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2015 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Local Government

Chairman: Ralph K. Smith

Clerk: Maribeth Turner
Staff: Jeffrey Sharp, Scott Meacham
Date of Meeting: February 17, 2015
Time and Place: 1/2 Hour After Adjournment, Senate Room B, General Assembly Bldg.

H.B. 1284

Patron: Tyler

Charter; Town of Branchville. Moves the date of election of the mayor and members of the town council from June to November and extends their terms from two years to four years. Council members serving on council who were elected in May 2014 shall have their terms of office shortened by six months but shall continue in office until their successors have been elected at the November general election and have been qualified to serve.The bill contains an emergency clause.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 3 of Chapter 240 of the Acts of Assembly of 1908, which provided a charter for the Town of Branchville in the County of Southampton, relating to elections.

15100291D

EMERGENCY

H.B. 1424

Patron: Marshall, D.W.

Virginia Water and Waste Authorities Act; delinquent payment. Repeals the provisions of the Act that make the non-occupant owner of a property liable for up to 90 days of delinquent payments under certain circumstances.

A BILL to repeal § 15.2-5124 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Virginia Water and Waste Authorities Act; delinquent payment.

15101131D

H.B. 1446

Patron: Marshall, D.W.

Financing of clean energy programs; development of underwriting guidelines. Expands the requirements of a local ordinance authorizing contracts to provide loans for clean energy improvements. The bill adds water efficiency improvements to the list of improvements for which loans may be offered; allows a locality to contract with a third party to administer the loan program; and requires a locality to identify any administrative fee it intends to impose on participants and sets parameters for the imposition of that fee. The bill also details the priority, enforceability, and other characteristics of the lien, now called a voluntary special assessment lien, that a locality is permitted to place against the property where the clean energy systems are installed. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) to develop underwriting guidelines for local loans made to finance clean energy improvements. The bill requires DMME to finalize the guidelines by December 1, 2015, incorporating input from certain groups representing real estate, energy efficiency, banking, and other interests or industries and evaluating certain specific criteria. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Housing Commission.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 15.2-958.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the financing of clean energy programs.

15104819D

H.B. 1471

Patron: Bulova

Affordable housing. Adds the City of Fairfax to the list of localities with authority to provide for an affordable dwelling unit program under § 15.2-2304.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 15.2-2304 of the Code of Virginia, relating to affordable dwelling unit; City of Fairfax.

15101135D

H.B. 1532

Patron: Head

Charter; City of Roanoke. Shifts authority to appoint the director of finance from the city council to the city manager.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 8, 9, 21, 23, 25.1, 33, and 56, as amended, of Chapter 216 of the Acts of Assembly of 1952, which provided a charter for the City of Roanoke, relating to the director of finance.

15101935D

H.B. 1553

Patron: Marshall, D.W.

Local notifications. Provides that any locality may by ordinance establish a system to deliver deliver notifications to residents by email, phone, text message or other similar means of communication. Such ordinance shall be adopted only after a public hearing and shall contain an opt-in provision for non-emergency notifications. Existing notification systems shall be deemed to meet the requirements of the bill.

 A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-925.1, relating to local notifications.

15104135D

H.B. 1593

Patron: Cole

Parking in residential areas; public right-of-way. Provides that localities may by ordinance permit the parking of vehicles within residential areas in a public right-of-way that constitutes a part of the state highway system so long as the vehicle does not obstruct the right-of-way.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-968.01, relating to parking in certain residential areas.

15100490D

H.B. 1625

Patron: LaRock

Charter; Town of Lovettsville. Updates the town's boundaries. Other changes eliminate the requirement of monthly meetings and provide that no distinction shall be made between a member elected to the council and a member who has been appointed to the council except as to voting on those matters set forth in Article VII, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia. The bill also makes numerous technical amendments and corrects outdated provisions.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5, § 4.1, as amended, and §§ 4.2, 4.3, and 5.2 of Chapter 520 of the Acts of Assembly of 1983, which provided a charter for the Town of Lovettsville, relating to boundaries, town powers, town council, mayor, and town officers.

15102437D

H.B. 1656

Patron: Pogge

Charter; James City County. Deletes the requirement that the director of planning be appointed by the manager of development management.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 7.4 of Chapters 779 and 798 of the Acts of Assembly of 1993, which provided a charter for the County of James City, relating to director of planning.

15103394D

H.B. 1663

Patron: Austin

Charter; Town of Buchanan. Shifts the town's municipal elections from May to November and reduces the number of council members from six to four. The bill contains technical amendments.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.1, 3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, and 5.1 of Chapter 29 of the Acts of Assembly of 1992, which provided a charter for the Town of Buchanan, relating to powers; elections.

15103364D

H.B. 1682

Patron: Herring

Charter; City of Alexandria. Deletes numerous outdated provisions and updates references to the Code of Virginia.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.02, 3.01, 3.02, 3.04, 3.06:1, and 3.07, as amended, §§ 3.13, 3.16, and 3.17, §§ 5.01 and 6.03, as amended, §§ 7.16, 7.20, and 10.03.1, and §§ 11.01, 13.02, and 13.03, as amended, of Chapter 536 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950, which provided a charter for the City of Alexandria, and to repeal Chapter 14 (§§ 14.01 through 14.05) of Chapter 536 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950, relating to powers, mayor, city council, city collector, and department of finance.

15100559D

H.B. 1758

Patron: James

Appointment to the board of zoning appeals. Allows the Portsmouth City Council to appoint the members of the board of zoning appeals rather than the circuit court.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 15.2-2308 of the Code of Virginia, relating to appointment of board of zoning appeals.

