eNews – February 21, 2025
House and Senate Reach Agreement on Budget, Photo speed enforcement bill in conference committee, Invite to explore VA's waterways...and more!
Friday, February 21, 2025/Categories: eNews
This edition of eNews is sponsored by McGuire Woods Consulting LLC a full-service public affairs firm offering federal, state, and local government relations, infrastructure and economic development, strategic communications and grassroots mobilization services. Learn more >.
In this issue:
Budget & Finance
Transportation
General Laws
Health & Human Services
Education
Elections
Technology
Opportunities
Budget & Finance
House and Senate Reach Agreement on Budget; Conference Report to be Voted on Saturday, February 22, 2025
As expected, the eleven members of the House and Senate charged with negotiating differences between their competing budget plans were able to do so with relative ease, it appears. The deal was announced on Thursday, February 20. The Conference Report, a collection of budget amendments agreed to by the budget conferees, will be voted upon this Saturday, signaling that the end of the 2025 Session of the General Assembly is nigh.
As they entered discussions last week, it was clear that differences that had stood in the way of a timely agreement in recent years were not present this time around, easing the path for adjournment on Sine Die.
For instance, the conference agreement disposed of the Governor’s three-year, $1.1 billion car tax reimbursement proposal for low-income Virginia in favor of a broader, one-time tax rebate of $200 for individuals and $400 for joint filers at a cost of $978 million, endorsing an action both chambers had agreed to in their respective budgets.
The budget agreement also increased the standard deduction by $250 for individuals and $500 for joint filers to $8,750 and $17,500 respectively and extended the higher standard deduction through January 1, 2027. The Conference Report also captures savings from the Governor’s proposal to exempt tips from taxation, which was rejected by the House and Senate.
K-12 education was one of the big winners once again in the final budget deal. The agreed-upon budget finally eliminates a relic from the Great Recession, restoring $223 million to eliminate the cap on funding for support positions by raising the cap to the prevailing ratio of 27.89 positions per 1,000 students in fiscal year 2026.
The budget also adds $53 million for students with special education by providing an add-on to basic aid of 4.75 percent for special education students receiving Level I (resource) services and 5.25 percent for special education students receiving Level II (self-contained and more intensive) services. Finally, the budget adds $134 million for a one-time bonus of $1,000 for SOQ-funded instructional and support positions with no local match requirement.
To offset the cost of these K-12 spending initiatives, the conference report:
- Eliminates $25 million for new College Partnership lab schools;
- Eliminates $50 million for the Virginia Opportunity Scholarships Program;
- Eliminates $50 million for School Performance Supports; and
- Eliminates $66 million for a new K-12 State Assessment Contract.
In other areas, the budget agreement adds $40.0 million for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund (SLAF) plus $50.0 million for the Community Flood Preparedness Fund. Also, the budget agrees to provide a 1.5% bonus in FY 2026 for state employees and state-supported, local employees at a cost of $83 million.
One of the few significant differences between the House and Senate budgets is related to funding for the Children’s Services Act (CSA). Unfortunately, the conference report endorses the Governor’s recommendation to cap state funding for special education day placements at the expense of localities, if the rates paid for these CSA-funded services exceed 5.0% compared to the prior year. Special education day placements are driving CSA-funded services, more than doubling in the past ten years.
This decision is disappointing when so many other helpful funding items were included in the final budget agreement.
VML staff will provide a more comprehensive overview of the budget agreement, after we have time to peruse the 516 amendments released on Thursday afternoon. Look for that analysis in a special edition of eNews next week.
VML Contact: Joe Flores, jflores@vml.org
Penn Institute for Urban Research (PIUR) assembles panel to assess implications of new presidential policies for State and Local Governments
On the morning of Thursday, February 20, the Volcker alliance at PIUR pulled together a cross-section of noteworthy researchers, policymakers, and economists to analyze the policy strategies and fiscal initiatives being pursued by the Trump Administration and what they might mean for state and local government officials.
