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2014 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Local Government

Chairman: David W. Marsden

Clerk: John Garrett
Staff: Jeffrey Sharp, Scott Meacham
Date of Meeting: February 25, 2014
Time and Place: 1/2 Hour After Adjournment, Senate Room B, GAB

H.B. 62

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.

H.B. 128

Cutting of grass and weeds. Adds the Towns of Front Royal and Gordonsville to the list of localities permitted to provide by ordinance for the cutting of grass and weeds on occupied property.

H.B. 165

Charter; Town of Culpeper; November elections, town council, vice-mayor. Moves the date of election for the members of the town council, the mayor, and the vice-mayor from May to November beginning in 2017. The bill also substitutes the general law for certain charter provisions dealing with vacancies on the town council and in the office of mayor and substitutes "council member" for "councilman."

H.B. 170

Cutting of grass and weeds; Goochland County. Adds Goochland County to the list of those localities that have authority to require the cutting of grass and weeds under certain circumstances on occupied property. The county currently has such authority on unoccupied property.

H.B. 177

Cutting of grass; statewide application. Makes current grass-cutting provisions applicable statewide for all localities.

H.B. 208

Vested rights. Amends the existing vested rights statute by clarifying that structures that meet certain conditions shall be considered nonconforming. Additional changes make clear that a requirement under existing law to bring certain structures into compliance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code shall not affect the nonconforming status of those structures.

H.B. 209

Preliminary subdivision plats. Provides that localities may mandate the submission of preliminary subdivision plats for tentative approval only for plats involving 50 or more lots.

H.B. 210

City of Martinsville; city reversion.  Provides that the special court shall consider the results of an advisory referendum held in Henry County and the City of Martinsville prior to determining whether to grant town status to the City of Martinsville.

H.B. 227

Public water and sewer utilities and authorities; service contracts. Authorizes localities and water and sewer authorities to establish and operate programs under which they agree to repair, replace, or maintain the water or sewer line of a customer's residential dwelling. Any locality or authority that establishes and operates a program shall contract with a state licensed plumber to effect any repairs as a result of the program. The bill also exempts such agreements from requirements applicable to providers of home service contracts.

H.B. 296

Comprehensive plans; alignment of transportation services with accessible housing and other community services. Requires localities to take into consideration how 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.

H.B. 470

Charter; City of Manassas. Updates the city's charter to reflect a shift in the time of local elections from May to November.

H.B. 473

Local utilities; City of Richmond. Provides that the City may develop criteria for providing discounted water and sewer fees and charges for low-income, elderly, or disabled customers. The City may also develop criteria for financial assistance to customers for plumbing repairs and the replacement of water-inefficient appliances.

H.B. 494

Localities; personnel policies related to the use of public property. Requires all localities to establish personnel policies covering the use of public property by officers and employees of the locality. Among other things, the personnel policies shall address the use of telephones, computers, and related devices and peripheral equipment that are the property of the locality for (i) personal use, to the extent that such use interferes with the employees' productivity or work performance, or (ii) political activities.

H.B. 570

Charter; City of Colonial Heights. Repeals outdated provisions in the charter related to courts and provides that the city shall have separate courts and clerks for the General District Court and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

H.B. 597

Richmond Metropolitan Authority; name; composition of Board of Directors; powers. Renames the Authority as the Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority and equalizes Board representation among the City of Richmond, Chesterfield County, and Henrico County. The bill requires that certain actions of the Authority related to construction or acquisition of limited access highways or acquisition of rights to operate existing toll roads receive approval from the local governing bodies and the Richmond Mayor. Local approval also is required for the issuance of bonds by the Authority. The bill allows the governing body of each locality to appoint one of its own members as a member of the Board of the Authority, clarifies the appointment process for the three Richmond representatives on the Board, and prohibits Board members from receiving health insurance or other benefits as compensation for their service on the Board.

H.B. 628

Hospital authorities. Provides that counties shall have the same powers with regard to the existing hospital authority enabling statute as cities.

