Counties Cities And Towns
Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Gas-powered leaf blowers; local prohibition or regulation, civil penalty. [SB-305]
Local prohibition or regulation of gas-powered leaf blowers; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance prohibit or regulate the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. The bill provides that the ordinance may include provisions for a civil penalty and that the funds from such civil penalties may be used by the locality to assist with the purchase of nonprohibited leaf blowers by residents and local businesses.
Sponsored by: Sen. Saddam Salim
Left In Local Government on 11/19/2024
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Zoning; certified recovery residence. [HB-646]
Zoning; certified recovery residence. Requires that a locality's zoning ordinances for all purposes shall consider a certified recovery residence in which individuals with substance use disorder reside as residential occupancy by a single family. The bill specifies that no conditions more restrictive than those imposed on residences occupied by persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption shall be imposed on such certified recovery residence.
Sponsored by: Rep. Carrie Coyner
Left In Counties, Cities And Towns on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Dillon Rule; joint subcommittee to study. [SJR-18]
Study; joint subcommittee; Dillon Rule; report. Creates a 13-member joint subcommittee for a one-year study of the Dillon Rule and its impact on Virginia's localities.
Sponsored by: Sen. Ghazala Hashmi
Left In Rules on 11/19/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Elections; allows for any local or constitutional office to be conducted by ranked choice voting. [HB-658]
Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. Allows elections for any local or constitutional office to be conducted by ranked choice voting. Under current law, only elections of members of a county board of supervisors or a city council are allowed to be conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill also clarifies requirements for conducting elections using ranked choice voting and requires results for elections conducted by ranked choice voting to be reported along with other results reported on election
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Sponsored by: Rep. Joshua Cole
Left In Privileges And Elections on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Siting of energy facilities; approval by the State Corporation Commission. [HB-636]
Siting of energy facilities; approval by State Corporation Commission. Establishes a procedure under which an electric utility or independent power provider (applicant) is able to obtain approval for a certificate from the State Corporation Commission for the siting of an energy facility rather than from the governing body of a locality. Under the bill, applicants are authorized to submit an application to the Commission if (i) the locality fails to timely approve or deny an application; (ii) the application complies with certain requirements for
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Sponsored by: Rep. Richard Sullivan
Left In Labor And Commerce on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Firearms instructors & safety prog.; removes reference to NRA & U.S. Concealed Carry Assoc. in Code. [HB-319]
Firearms instructors and safety programs; National Rifle Association and United States Concealed Carry Association. Removes references to the National Rifle Association (the NRA) and the United States Concealed Carry Association from the Code that allow the organizations to certify ranges and instructors and for courses offered by them to serve as proof of demonstrated competence in firearms safety and training for the purpose of obtaining a concealed handgun permit or receiving training as a minor in the use of pneumatic guns. The bill also repeals
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Sponsored by: Rep. Dan Helmer
Left In Appropriations on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Siting of data centers; site assessment. [SB-285]
Siting of data centers; site assessment. Requires a locality, prior to any approval for the siting of a data center, to require disclosure of water and power usage at full build-out and perform a site assessment to examine the effect of the data center on water usage, the regional electric grid, and carbon emissions as well as any impacts on agricultural, historic, and cultural resources within the locality.
Sponsored by: Sen. Danica Roem
Left In General Laws And Technology on 11/19/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Land value; DHCD to study tax implications of local governing bodies implementing a tax. [HJR-40]
Study; Department of Housing and Community Development; tax implications of implementing a land value tax; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to study tax implications of local governing bodies implementing a land value tax.
Sponsored by: Sen. Jennifer Boysko
Left In Rules on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Southwest Regional Recreation Authority; powers. [HB-1070]
Southwest Regional Recreation Authority; powers. Provides for the Attorney General to provide legal services in civil matters upon the request of the executive director or board of directors of the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority. The bill also provides for the board of the Authority to adopt policies for the procurement of goods and services and requires such policies to incorporate certain provisions of the Virginia Public Procurement Act. In addition, the bill (i) makes the provisions of the Virginia Personnel Act and the policies of
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Sponsored by: Rep. James Morefield
Left In Finance And Appropriations on 11/19/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Roads maintained/managed by VDOT & localities; JLARC to study rate of accidents that cause fatality. [HJR-65]
Study; JLARC; rate of accidents that cause fatalities on roads maintained and managed by the Virginia Department of Transportation and localities; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study the rate of accidents that cause fatalities on roads maintained and managed by the Virginia Department of Transportation and roads maintained and managed by localities.