The line-up of speakers included:
- Carolyn Bourdeaux. Senior Visiting Scholar, University of Georgia
- Jeffrey Holland, Vice President, Research, Peter G. Peterson Foundation
- Eric Kim, Senior Director, U.S. Public Finance at Fitch Ratings
- Vikram Rai, Fixed Income Strategist, Head of Municipal Markets Strategy at Wells Fargo
- Torsten Slok, Partner and Chief Economist at Apollo
- Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Economics
All the panelists agreed that the national economy heading into 2025 is strong with GDP growing at 3% in 2024, continued low unemployment, and record stock market highs. The only fly in the ointment seems to be inflation, which has been trending toward the Federal Reserve’s target of 2.0% but ticked higher in the first month of 2025.
Until the Fed’s policy makers feel comfortable that inflationary pressures have abated, it is unlikely that interest rates will fall in 2025. According to the policymakers on the panel, many of the Administration’s policy proposals are likely to put upward pressure on inflation, including the imposition of new tariffs on goods from China and possibly Canada and Mexico, the extension of provisions within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that expire at the end of calendar year 2025, and immigration restrictions that are likely to bid up the cost of labor in the short-run.
Complicating matters further, federal grant freezes, program closures, and layoffs add uncertainty to the current economic environment for state and local government officials. Further, potential offsets between $1.2 - $2.0 trillion to pay for the extension of the expiring provisions of the TCJA are likely to be borne by Medicaid, education and workforce programs including student loans and Pell Grants, and food assistance, according to a former Congressional Representative from the State of Georgia. She warned that the results of those decisions will likely hit rural communities the hardest if enacted into law. Those conversations are being debated in Congress right now.
Sensing that the conversation was probably a downer for many folks on the call, the moderators asked the panel what gave them hope in 2025. Eric Kim, an analyst with Fitch Ratings who regularly consults with Virginia finance officials in the Governor’s Office, indicated that he’s hopeful that the states can navigate today’s policy uncertainty. Even though revenue trends are beginning to slow, Mr. Kim noted that most states are in a strong position financially, boasting very healthy operating reserves.
Finally, it was pointed out that federal funding retrenchment should not have surprised anyone. It’s certainly been on the radar for some time. How it has rolled out, however, has been unusual with questionable policy actions that have already been the subject of litigation. As those legal fights proceed, localities were advised to do their best to figure out what specific federal funding streams are being frozen or eliminated to assess the impact of these decisions on local communities.
In that vein, VML is likely to offer the perspective of local governments at a meeting of state legislators to assess the potential effects on Virginia's economy and state budget of federal funding decisions. We will report back on those conversations.
VML Contact: Joe Flores, jflores@vml.org.
Transportation
Problematic photo speed enforcement bill heads to conference committee where anything could happen!
The final photo speed enforcement bill remaining for the 2025 session of the Virginia General Assembly is SB1233 (Williams Graves). However, the version of the bill that passed the House has very different language from the version that passed the Senate (as outlined below). SB1233 has been sent to a conference committee with the goal of resolving differences between the versions.
Senate version: SB1233 as passed by the Senate authorizes the use of a new technology in school zones to automatically identify stop sign violations. These violations would be subject to the same process and penalty as violations of photo speed enforcement programs also operated in school zones.
House version: SB1233 as passed by the House redirects to the State any revenue from civil penalties collected in excess of those required to pay for the operating expenses of a photo speed enforcement program and creates new requirements for localities operating a photo speed enforcement program including the establishment of an advisory group, emergency action plans, and speed accuracy checks of photo speed enforcement equipment. The bill also expands the authority to operate photo speed enforcement to include towns that do not have a law enforcement agency and allows the operation of photo speed enforcement by ordinance on VDOT recognized road segments that are hazardous for pedestrians.
VML positions
VML supports expanding local authority to create safer streets in towns and using new technologies to protect vulnerable road users where the data supports such measures.
However, VML opposes redirecting locally collected civil penalties to the State (as the House version does) and any attempt to reduce the existing civil penalty of $100.
What’s next?
Anything can happen with legislation after it is sent to a conference committee. The 2025 session conference committees have until final adjournment tomorrow (February 22) to resolve differences over a bill. If a compromise is reached, it will be considered by the full House and Senate. This means we may not know what happens to SB1233 until the final gavel of the session on Saturday. Stay tuned!
