Legislative Newsletter No. 11 — April 22, 2004

General Assembly Acts In Reconvened Session

The General Assembly met for its annual reconvened session yesterday to consider vetoes and amendments suggested by Governor Warner. The governor signed 980 bills and vetoed only two (both vetoes were sustained). The legislature acted on 53 proposed amendments to bills that were approved by the General Assembly in its regular session that concluded March 16. Included in the approved amendments were:

HB 549-The amendments establish a special fund for the deposit of the additional $1 fee charged on deeds in jurisdictions where the Virginia Outdoors Foundation holds open space easements, with the proceeds distributed to the foundation.

HB 1430-The amendments deleted a provision included in the Drug Treatment Court Act that called for funding to be included in the 2004-2006 budget for the bill to take effect. This bill would establish drug treatment courts as specialized court dockets within the existing state court system, offering monitoring of treatment and supervision of addicts in drug-related cases.

SB 318-The amendments stipulate that any criminal investigative reports received from law-enforcement agencies by the agency investigating an adult protective services case shall not be further disseminated by the investigating agency or subject to public disclosure.

SB 573-The amendments clarify that a one-year allowance for military personnel to renew any license upon release from active duty applies to only those identified in Title 54.1 (which would include the likes of architects, opticians and other professions). Without these changes, it could be argued that business licenses and other local-government licenses were included.

Rejected amendments included the following (these bills are returned to the governor for him to sign or veto):

HB 408-The legislature rejected a recommended reenactment clause (that the bill be passed again in 2005 in order to take effect). The bill requires the state to determine best practices for using steel plates in connection with a temporary or permanent roadway repair and that by next July, steel plates must have a reflective substance on them in order to improve their visibility.

SB 670-The legislature rejected amendments that would have made the bill null and void if the Charlottesville MPO developed and the Commonwealth Transportation Board unanimously voted to fund an alternative transportation plan that offers a greater level of service than would exist with the Rt. 29 bypass in its current design. In speaking against the proposed amendments, the bill's patron stated that he was concerned that the amendments would greatly increase the chances of litigation, as the bypass already has been deeply litigated. He also noted that what exceeds the level of service (with a bypass) has been in discussion for many years and he wanted to give the governor the opportunity to sign the bill as is.

Budget Process Still Stalled

Over a week after a divided House of Delegates approved a three-quarters of a billion dollar package (HB 5018) that included increases in the sales and tobacco taxes, the measure has yet to be acted on in the Senate. Senators are working privately to revise the plan to satisfy both Senate Democrats and a group of 17 moderate Republicans who bucked party leadership to ensure its passage in the House.

Senators reportedly are considering several changes to the House plan, including capping the car tax reimbursement plan (currently at 70% of the first $20,000 of value), increasing the recordation tax and possibly allowing localities to levy an additional ½ cent local sales tax. State reimbursement to localities for the car tax program has far surpassed expected costs since its enactment in 1998 and now totals nearly $900 million annually. HB 5018 originally totaled nearly $1 billion, but was amended on the House floor to delete a proposed increase in the recordation tax, thus removing from the plan about $225 million in expected revenue. Senators are expected to devise a plan that generates at least $1 billion in additional tax revenue, though Democrats in that body are pushing for a higher figure. Recall that the Senate-approved budget had called for large increases in both education and transportation funding; about $1.6 billion in transportation funding was chopped from that plan during previous negotiations.

As a reminder, the key provisions of the roughly $700 million dollar House tax plan include increasing the state sales tax on non-food items by one-half cent, increasing the state tax on cigarettes, removing the sales tax exemptions on public service corporations, and revising the income tax deduction for senior citizens. It also decreases the sales tax on food by a penny, phases out the estate tax and reduces income taxes, largely by increasing personal exemptions by $200.

Both chambers have scheduled sessions for this Friday. However, it is unclear at this writing if Senate modifications to HB 5018 will be complete in order for action to be taken by the full Senate and House.

Update On Street Standard Requirements

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has completed its draft of proposed revisions to the subdivision street requirements. The official 60-day public comment period on the draft document begins with the revision's publication in the Virginia Register (expected to be May 3). VDOT then will hold five, regional public hearings to solicit comments on this proposed replacement regulation. The closest one to our area will be held on May 18 at 1 p.m. at the Augusta County Government Center in Verona. The revision process focused on two major efforts: 1) consolidating related regulatory provisions and (b) moving design criteria and guidance information into a new appendix in the Department's Road Design Manual, which was developed under this effort.

Additional information can be found at http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/ssr-rev.asp.