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2007 SESSION

071613396
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 591
Offered January 10, 2007
Prefiled December 27, 2006
Establishing a joint committee of the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, House Committee on Transportation, Senate Committee on Local Government, and Senate Committee on Transportation to study the identifiable costs of new residential and commercial development in Virginia. Report.
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Patron-- Marshall, R.G.
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, the population of the Commonwealth is expected to increase by 1,811,725 over the next 25 years, resulting in the need for thousands of new housing units; and

WHEREAS, Virginia’s economy will add thousands of new jobs during that same period; and

WHEREAS, every development pattern that would accommodate this growth has its costs and benefits; and

WHEREAS, policy should not be formulated, laws should not be enacted, and public funds should not be expended on the basis of untested assumptions about the costs and benefits of growth and development; and

WHEREAS, more study and analysis is required of the relative costs and benefits of alternative development patterns before policymakers make decisions about how to address growth issues in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, insufficient consideration has been given to distance-related costs of new development; and

WHEREAS, the costs associated with new development, including the capital and operating costs of transportation and water and sewer facilities, as well as the external costs of resource protection and pollution prevention, are borne, in varying degrees, by individual citizens, by communities, and by society as a whole; and

WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth and its citizens that resources be allocated to support necessary growth and development in the most efficient manner possible; and

WHEREAS, while the mechanism of the market can and does apportion many costs in an efficient manner, some costs associated with new development, including social, environmental, and quality-of-life impacts, are not readily quantified and often not covered in traditional market transactions; and

WHEREAS, distance-related costs, both capital and operating, of new development are, at times, passed on by commercial providers to the owners of properties served but generally are not taken into account by governmental providers of infrastructure and services; and

WHEREAS, the burden on taxpayers at all levels of government of providing financial support for the infrastructure that will serve new development, for police and other services required by new development, and for responding to the adverse environmental effects of such development has risen substantially in recent years, prompting consideration of alternative methods of paying for new development; and

WHEREAS, current laws and policies, including those related to taxes, fees, voluntary proffers, and other methods of financing new development and accompanying activities, do not necessarily ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the allocation of costs and benefits associated with new development; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That a joint committee of the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, House Committee on Transportation, Senate Committee on Local Government, and Senate Committee on Transportation be established to study the identifiable costs of new residential and commercial development in Virginia. The study shall also include externalities, under alternative development patterns, and the manner in which those costs are currently borne or would likely be borne. The joint committee shall elect a chairman and vice chairman from among its membership.

In conducting its study, the joint committee shall: (i) review the manner in which the identifiable costs of new residential and commercial development in Virginia are currently borne; (ii) examine the manner in which the identifiable costs of new residential and commercial development in Virginia would likely be borne; and (iii) study the identifiable costs of new residential and commercial development in Virginia under alternative development patterns.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates. Legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the joint committee shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the joint committee for this study, upon request.

The joint committee shall be limited to four meetings for the 2007 interim and four meetings for the 2008 interim. Approval for unbudgeted nonmember-related expenses shall require the written authorization of the chairman of the joint committee and the respective Clerk. If a companion joint resolution of the other chamber is agreed to, written authorization of both Clerks shall be required.

No recommendation of the joint committee shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the joint committee (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the joint committee.

The joint committee shall complete its meetings for the first year by November 30, 2007, and for the second year by November 30, 2008, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the next Regular Session of the General Assembly for each year. Each executive summary shall state whether the joint committee intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summaries and reports shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.

Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval and certification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may approve or disapprove expenditures for this study, extend or delay the period for the conduct of the study, or authorize additional meetings during the 2007 or 2008 interim.