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
General Laws
Recap of bills from the Senate Local Government, House Counties, Cities and Towns, and House General Laws committees
*Those items in red died in the process; bills may be similar and not exact despite being listed together; all surviving bills are still subject to action by the Governor.
HB2330 (Hodges) Notice of certain land use actions; first-class mail to last known address, etc., or property owner. When there is a proposed change in the zoning map classification of 25 or fewer parcels of land, notice is currently sent by registered or certified mail. This legislation changes that to be one notice sent by registered, certified OR first-class mail to the last known address of certain property owners impacted by a proposed change in the zoning map classification of 25 or fewer parcels of land provided that a representative of the local planning commission shall make affidavit that such mailings have been made and file such affidavit in the file.
HB1996 (Bennett-Parker) Planning and zoning; second hearing public notice. This legislation came at the request of VML members; it changes the second public hearing notice that a planning commission publishes for planning and zoning actions to be published 5 days before the date of the meeting instead of 7 days.
HB1973 (Bennett-Parker). Affordable housing; preservation, definitions, civil penalty. This legislation allows localities to preserve affordable housing by exercising a right of first refusal offer by a locality or qualified designee of publicly supported housing.
HB2150 (Carr) Virginia Public Procurement Act; contract terms inconsistent with Virginia law. No contracts for information technology goods and services may contain terms in conflict with Virginia law; but it only applies to localities if the locality has adopted this policy.
SB1118 (Roem) Registration by localities of cemeteries on private property. Requires localities to adopt an ordinance creating a register of identified cemeteries, graveyards, or other places of burial on private property. This bill has been amended to only apply to Planning District 8.
SB1210 / HB1706 (Pekarsky/Bulova) Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; required disclosures for buyer to beware; aircraft noise. The Department of Aviation shall create a general public access website showing noise exposure maps. Also, in the disclosures regarding the sale of residential property there will be a provision that suggests buyers review the maps and local ordinances that deal with noise and airports.
SB1254 (Bagby) Comprehensive plan; environmental strategy. This would add to the comprehensive plan consideration of being an “environmental justice community” as defined in d2.2-234 if you are a city with a population greater than 20,000 and each county with a population greater than 100,000.
HB1827 (Simonds) Comprehensive plan; social determinants of health. Encourages a locality when reviewing the comprehensive plan to utilize relevant and available data and research related to social determinants of health as defined in the Virginia Code to consider how the adopted plan will impact public health and access to health care.
SB1178 (Hashmi) /HB2153 (Carr) Faith and Housing; comprehensive plan; zoning; Department of Housing and Community Development. This bill requires a locality in its comprehensive plan to obtain input on strategies to support affordable housing on religious organization property and other property tax exempt nonprofit organizations.
SB1313 (McPike) Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority; comprehensive plan. This proposed legislation amends Virginia Code Section d15.2-2304 to include all localities. It also adds implementation tools that can be included in an affordable dwelling unit ordinance.
SB974 (VanValkenburg) / HB2293 (Coyner) Subdivision ordinance; plan review by designated agent. This legislation requires the review of a subdivision plat, site plan and plan of development to be completed administratively by the designated agent except that if you are a locality with a population of 5,000 or less, the Planning Commission may act as the designated agent.
SB1263 (Bagby) Water and sewer connection fees; new residential development. Allows a locality to provide for the full or partial reimbursement of water and sewer connection fees, capital recovery charges, and availability fees remitted by an applicant in connection with any new residential development.
SB1449 (Ebbin) / HB1601 (Thomas) Siting of data centers; site assessment; high energy use facility. This legislation defines “high energy use facility” and allows a locality to require a site assessment before approving any new high energy use facilities.
HB2660 (Simon) Subdivision ordinance; shortens timeframe for local approvals. Shortens the timeframes for various local government approvals of subdivision plats and site plans. It also calls on the Virginia Code Commission to convene a work group consisting of various stakeholders to review existing provisions related to the submission, review, and approval of subdivision plats and site plans. The work group shall develop recommendations to (i) organize procedural steps in a clear, logical, and sequential order to enhance ease of reference; (ii) clarify the processes, requirements, and timelines applicable to each type of plat or plan; (iii) standardize terminology to ensure consistency, reduce ambiguity, and minimize misinterpretation; and (iv) identify and eliminate redundant or duplicative provisions to streamline the Code and improve its usability.