H.B. 844

Eastern Shore Water Access Authority Act. Allows the Counties of Accomack and Northampton by resolution to declare that there is a need for a public access authority. If an operating agreement is developed, the counties may form the Eastern Shore Water Access Authority. The Authority's duties shall include identifying land that can be secured for use by the general public as a public access site, researching all identified sites, determining appropriate public use levels of identified access sites, developing appropriate mechanisms for transferring title of Commonwealth or private holdings to the Authority, developing appropriate acquisition and site management plans for public access usage, determining what holdings should be sold to advance the mission of the Authority, securing funding and permits for dredging projects and facilities construction projects that enhance recreational and commercial public access, and performing other duties. The Authority shall be governed by a board of directors. Whenever it shall appear to the Authority that the need for the Authority no longer exists, the Authority, or in the proper case, any participating political subdivision, may petition the circuit court of a participating political subdivision for the dissolution of the Authority.

H.B. 864

Virginia Small Business Financing Authority; definition of eligible business and business enterprise. Expands the definition of an eligible business under the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority to include any for-profit enterprise that exists for the primary purpose of developing or operating a qualified energy project or is required by state or federal law to develop or operate a qualified pollution control project. The definition of a business enterprise is expanded to include any entity acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining, or operating a qualified energy project or a qualified pollution control project. A qualified energy project is a solar-powered or wind-powered electricity generation facility located in the Commonwealth on premises owned or leased by an eligible customer-generator if the electricity generated from it is sold exclusively to the eligible customer-generator under a power purchase agreement used to provide third party financing of the costs of such a renewable generation facility (third party power purchase agreement) pursuant to a pilot program established under Chapter 382 of the Acts of Assembly of 2013. A qualified pollution control project means environmental pollution control and prevention equipment certified by the nosiness enterprise or eligible business as being needed to comply with the federal Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

H.B. 872

Interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements. Provides that interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements may allow the loan of unmarked police vehicles.

H.B. 1012

City of Suffolk; ordinance providing that charges for water and sewer shall be a lien on real estate. Adds the City of Suffolk to the list of localities permitted to provide by ordinance that charges for water and sewer shall be a lien on the real estate served by such waterline or sewer.

H.B. 1075

Audits of certain political subdivisions. Provides that certain audit requirements shall not apply to a town with a population of less than 3,500 that does not have a separate school division for any fiscal year during which such town's financial transactions did not exceed the sum of $25,000. However, the Auditor of Public Accounts may require an audit if he deems it to be necessary to determine the propriety of the entity's financial transactions. The bill also provides that no audit shall be required for certain political subdivisions, the members of whose governing body are not elected by popular vote, for any fiscal year during which such entity's financial transactions did not exceed the sum of $25,000. The current threshold is $5,000.

H.B. 1088

Capital Region Airport Commission. Updates the police power provisions of the Commission.

H.B. 1093

Health center commissions; Chesterfield County. Provides that in Chesterfield County, the members of the health center commission shall not be removable at any time by the County's governing body except for malfeasance or at the end of the member's term.

H.B. 1167

Virginia Coal and Energy Alliance. Changes the name of the Virginia Coal Association to the Virginia Coal and Energy Alliance.

H.B. 1180

Fort Monroe Authority; powers and duties; land and utility ownership. 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, but continues to allow the Authority to serve as the Commonwealth's management agent in such matters. The bill also authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Authority to (i) impose civil penalties for violations of regulations concerning the use of, access to, and visitation of property under its control and (ii) enter into agreements for the ownership and operation of utility services.

H.B. 1209

Family day homes. Clarifies that a local governing body may, after notice and a public hearing, either approve, subject to such conditions as agreed upon by the applicant and the locality, or deny an application for a family day home serving six through 12 children.

H.B. 1210

Community Improvement District. Allows for the creation of a Community Improvement District in any city by ordinance. The bill provides that the city's governing board will have all of the powers with respect to the district that it has with respect to a standard service district. The bill also requires that if the city contracts for any government services on behalf of the district, it shall do so with a nonprofit corporation a majority of whose board members own property in the district.

H.B. 1267

Virginia Beach arena. Allows the City of Virginia Beach to use its Arena Financing Fund to contract for the construction and operation of facilities, and prohibits the pledging of the faith and credit of the Commonwealth to meet the city's contractual obligations. The bill also provides that if the City of Virginia Beach issues bonds for a facility or enters into a contract with regard to a facility that it shall use its Arena Financing Fund to collect proceeds from the sale of bonds and revenues from other state sources. Expenditures from the Fund shall be used to pay the bonds, meet contractual obligations, and pay reasonable expenses relating to the facility. The bill also makes technical amendments to the existing sunset provisions.