Sponsored by: Rep. Irene Shin
Left In Rules on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Solar and energy facilities; local regulation. [SB-697]
Solar and energy facilities; local regulation. Prohibits a locality from including in an ordinance (i) limits on the total amount, density, or size of any ground-mounted solar facility or energy storage facility until such time that the total area under panels within the locality exceeds four percent of the total area within the locality or (ii) any prohibitions on the use of solar panels that comply with generally accepted national environmental protection and product safety standards, provided that such installation is in compliance with any provisions
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Sponsored by: Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Building service employees; public contracting. [SB-247]
Building service employees; public contracting. Permits any county, city, or town in the Commonwealth to provide for certain requirements concerning incumbent and successor building service employers, defined in the bill, by local ordinance or resolution. For example, such local ordinance or resolution may require that successor building service employers retain incumbent employees during a transition period of 90 days. Under the bill, building service employees are those who perform work in connection with the care or maintenance of property, services
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Sponsored by: Sen. Jennifer Boysko
Left In Finance And Appropriations on 11/19/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Local government actions related to comprehensive plans, etc.; approval process. [SB-721]
Local government actions related to comprehensive plans, local planning commissions, subdivision plats and site plans, and zoning ordinances; approval process. Makes several changes to local government land use approval processes, including (i) prohibiting use of the comprehensive plan as the basis, in whole or in part, for the disapproval of a site plan that is otherwise in conformity with duly adopted standards, ordinances, and statutes and (ii) allowing automatic approval of certain land use applications rather than a right to petition the circuit
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Sponsored by: Sen. Tammy Brankley Mulchi
Left In Local Government on 11/19/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Vegetative growth on certain property; maintenance. [HB-1054]
Maintenance of vegetative growth on certain property. Provides that a locality may require the owner of property that (i) was formerly used as a golf course but where such use has been discontinued and (ii) abuts an area zoned for residential purposes to maintain the vegetative growth on the former golf course property in a manner that (a) prevents such property from becoming a detriment to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the abutting residential area and (b) does not change the character of the former golf course property so
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Sponsored by: Rep. Barry Knight
Left In Local Government on 11/19/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Alcohol safety action program; local administrative fee. [HB-774]
Alcohol safety action program; local administrative fee. Provides that any county, city, or town, or any combination thereof, that has established and operates an alcohol safety action program and supplements fees collected for the program pursuant to general law by more than 33 percent annually in order to fully fund the program may charge a local administrative fee of no more than $100 to each person entering such program.
Sponsored by: Rep. Charniele Herring
Left In Courts Of Justice on 11/19/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Zoning; enhanced civil penalties for violations involving nonpermitted commercial uses. [HB-1310]
Zoning; civil penalties; commercial uses. Allows enhanced civil penalties for zoning violations involving nonpermitted commercial uses. The bill also requires that for any violation involving nonpermitted commercial uses, a person who admits liability shall be required to abate or remedy the nonpermitted commercial use violation within a period of time specified by the locality that is no less than 30 days but no more than 24 months from the date of admission of liability.
Sponsored by: Rep. Nadarius Clark
Left In Counties, Cities And Towns on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. [SB-304]
Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $250 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring rear or side setbacks for the ADU
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Sponsored by: Sen. Saddam Salim
Left In Counties, Cities And Towns on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Dillon Rule; joint subcommittee to study. [HJR-24]
Study; joint subcommittee; Dillon Rule; report. Creates a 13-member joint subcommittee for a one-year study of the Dillon Rule and its impact on Virginia's localities.
Sponsored by: Rep. Dan Helmer
Left In Rules on 11/18/2024
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Zoning; developmental and use of accessory dwelling units. [HB-900]
Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for single-family residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $100 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring (i) dedicated parking
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Sponsored by: Rep. Laura Jane Cohen
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Virginia 2025 Regular Session
Siting of data centers; impacts on resources and historically significant sites. [SB-284]
Siting of data centers; impacts on resources and historically significant sites. Provides that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center shall only be approved in areas where the data center will (i) have a minimal impact on historic, agricultural, and cultural resources and (ii) not be within one mile of a national park, state park, or other historically significant site.
Sponsored by: Sen. Danica Roem
Left In General Laws And Technology on 11/19/2024