HB1718 (Price) Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities. A locality may create an ordinance that provides that if a condition exists in a rental dwelling unit that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with any provision of law that, if not promptly corrected, constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of tenants or occupants of the premises, a locality may institute an action for injunction and damages to enforce the landlord's duty to maintain the rental dwelling unit in a fit and habitable condition, provided that (i) the property where the violation occurred is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the locality and (ii) the locality has notified the landlord who owns the property, either directly or through the managing agent, of the nature of the violation and the landlord has failed to remedy the violation to the satisfaction of the locality within a reasonable time after receiving such notice.
SB1476 (Pillion) / HB2745 (O’Quinn) Vacant and blighted or derelict property; locality allowed to sell. A locality which has a vacant property for 5 years or more and is declared blighted or derelict and also has delinquent taxes may petition the circuit court to appoint a special commissioner to convey the real estate to the locality, the locality’s land bank entity or an existing nonprofit designated by the locality in lieu of a public auction. The bill includes technical steps and options for the locality to sell the property including requiring that repairs and renovations are made and that within 2 years the building be compliant with the building code.
SB992 (Williams Graves) Civil penalties for certain repeat zoning violations in Planning District 23; appeals. *Please note that changes to Board of Zoning Appeals in this bill apply to all localities. Provides an enhanced level of civil penalties in Planning District 23 (Hampton Roads) for repeat violations involving nonpermitted commercial uses as defined in the bill. The bill also clarifies (i) that when a board of zoning appeals hears appeals from the decision of an administrative officer and alters the statutorily required order of evidence, it is a reversible error if the appellant lodges an objection citing this section and the board refuses to reorder the hearing and (ii) that the required statement of a right to appeal an administrative officer's decision must be sent to the aggrieved person by certified mail with proof of delivery.
HB2128 (Walker) Derelict buildings; expands authority of localities to impose civil penalties. This bill acts to include industrial properties as derelict buildings for the purpose of imposing a penalty.
SB1422 (Reeves) Zoning violations; appeals; fines. This proposed legislation deals with the conviction of the storage or disposal of nonagricultural excavation material, waste, and debris being punishable by a fine of $2000 but if the problem is not abated within the specified time period the fine shall rise to $5000 and $7500 as outlined in the regulation.
SB1267 (Aird) / HB1310 (Clark and Henson) Zoning; enhanced civil penalties; certain residential violations. This bill makes repeat violations of a zoning ordinance for multifamily residential purposes to be not more than $1000 for a second violation and subsequent violations also are more with a cap of $6000 for all violations within a 12-month period. The house version had minor differences.
HB2037 (Bulova) Land development; solar canopies in parking areas. This allows a locality to adopt an ordinance that requires an applicant to install a solar canopy over designated parking areas. Such provisions shall apply only to non-residential parking areas with 100 parking spaces or more and may require coverage of up to 50 percent of the parking area. Localities are authorized to provide development density bonuses for properties that are subject to such provisions.
HB2054 (Reaser) Affordable housing; application for special use permit for assisted living facilities. Allows localities that have adopted an affordable housing program to negotiate that in an application for a special exception or special use permit affordable rental units be included for any proposed development of an assisted living facility. Such ordinance shall apply to applications approved on or after January 1, 2026.
SB1128 (Lucas) / HB1638 (Hayes) Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; affordable housing, criminal record screening model policy. Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to create a model policy that ensures that a criminal record is not the reason for denying a person housing unless the policy is followed. It also creates a workgroup. This law is not effective until January 1, 2026.
HB2152 (Carr) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; public body’s officer training. States that if the designated Freedom of Information Officer for a locality is their attorney; the attorney must attend training by the Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
HB2628 (Glass) / SB997 (Williams Graves) Local officers; oath of office. States that localities must take the oath of office and give bond if appropriate on or before the day on which the term of office begins.
HB1659 (Henson) Local Foundation and Soil Management Fund. Give localities the authority to create a local foundation and soil management fund out of local money for granting funds to citizens for foundation management and soil settlement repairs on previously developed lands.
