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2004 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Local Government

Chairman: Frederick M. Quayle

Date of Meeting: January 27, 2004
Time and Place: 2:00 p.m. Senate Room B GAB

S.B. 76

Patron: Potts

Regulations on political campaign signs. Supercedes local ordinances and regulations that would prohibit the display of political campaign signs on private or public property, with the permission of the owner of the property and subject to right-of-way restrictions, during the 30 days before an election.

S.B. 115

Patron: Williams

Automobile graveyards and junkyards. Adds any county with a population of at least 56,000 but less than 57,000 according to the 2000 U.S. Census to the current list of counties that may adopt an ordinance requiring the screening of automobile graveyards and junkyards.

S.B. 133

Patron: Edwards

Charter; City of Roanoke. Amends the city's charter to allow for both city council and voter petition-initiated advisory referenda. Such referenda may be held on any question relating to the affairs of the city. If a petition-initiated referendum pertaining to a charter amendment passes by a majority vote, then the clerk of the circuit court shall communicate the result to the General Assembly with the same effect as if the council had adopted a resolution requesting the General Assembly to adopt the amendment.

S.B. 135

Patron: Lambert

Sheriffs' vehicles. Clarifies that sheriffs' offices may use unmarked vehicles.

S.B. 170

Patron: Stolle

Jail deputies. Codifies budget language (Item 64 E) to provide that the Commonwealth will fund one jail deputy for every three beds of operational capacity and in overcrowded jails one jail deputy for every five average annual daily prisoners above operational capacity.

S.B. 209

Patron: Quayle

Boards of zoning appeals; appointments. Allows the Chesapeake city council to appoint members of the board of zoning appeals. Appointments are typically made by the circuit court.

S.B. 227

Patron: Cuccinelli

Permits to sell or purchase pistols or revolvers in counties. Repeals provision that authorized counties to require a permit for the sale and purchase of revolvers and requires that any records created pursuant to that provision that are in the custody of a county be destroyed no later than July 31, 2004.

S.B. 228

Patron: Cuccinelli

Disclosures in land use proceedings; penalty. Amends provisions requiring certain disclosures in land use proceedings in any county with the urban county executive form of government (Fairfax County) by eliminating the current $200 gift threshold, and then makes such disclosure requirements applicable to all localities.

S.B. 264

Patron: Cuccinelli

Purchase or sale of guns in certain counties. Repeals provisions that require a permit to sell or purchase guns in counties having a density of more than 1,000 persons per square mile.

S.B. 353

Patron: Houck

Comprehensive plan. Requires that the plan include a transportation element that designates a system of transportation infrastructure needs and recommendations.

S.B. 369

Patron: Watkins

Mutual aid agreements between localities and certain public utilities. Provides that localities and investor-owned public utilities may enter into mutual aid agreements in order to enhance a locality's ability to obtain resources for service restoration caused by large-scale power failures or outages.

S.B. 396

Patron: Norment

Charter; City of Williamsburg. Provides that the City may create underground utility districts upon a petition signed by at least three-fourths of the land owners within a proposed district. Also, school board member salaries are clarified and the clerk of council is given additional authority to administer oaths.

S.B. 400

Patron: Norment

Local water-saving ordinances. Permits localities to restrict the nonessential use of ground water during declared water shortages or water emergencies. This authority currently applies only to the City of Virginia Beach (described by population.)

S.B. 413

Patron: Edwards

Rail Transportation Development Authority. Amends the second enactment of Chapter 1041 of the Acts of Assembly of 2003 to provide that that act (creating the Rail Transportation Authority) will become effective on July 1, 2004.

S.B. 426

Patron: Wagner

Regulation of stormwater; billing. Allows a locality to combine the billings for stormwater charges with billings for water or sewer charges and to establish by ordinance the order in which payments will be applied to the different charges.

S.B. 461

Patron: Whipple

County manager plan of government; budget, constitutional officers and easements. Amends the county manager plan of government (currently applying only to Arlington County) to (i) clarify the county manager's budget reporting duties, (ii) extend certain housing benefits to employees of constitutional officers, and (iii) grant the county manager authority to acquire certain temporary construction easements on behalf of the board.

S.B. 472

Patron: Ticer

Charter; City of Alexandria. Makes several changes including (i) authority to provide grants or loans to employees to purchase or rent residences within the City, (ii) provisions allowing any person who suffers personal injury or property damage caused by the violation of a local human rights ordinance to bring a court action against the alleged violator for damages, (iii) authority to add a cost-of-living increase for council salaries, (iv) grandfathering of city ordinances that may not have complied with general law, so long as the action was in compliance with the then applicable local law, and (v) clarifying that certain local procedures preempt provisions of general law.

EMERGENCY

S.B. 478

Patron: Edwards

Charter; County of Roanoke. Provides that the County shall have authority to levy upon the sale or use of cigarettes a tax at a rate not to exceed 0.75 cents per cigarette sold or used, such tax to be collected pursuant to Article 7 (§ 58.1-3830 et seq.) of Chapter 38 of Title 58.1 of the Code.

S.B. 480

Patron: Wampler

Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority. Expands the powers of the Authority to engage in economic development marketing and business attraction activities and to pay from the Authority's funds any and all expenses incurred in connection with such economic development marketing and business attraction activities.

S.B. 522

Patron: Hanger

Charter; City of Lexington. Provides that vacancies in the office of mayor or in council shall be filled by election if the vacancy occurs during the first 18 months of the term.

S.B. 546

Patron: Puckett

Regional Industrial Facility Authority. Grants localities in which a facility owned by an authority is located greater flexibility to direct that tax revenue collected with respect to the facility shall be remitted to the authority.

S.B. 596

Patron: Ruff

Industrial development authorities. Allows the Clarksville Industrial Development Authority to call itself an economic development authority.

S.B. 600

Patron: Hawkins

Local water and sewage systems. Adds Franklin County to existing provisions that allow certain counties to require connection to their water and sewage systems, or in the case of persons having an adequate domestic supply or source of potable water and a system for the disposal of sewage, allow the county to impose a nonuser fee. Also, Franklin County is granted authority to treat certain unpaid taxes or charges imposed for water or sewers as a lien on the real estate served by such waterline or sewer.