solar Interconnection Grant Fund and Program; established Energy HB2126; SB1190 Virginia Energy Facility Review Board established; localities; comprehensive plan and local ordinances related to siting of critical interconnection projects; planning district commissions; regional energy plans; Virginia Clean Energy Technical Assistance Center established. Transportation SB1097; HB1982 Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund Transportation HB2466 Hampton Roads Interstate Highway Corridor Improvement Program and Fund; Hampton Roads Highway Coastal Resilience Program and Fund; sales and use tax; Planning District 23. Land Use HB1832; SB932 Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units Land Use SB975 Statewide Housing Targets Land Use SB1330; HB1557 Short Term Rental Registry 7 VB Delegation Legislation of interest Member(s)Title Summary HB1793;Delegate Feggans Captain Matthew "Chevy" Chiaverotti Memorial Bridge. This legislation would name the bridge near I-264 and Rosemont Road after Captain Chiaverotti. HB1868; Delegate Feggans SB895; Senator Rouse SB900; Senator DeSteph Real property tax exemption; surviving spouses of members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty. This legislation seeks to allow localities to provide a 100% tax exemption for the surviving spouse of members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty and to allow those who died from suicide to qualify for the exemption. HB1687; Delegate Convirs -Fowler Virginia Beach, City of; amending charter, transition of city council. This is the same charter legislation from last year that the Governor vetoed that would have codified the 10-1 system into the charter. SB814; Senator Rouse Election of certain governing bodies;conversion to single - member districts. This is the same legislation from last year that the Governor vetoed that would have provided additional authority for the city to change its election system to the 10-1 system. SB1087: Senator New Craig Maintenance of vegetative growth on certain property Authorizes a locality to require an owner of property that was formerly used as a golf course but where such use has been discontinued to cut or maintain the vegetative growth 8 Legislation recommended for support Bill & Patron Summary HB2153; SB1178 Faith and housing; comprehensive plan; zoning; Department of Housing and Community Development.Grants authority to localities to adopt a variety of strategies intended to encourage and facilitate the development of affordable housing on property owned by religious organizations or tax-exempt nonprofit organizations. The bill allows localities to request administrative support from the Department of Housing and Community Development in the preparation of a faith and housing ordinance. HB2438; SB1114 Local regulation of solar facilities; special exceptions.Provides that a ground -mounted solar energy generation facility to be located on property zoned agricultural, commercial, industrial, or institutional shall be permitted pursuant to various criteria to be included in a local ordinance, such as specifications for setbacks, fencing, solar panel height, visual impacts, and grading, and a decommissioning plan for solar energy equipment and facilities. HB1711 Mass Violence Care Fund established.Creates within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund the Mass Violence Care Fund as a subfund for the purpose of reimbursing victims or claimants of mass violence, defined in the bill, for unreimbursed medical expenses related to a mass violence event, defined in the bill. The bill directs the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission to promulgate guidelines and criteria for the payment of claims from the Fund within one year of the effective date of the bill. 9 Legislation recommended for support Bill & Patron Summary HB1963 – Delegate Tata Virginia Military Community Infrastructure Grant Program ;In the event that federal matching funds are not available, the bill provides that such grants may be made to other projects that promote the objectives of the Program. HB1726; SB757 Trespass with an unmanned aircraft system; contracted defense facility; penalty.Creates a Class 4 felony for any person who knowingly and intentionally causes an unmanned aircraft system to enter the property of a contracted defense facility HB1901; SB927 Virginia Sports Tourism Fund.Creates the Virginia Sports Tourism Fund, to be Administered by the Virginia Tourism Authority SB1086 – Senator New Craig HOT lanes; high-occupancy requirement; law-enforcement vehicles.Expands the currently permitted uses of high occupancy lanes by law-enforcement vehicles regardless of the number of occupants in the vehicle to include responding to a call for law- enforcement services and patrolling HOT lanes within the law-enforcement officer's jurisdiction while such law -enforcement officer is on duty. 10 Legislation recommended for opposition Bill Summary SB1158 Eminent domain; condemnation proceedings.Makes various changes to provisions governing eminent domain, primarily relating to procedures in condemnation proceedings and the transfer of a defeasible title by certificate. HB2127 Telework by local government employees. Establishes a framework for localities to establish and implement a telework policy for local government employees. The bill specifies that such policy shall require all employees applying for telework to submit a standard telework agreement as provided by the locality and shall include provisions requiring (i) department head approval for any telework agreement where one telework day per week is requested, (ii) chief administrative officer approval for any telework agreement where two telework days per week is requested, and (iii) local governing body approval for any telework agreement where more than two telework days per week is requested. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. HB2094 High -risk artificial intelligence; development, deployment, and use; civil penalties. Creates requirements for the development, deployment, and use of high-risk artificial intelligence systems, defined in the bill, and civil penalties for noncompliance, to be enforced by the Attorney General. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026. 11 Discussion & Questions