HB1764 (Martinez) Disposable plastic bag tax; distribution to towns. States that any town in a county with a plastic bag tax shall receive a distribution of the total tax collected by the county based on the local sales tax distribution formula.
SB1052 (Ebbin) Virginia Human Rights Act; definition of “employer”. Reduces from 15 to 5 the number of employees for each working day in each of 20 or more weeks for purposes of the definition of “employer.”
SB1165 (Salim) /HB2024 (Seibold) Virginia Public Procurement Act; national environmental protection and product safety standards. Prohibits local governments from excluding materials contained in solar products if the products meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels.
HB2065 (Thomas)/ SB1282 (Durant) Fire Programs Fund; aid to localities, requirement for emergency incidents reporting. For localities to remain eligible for funding from the Fire Programs Fund, they must report all emergency incidents through the National Emergency Response Information System while sharing such emergency incident data with the Department of Fire Programs. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.
SB1248 (Hackworth) Fire Prevention Code; prohibition on permit fees for fire departments, etc. for certain localities. Prohibits the State Fire Marshal from charging a fee for the approval and administration of a permit issued to the governing body of a locality with a total population of less than 10,000.
SB934 (Craig) Certain unclaimed property presumed abandoned; Volunteer Firefighters’ and Rescue Squad Workers’ Service Award Fund. If funds or property in the Volunteer Firefighters’ and Rescue Squad Workers’ Service Award Fund (Fund) are unclaimed for more than five years after a member’s forfeiture of his membership or dissolution of a volunteer emergency services or fire department they shall be presumed abandoned for purposes of the Virginia Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act.
SB1489 (Bagby) /HB2559 (Lopez) Authority of local government; service employees. Any locality may require by local ordinance compliance various provisions that assist service employees as defined in the bill transition to a new service company or retain their job when the locality moves to a new service company.
SB932 (Salim / Stanley) / HB2533 (Sewell) Zoning, development and use of accessory dwelling unit. This bill allows a locality to consider in the comprehensive plan tiny homes or accessory dwelling units. Tiny homes are defined as a dwelling of 400 square feet or less in floor area and accessory dwelling unit means an independent or attached dwelling unit as defined in the legislation.
SB985 (Williams Graves) / HB1654 (Helmer) Short-term rental properties; human trafficking awareness training. This bill requires an accommodations provider to complete an approved training course on recognizing and reporting instances of suspected human trafficking. The course shall be approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Given the fact that human trafficking training is required for hotel/motel employees, it is appropriate for accommodation providers to be subject to training as well
HB2289 (Coyner/Seibold) Zoning; recovery residences. Provides that zoning ordinances for all purposes shall consider a certified recovery residence in which no more than eight individuals with substance use disorder reside, either with or without one or more resident or nonresident staff persons, as residential occupancy by a single family. The bill provides that no clinical treatment shall take place in such recovery residence and that the recovery residence shall submit the individual name and contact information for the person responsible for the residence to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
HB2175 (Clark) / SB1136 (Boysko) Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Localities may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging measures after proper notice and public hearings.
SB876 (Ebbin) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; notice of public meetings; proposed agenda required. Requires public bodies subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act to include a proposed agenda listing all items expected to be considered by the public body at its meeting and those items shall be sufficiently descriptive to give the public reasonable notice of matters to be considered. The bill allows for amendments to be made to any such proposed agenda but provides that the public body shall not take any final action on those amended or additional agenda items.
SB1029 (Roem) Virginia Freedom of Information Act, procedure for responding to requests; charges; posting of notice of rights and responsibilities. Limits the fees that can be charged for producing public records to the median hourly rate of pay of employees or the actual hourly rate for the person performing the work whichever is less. It also amends the notice of rights and responsibilities on the website and makes some other technical amendments.
SB1170 (Salim) Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council; disclosure of digital assets. Requires the conflict of interest and ethics advisory council to amend the statement of disclosure to include the disclosure of digital assets.
SB1357 (Ebbin) / HB1745 (Watts) Conflict of Interests Act, State and Local Government, personal interest in a transaction. Adds to the definition of “personal interest in a transaction” for the purposes of State, Local and the General Assembly Conflict of Interests act includes when the subject of the transaction is the spouse.
