Legislative Newsletter - March 28, 2007

Number 6

Governor Proposes Amendments to Bills; Impact Fee Authority among Recommendations

Governor Tim Kaine has submitted recommendations to over 100 bills approved by the General Assembly in late February. The governor vetoed 10 bills, including measures 1) that extended the annexation moratorium from 2010 to 2020, 2) concerning relocation of nonconforming billboards taken for a road project, and 3) that carved out exemptions to last year’s clustering provisions for certain localities. He also signed over 800 measures approved by the legislature. The governor also proposed mostly technical changes to the state biennial budget that was approved. The only substantive budget change proposed was to provide additional funds to cover the fiscal impact of approved legislation dealing with the Sex Offender Registry.

Lawmakers return to Richmond next Wednesday, April 4, for their annual reconvened session to consider those amendments and vetoes recommended by the governor.

Transportation:

The governor proposed a substitute version of HB 3202, the transportation package approved on the last day of the General Assembly session. Initial reaction to the plan by General Assembly leaders has been positive.

Concerning land use provisions of the package, the governor proposed expanding road impact fee authority to additional localities. Impact fee authority was the top priority in the 2007 TJPDC Legislative Program. Presently, road impact fee authority exists only for Northern Virginia localities and a handful of other high growth localities. Specifically, under the governor’s plan, this authority would apply to those localities with 2000 census populations over 20,000 and having 5% population growth between the last two censuses, or those with 15% population growth during that time. In our region, this would provide the authority to Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene and Louisa. Under the governor’s proposal, road impact fees could be:

* imposed within one or more service areas designated in the comprehensive plan;

* imposed for construction of new roads or improving existing roads to meet increased demand attributable to new development;

* imposed on development that have paid proffers, but credit on the impact fee must be given for any transportation proffer;

* used to improve existing roads to serve new developments; and

* collected at the time of the building permit.

If any impact fees are unused after seven years, then they could be applied to secondary road projects in the impact fee service area serving the development that paid the fee.

The same population and growth standards apply to a proposed requirement for designating urban development areas (UDA) in the local comprehensive plan (and this designated area also could be exempted from impact fees) by July 1, 2011. The UDA must be an area appropriate for higher density development because of proximity to infrastructure, and must be designed to accommodate projected residential growth for at least 10 years and provide a minimum density of four residential units per acre. There is a provision for a locality to declare, by resolution, that its comprehensive plan already accommodates growth as required by the UDA, and thus, you would not have to further amend your plan. The UDA would have to be re-examined every five years.

Lastly, the governor also retains provisions allowing localities over 90,000 in population as of the last census to establish urban transportation service districts (only six localities statewide affected).

Funding provisions for the statewide component of the plan include the following:

A $3 billion bond package over the next 10 years, to be repaid over 25 years. The governor proposes that 20% of bond proceeds be used for transit capital and 4.3% be used for rail capital. The remaining proceeds would be allocated as follows: first, to match federal highway funds in order to make additional state construction funds available to the primary, urban and secondary systems; second, to provide necessary matching funds for the local revenue sharing program; and third, to fund the costs of statewide or regional projects.
            The governor’s plan also designates one-third of all insurance premiums to debt service on the bonds, and directs that three percent of existing recordation taxes be funneled to transportation (2% for transit and 1% for road maintenance). It also would dedicate two-thirds of any unobligated state revenue surplus each year to transportation (the legislature’s plan directed one-half of the surplus to transportation). Finally, the governor proposes to equalize the diesel fuel tax with that of gasoline (from 16 to 17.5 cents/gallon). This was not part of the General Assembly-approved plan, but was included in previous Senate plans earlier in the session.

Other legislation:

The governor also proposed various amendments to other bills of interest to local governments:

  HB 1710 and SB 771 allow for the issuance of up to $250 million in revenue bonds by the Virginia Public Building Authority to provide funding for the Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF). Dollars would be targeted to 89 plants, with state reimbursements phased in as local shares for the upgrades are expended. The governor’s amendment directs a future review of continued funding for the WQIF by various standing committees of the legislature.

HB 2362 allows local governments to exempt one vehicle owned or leased by deputy sheriffs, police officers or State Police officers residing in the locality from the local motor vehicle license tax. A proposed amendment would expand that list to include salaried firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

HB 2370 and SB 1218 increase the retired teacher health insurance credit from the current $2.50/month to $4/month for each year of service. A proposed amendment would make the bill inapplicable to any former member who retired on disability prior to July 1, 2007, if it would reduce the monthly health insurance credit received.

HB 2707 and SB 840, among other things, prohibit localities, after July 1, from acquiring any direct recording electronic (DRE) machine for use in elections in the county or city. A proposed amendment changes that date to July 1, 2008.

Only minor amendments are proposed to identical eminent domain bills (HB 2954, SB 781 and SB 1296) that were approved in the waning hours of the General Assembly. They are intended to reduce limitations the bills place on locality efforts to address blight, including revising the definition of blighted property to provide that land is blighted if it endangers health or safety (rather than being required to endanger both, as worded by the legislature).

HB 3082 reiterates an individual's freedom of religion and prohibits a government entity from unduly burdening such right. Proposed amendments delete that language from the bill and further proposed that nothing in the bill shall prevent any governmental institution or facility from maintaining health, safety, security or discipline.

A proposed amendment to SB 838 would require boards of supervisors and planning commissions to develop guidelines regarding disclosures by members related to a comprehensive plan amendment requested by the owner or purchaser of land for which the amendment is requested, rather than require such disclosures as stipulated by the approved bill.

SB 1063 increases from seven to 30 days the notice a locality must give of a public hearing when the locality proposes to increase its total real estate tax collections more than 101% of the prior year levies. A proposed amendment would set the minimum notice at a more reasonable and workable 14 days.

SB 1300 allows localities to adopt an ordinance requiring a special exception or a special use permit for storing sewage sludge in the locality. A proposed amendment adds an emergency clause to the bill, meaning it would become effective upon passage.

**Contact your legislators prior to next Wednesday should you wish to voice support or opposition to any of the governor’s proposed amendments noted above.

**A final summary of General Assembly action will distributed in early May.

General Assembly Contact Numbers for David Blount, TJPDC Legislative Liaison

804-644-3702 (phone)

804-783-8226 (fax)

979-7310 x350 (Charlottesville voicemail)

(Richmond email)