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2014 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Local Government

Chairman: Ralph K. Smith

Clerk: John Garrett
Staff: Jeffrey Sharp, Scott Meacham
Date of Meeting: January 21, 2014
Time and Place: 1/2 hour after adjourment, Senate Room B

S.B. 10

Patron: Garrett

Discounted fees and charges for certain low-income and disabled customers; population density. Removes the requirement that a locality owning a water and sewer system have a population density of no more than 200 persons per square mile before it may by ordinance develop criteria for providing discounted water and sewer fees and charges for low-income and disabled customers.

S.B. 51

Patron: Stuart

Agricultural operations; local regulation of certain activities. Protects customary agritourism activities at agricultural operations from local bans in the absence of substantial impacts on the public welfare and requires localities to take certain factors into account when regulating agritourism activities. The bill requires a basis in health, safety, or public welfare for a local ordinance that restricts any of several activities: the conduct of agritourism activities, the sale of agricultural or silvicultural products or related items, the preparation or sale of foods that otherwise comply with state law, and other customary activities. Localities are prohibited from subjecting those listed activities to a special-use permit requirement, and in most situations localities are prevented from stringently regulating the sound produced by the listed activities.

S.B. 58

Patron: Marsden

Comprehensive plans; alignment of transportation services with accessible housing and other community services. Requires localities to take steps to align transportation infrastructure and facilities with affordable, accessible housing and community services when developing the transportation component of the comprehensive plan for the physical development of the territory. The bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Disability Commission.

S.B. 67

Patron: Marsh

Discounted fees and charges for certain customers; City of Richmond. Allows the City of Richmond to develop criteria for providing discounted water and sewer fees and charges for low-income, elderly, and disabled customers.

S.B. 98

Patron: Marsh

Water and sewer system; City of Richmond. Provides that the City of Richmond may develop criteria for financial assistance to customers for plumbing repairs and the replacement of water-inefficient appliances.

S.B. 163

Patron: Locke

Commission on Local Government; local mandates. Extends from July 1, 2014, to July 1, 2016, the task force appointed by the Governor to review state mandates on localities.

S.B. 166

Patron: Locke

Fort Monroe Authority; powers and duties. Removes the power of the Fort Monroe Authority to exercise the powers of the Commonwealth over its Area of Operation, which consists of land acquired or to be acquired from the federal government by the Authority or the Commonwealth.

S.B. 241

Patron: Stuart

Transfer of development rights. Provides that a locality may designate specific receiving areas for specific sending areas. Also, a locality may require that development comply with any locality-adopted architectural standards for the receiving area in which the development shall occur.

S.B. 267

Patron: Stanley

Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority; certified industrial parks. Provides that the Authority shall develop a program by which local industrial parks may become certified by the Commonwealth. In developing such a program, the Authority shall consider factors such as planning, zoning, engineering, title ownership, and general development readiness. The program shall also certify developments in various categories of industry.

S.B. 308

Patron: Vogel

Broadband and other telecommunications services; provision by localities. Expands the area within which a locality may provide broadband and other services to the zone within 100 miles of the geographic boundaries of its electric distribution system. Current law limits a locality to the area within 75 miles of its electric distribution system. The bill updates the baseline year for determining the extent of a locality's electric distribution system from March 1, 2002, to March 1, 2012. The bill also makes technical changes.

S.B. 374

Patron: Marsh

Neighborhood revitalization. Provides that a locality may by ordinance adopt a program to establish and impose an annual blighted property assessment fee on real properties that have remained vacant for one year or longer if the property has been permitted by the owner to deteriorate to the extent that it has become detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare of the locality or surrounding area and has contributed to the reduction of surrounding property values.

S.B. 407

Patron: Newman

Governor's Task Force for Local Mandate Review. Reconstitutes the five-member task force appointed by the Governor to review state mandates as the nine-member Joint Task Force for Local Mandate Review, with the additional four appointments to be made by the General Assembly.

S.B. 524

Patron: Carrico

Revenues from local fines and penalties. Provides for a portion of the revenues from local fines and penalties to be segregated and deposited in a special fund in those counties or cities in which the local fines and penalties collected exceed a threshold amount. If the local fines and penalties collected by a county's or city's district courts during the fiscal year exceed 65 percent of the total of all fines and penalties collected by such courts, then the requirement to segregate and deposit the local fines and penalties in a special fund is triggered. One-half of the local fines and penalties exceeding such 65 percent would be deposited into the local special fund. Local fines and penalties deposited into the special fund could be used for any purpose including the funding or financing of the operations or administration of police or sheriff's departments. The bill intends to create a mechanism to track local government appropriations of local fines and penalties in certain counties and cities.

S.B. 550

Patron: Puller

Service districts; underground utilities. Adds Prince William County to the list of those localities with authority to establish service districts to impose taxes or assessments upon the owners of abutting property for the underground relocation of distribution lines for electricity, telephone, cable television, and similar utilities. Such underground relocation of distribution lines may only be ordered by the governing body and the cost thereof apportioned in pursuance of an agreement between the governing body and the abutting landowners.

S.B. 571

Patron: Wagner

Virginia Beach arena. Provides that the City of Virginia Beach may use its Arena Financing Fund to collect sales and use tax revenues and remit such revenues to the private facility owner as a contribution toward the cost of the facility if the City has contributed infrastructure or real property to the owner. The bill also makes technical amendments to the existing sunset provisions.

S.B. 578

Patron: Obenshain

Attorney fees in certain land use cases. Provides that a court, in addition to any other relief provided, and for good cause, may award reasonable attorney fees, expenses, and court costs to any person, group, or entity that prevails in an action successfully challenging an ordinance, administrative act, or other local action related to planning, subdivision of land, zoning, or other land use activity.

S.B. 589

Patron: Lucas

Disposal of solid waste fees; Southampton County. Allows Southampton County to levy fees for the disposal of solid waste at a county collection or disposal facility not to exceed the actual cost incurred by the county in removing and disposing of solid waste. The bill adds Southampton County to the list of counties permitted to use fees to purchase equipment; grants Southampton County the same authority that Accomack, Highland, Pittsylvania, and Wise Counties have regarding such fees; and allows Southampton County to exempt certain disabled veterans from such fees. The bill also makes technical changes.

S.B. 593

Patron: Marsden

Urban county executive form of government; disclosure in land use proceedings. Alters disclosure provisions for land use proceedings in counties with the urban county executive form of government (Fairfax County). A reference to "business or financial interest" is replaced by a reference to "employee-employer, agent-principal, or attorney-client" relationship.

S.B. 601

Patron: Cosgrove

Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads. Staggers the terms of the Governor's appointments to the commission.