15102892D

H.B. 1761

Patron: James

Charter; City of Portsmouth. Allows any member of the city council to be a candidate for the office of mayor without resigning his office. Currently, the charter requires such a council member to resign by a specific date and sets out a procedure for filling the member's vacant seat.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 3.03 and 3.04 of Chapter 640 of the Acts of Assembly of 2011, which provided a charter for the City of Portsmouth, relating to the election of mayor and city council members.

15102906D

H.B. 1834

Patron: Gilbert

Charter; Town of Luray. Shifts the town's municipal elections from May to November.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 5, as amended, of Chapter 338 of the Acts of Assembly of 1928, which provided a charter for the Town of Luray, relating to town elections.

15101443D

H.B. 1849

Patron: Marshall, D.W.

Variances. Changes the standard by which a board of zoning appeals shall grant an application for a variance by eliminating or altering several of the requirements.

   A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 15.2-2201, 15.2-2308, 15.2-2309, and 15.2-2314 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-2308.1, relating to variances.

15104882D

H.B. 1857

Patron: Kilgore

Charter; Town of Weber City. Extends the terms of council members, the mayor, the treasurer, the clerk of the council, and the town sergeant from two to four years and deletes outdated language.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 4, as amended, of Chapter 583 of the Acts of Assembly of 1954, which provided a charter for the Town of Weber City, relating to town council elections.

15101857D

H.B. 1893

Patron: O'Quinn

Charter; City of Bristol. Makes clarifying changes related to the BVU Authority. Other changes include deletion of provisions related to the youth services department and replacing references to the city comptroller with chief financial officer.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.01, as amended, §§ 2.02 and 2.04, § 4.03, as amended, § 6.02, §§ 7.02 and 8.02, as amended, §§ 9.01, 10.02, 10.03, 10.06, and 10.09, § 10.10, as amended, and §§ 11.01 and 15.02 of Chapter 542 of the Acts of Assembly of 1990, which provided a charter for the City of Bristol, and to repeal § 7.10 and § 8.06, as amended, of Chapter 542, relating to city powers, utilities, chief financial officer, and city departments.

15103529D

H.B. 2025

Patron: BaCote

Charter, City of Hampton; candidacy of councilmembers in mayoral election. Bars any City of Hampton mayoral candidate from simultaneously running for a place on the Hampton city council and establishes a procedure for the resignation of any serving councilmember who wishes to run for mayor. The bill establishes a deadline, effective date, and other parameters for the resignation of a serving councilmember and provides for the filling of the remaining term of office of a councilmember who has resigned to become a candidate in a mayoral election.

A BILL to amend Chapter 167 of the Acts of Assembly of 1979, which provided a charter for the City of Hampton, by adding a section numbered 3.01:2, relating to election of mayor.

15103543D

H.B. 2051

Patron: Toscano

Sidewalk construction; City of Charlottesville. Amends a provision that currently authorizes the City of Charlottesville to alter its subdivision ordinance regarding the requirement that a developer construct a sidewalk along the property under development to also include such authority as part of the City's zoning ordinance.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 1 of Chapter 277 of the Acts of Assembly of 2013, relating to sidewalks; City of Charlottesville.

15101027D

H.B. 2128

Patron: Cline

Charter; Town of Amherst. Creates the office of town manager and reassigns various duties. The bill also deletes outdated provisions.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 1, as amended, of Article III, § 1 of Article IX, and § 1 of Article X of Chapter 397 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950, which provided a charter for the Town of Amherst, relating to town powers, mayor, council, and town manager.

15102555D

H.B. 2292

Patron: Scott

Charter; Town of Culpeper.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 3.9 and 4.1 of Chapter 247 of the Acts of Assembly of 1968, which provided a charter for the Town of Culpeper in the County of Culpeper, relating to notice of special meetings and residence of the Town Manager.

15104065D

EMERGENCY

H.B. 2308

Patron: Hope

County manager plan of government; county auditor. Allows the governing body in a county with the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) to appoint a county auditor. The county auditor shall have the power to make performance reviews of operations of county agencies or county-funded programs to ascertain that sums appropriated are expended for the purposes for which such appropriations were made and to evaluate the effectiveness of those agencies and programs.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-709.2, relating to county manager plan of government; county auditor.

15101668D

H.B. 2316

Patron: Kilgore

Southwest Virginia Health Authority; cooperative agreements. Allows the Southwest Virginia Health Authority (the Authority) to review and approve cooperative agreements among two or more hospitals for the sharing, allocation, consolidation by merger or other combination of assets, or referral of patients, personnel, instructional programs, support services, and facilities or medical, diagnostic, or laboratory facilities or procedures or other services traditionally offered by hospitals. The Authority shall approve a cooperative agreement if it determines that the parties to the cooperative agreement have demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that the benefits likely to result from the agreement outweigh the disadvantages likely to result from a reduction in competition from the agreement. The bill also provides that activities conducted pursuant to cooperative agreements approved by the Authority and supervised by the State Health Commissioner are immunized from challenge or scrutiny under the Commonwealth's antitrust laws.  Furthermore, the City of Bristol is added to the Authority.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 15.2-5368, 15.2-5369, 15.2-5370, 15.2-5374, and 15.2-5385 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15.2-5384.1, relating to Southwest Virginia Health Authority.

15104663D

H.B. 2319

Patron: Edmunds

Halifax County Board of Supervisors; election of an at-large member. Provides that beginning January 1, 2016, the Halifax County Board of Supervisors shall include, in addition to the eight members currently elected from districts, a ninth member to be elected from the county at large to serve a four-year term.

A BILL to provide for an at-large position for the Halifax County Board of Supervisors.

15103796D