SB972 (Rouse) / HB2494 (Askew) Emergency Response Exposure Grant Fund and Program. This fund will award grants to localities to support certain emergency responders who were exposed to a qualifying emergency, defined in the bill. The bill requires funding to be used for annual cancer screenings and health care expenses incurred by eligible emergency responders, defined in the bill, in the event such emergency responders are diagnosed with cancer from toxic material exposure. The bill permits funding to be used for out-of-pocket medical expenses not otherwise covered by insurance, workers' compensation, or other available funding. The Department of Fire Programs shall administer the Fund and Program. The enactment clause states that the 2012 airplane crash in Virginia Beach is a qualifying emergency.
SB899 (Stuart) Data centers; water use. A locality may include in its zoning ordinance provisions for (i) requiring proposed data center developments to submit water use estimates and (ii) considering water use when making rezoning and special use permit decisions related to data center development.
SB1246 (Stanley) Va. Emergency Management Preparedness and Capabilities Grant Program and Fund. Establishes the Virginia Emergency Management Preparedness and Capabilities Grant Program and Fund for the purpose of awarding grants to political subdivisions to assist with the cost of emergency management and preparedness.
SB1305 (McPike) Local taxes; zoning assessments; injunctions; ordinances. Any zoning ordinance or amendment to a zoning ordinance and map that has been enacted after December 1, 2023, shall not be effective until there is a final determination or the appropriate time period for an appeal has expired.
HB2438 (Mundon King) Solar facilities; local regulation, special exceptions. Ground-mounted solar energy generation facilities located on property zoned agricultural, commercial, industrial, or institutional shall be permitted pursuant to various criteria to be included in a local ordinance, such as specifications for setbacks, fencing, solar panel height, visual impacts, and grading, and a decommissioning plan for solar energy equipment and facilities.
HB2641 (Helmer) / SB975 (Van Valkenburg) Statewide housing targets; requires localities to increase their total housing stock. This proposed legislation requires localities to increase their total housing stock every year and also creates a “Housing Approval Board” that can overturn a local governing bodies decision on a residential project. The Board can provide a locality with a reprieve from the growth if they adopt prescriptive housing growth strategies as outlined in the bill and has not rejected more than 25% of new housing development over the past 5 years.
HB2577 (Leftwich) Uniform Statewide Building Code; unsafe structures. Any structure deemed unsafe under the Uniform Statewide Building Code, and therefore eligible for demolition upon the unsafe notice process being completed, the owner or his agent may temporarily overcome the unsafe structure designation by vacating and securing the structure by board up of all access points. The bill further provides that after six months have elapsed from the time the board up was first learned of and internally recorded by the locality, if the structure would still otherwise be considered an unsafe structure, the locality may issue and send a written notice to the owner that if the other conditions specified in the notice are not adequately improved, or an appeal.
HB1758 (Gardner) Surplus real property; prioritization of disposition for affordable housing. Requires the Department of General Services and the governing body of each locality to prepare an inventory list of all real property within its jurisdiction to which the locality holds fee simple title that is suitable for the development of affordable housing. If the governing body of a locality chooses to dispose of such a property, such property shall be offered for at least 180 days exclusively to eligible organizations, as defined by the bill, for the purpose of developing affordable housing, through purchase, lease, exchange, or donation in return for a recorded covenant to provide affordable housing for at least 30 years.
SB839 (VanValkenburg) Zoning; by-right multifamily development in areas zoned for commercial use. Required localities to allow for by-right development of multifamily residential uses on all land contained in commercial or business zoning districts.
HB1992 (Askew) / SB1374 (Suetterlein) Emergency Management; Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to evaluate needs. Directed the Secretary to create a workgroup to study existing emergency management needs and to analyze the sustainability of funding.
VML Contact: Michelle Gowdy, mgowdy@vml.org
Health & Human Services
Human services legislation round-up
Recovery residence bill passes House
On Feb. 19, the House passed its amended version of SB838 (VanValkenburg), which addresses licensure and oversight of recovery residences, including creating a workgroup to look at oversight and credentialing of such residences. VML supports the legislation.
