AGENDA DATE: 10/16/2024
TITLE:
Title
2025 Legislative Priorities and 2025 Legislative Positions and Policy Statements
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Consideration of 2025 Legislative Priorities and 2025 Legislative Positions and Policy Statements
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Herrick, Kilroy
PRESENTER (S): Andy Herrick; Emily Kilroy
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: Each year, the Board of Supervisors considers and approves a set of legislative priorities to pursue in the upcoming General Assembly session. The Board then meets with the County's local delegation from the General Assembly to discuss these priorities and submits them to the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC), the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo), and the Virginia Municipal League (VML). The Board of Supervisors held work sessions on its 2025 Legislative Priorities and 2025 Legislative Positions and Policy Statements on June 12 and September 18, 2024. On October 16, 2024, the Board will have a third opportunity to discuss its Legislative Priorities and, if it is ready to do so, to establish those priorities and to adopt its Legislative Positions and Policy Statements.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Mission - To enhance the well-being and quality of life for all community members through the provision of the highest level of public service consistent with the prudent use of public funds.
DISCUSSION: During its work session on September 18, 2024, the Board of Supervisors reviewed the proposed legislative priorities, as well as proposed legislative positions and policy statements.
Based on Board feedback, staff is returning with the following proposed six legislative priorities for 2025 (Attachment A):
1. Expand the use of photo-speed monitoring devices. Amend Virginia Code §§ 46.2-882 and 46.2-882.1 to enable the use of photo speed monitoring devices on segments of secondary roads where speeding has been identified as a problem.
2. Grant the County taxing authority for school division capital projects. Amend Title 58.1, Subtitle I, Chapter 6 of the Code of Virginia to make Albemarle County eligible to levy an additional 1% retail sales tax for the purpose of funding school division capital projects.
3. Expand offenses subject to property forfeiture to include community threats. [Revised] Following an initial proposal to merely increase cost recovery, County staff is proposing that property used in community threats instead be subject to forfeiture.
4. Provide $11.2M in state funding for Rivanna Futures project. Include $11.2M funding in the biennial state budget for this economic development project adjacent to the U.S. Army’s existing Rivanna Station installation.
5. State funding for Biscuit Run Park- Monacan Indian Nation Tribute Park Connector Greenway ADA Trail project. Include $1,368,000 in the state budget to fund a one-mile, ADA-accessible paved trail that connects the future Biscuit Run Park’s western entrance to the future Monacan Indian Nation Tribute Park, under development as part of the Southwood Mobile Home Park redevelopment project.
6. Study tools to mitigate rent increases caused by multifamily residential redevelopment. [New] At the Board’s September 18 work session, Board members expressed willingness to add a new priority of a legislative study of how best to stabilize rents following redevelopment of multi-family housing.
Based on the Board’s September 18 work session, staff also drafted additions or revisions of the following proposed 2025 Legislative Positions and Policy Statements (Attachment B):
* Digital Equity (new) - to support statewide efforts for advancing digital equity
* Environmental (revised) -- to include support for sustainable material management (SMM) legislation
* Affordable Housing Funding (revised) -- to be more inclusive than Housing Albemarle specifically
* Locality Enforcement of Landlord-Tenant Act (new) -- to enable localities to enforce violations of that Act
* Locality Right of First Refusal (new) - to support a locality right of first refusal when affordable housing is sold or converted.
* Rent Stabilization (new) - to support legislation that would enable localities to implement rent stabilization/rent gouging protections.
* Demerit Points for Truck Violations (new) - to assign demerit points under the Uniform Demerit Point System for violations involving overweight trucks or unpermitted through trucks.
BUDGET IMPACT: There are no specific, identifiable budget impacts.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Board review the proposed 2025 Legislative Priorities (Attachment A) and 2025 Legislative Positions and Policy Statements (Attachment B), and, if they are acceptable, adopt them by motion.
ATTACHMENTS:
A - Proposed 2025 Legislative Priorities
B - Proposed 2025 Legislative Positions and Policy Statements