The bill addresses civil penalties for violations of law related to operation of recovery residences; gives the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services the authority to issue provisional certification to certain recovery residences (a House amendment sets a time limit for provisional certifications; and directs the creation of a work group to (i) make recommendations related to oversight and transparency issues for recovery residences and (ii) develop credentialing guidelines for recovery residences.
VML and VACo will recommend local representatives to the workgroup. The work group is directed to report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by Nov. 1, 2025.
The bill may not have to go to conference because the patron supported the House amendments to it.
Federal benefits for youth in foster care bill passes Senate
On Feb. 18, the Senate passed HB2457 (Glass), which directs the State Board of Social Services to amend its regulations by Jan. 1, 2026, to (i) require local departments of social services to apply for federal benefits on behalf of children in foster care for which that they may be eligible, (ii) prohibit the state from using military survivor benefits to pay for services for children in foster care that the Commonwealth is otherwise obligated to pay for, and (iii) require local departments of social services that are representative payees for children in foster care to conserve such military survivor benefits in an appropriate trust instrument or protected account that is exempt from federal asset and resource limits.
VML has been monitoring this bill.
Legislation dealing with sharing of medical/mental health records of incarcerated individuals clears both chambers
Companion bills HB2754 (Singh) and SB870 (Favola) that allow the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), the Department of Social Services, and any local department of social services to access the medical and mental health information and records of persons committed to any correctional facility for the purposes of providing pre-release services, reentry planning, and post-incarceration placement and services have cleared both chambers of the General Assembly. The bills also authorize DMAS to access a juvenile's social, medical, psychiatric, and psychological reports and records during pre-release and for up to 30 days following such juvenile's release from commitment for the purposes of providing pre-release services, reentry planning, and post-incarceration placement and services.
VML supports this bill.
Updating of CSA statutes bill passes Senate and House
Both the Senate and House have approved SB801 (Favola) which makes a number of updates to the Children's Services Act (CSA) statutes regarding the state pool of funds for the provision of public or private nonresidential or residential services, including removal of language that established the program in the early 1990s regarding consolidation of state agency funding; community responsibility for the provision of services; and references to funding sources and placement authority. Adds reference to youth who are determined to be a child in need of services, as defined in law, and modifies the eligibility criteria for funding through CSA. Changes were a recommendation of the Virginia Commission on Youth.
VML has been monitoring the bill.
Community-based outpatient stabilization bill clears both chambers
In an effort to increase access to appropriate community-based mental health treatment, both the House and Senate passed SB819 (Favola), which requires health care professionals and evaluators to consider, prior to a patient’s release from an emergency custody order or temporary detention order, if a referral to a community-based outpatient stabilization program for voluntary treatment is appropriate for that patient.
VML has been monitoring this bill.
VML Contact: Janet Areson, jareson@vml.org
Education
Education legislation status updates: So many left behind, but one big one remains!
Passed
SB1307 (McPike) passed the Senate and the House and is now awaiting signature before sending the bill to the Governor.
If approved by a voter referendum, SB1307 would allow any county or city to impose a sales and use tax of up to one percent dedicated solely to school construction, renovation, and debt services. This version also stipulates that funds cannot be subsidized. This legislation was on the 2025 VML Legislative Program to support.
Failed
HB1954 (Rasoul) passed the House but was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee with the understanding that portions of this bill would be included in the budget.
HB1954 would establish the At-Risk Program to support programs and services for educationally at-risk students including prevention, intervention, or remediation. Services would include teacher recruitment efforts, English language learner programs, and hiring additional support staff. This bill also outlines certain funding requirements for the program. This includes various recommendations from the 2023 JLARC report regarding SOQ.
HB2032 (Reaser) passed the House but was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee with the understanding that portions of this bill would be included in the budget.
HB2032 would require state-funded add-ons to be provided to support English language learner students. The bill would require local funds to be obligated for add-ons determined by the local ability to pay. Lastly, the bill would require the DOE to develop and implement a data collection process related to English language learners.
SB977 (Hashmi) was left in committee in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
SB977 would require the Department of Education (DOE) to make changes to the Standards of Quality (SOQ) funding formula when calculating nonpersonal costs. One funding formula change comes from the deduction of federal funds resulting in the examination of actual support costs versus current spending. Also, the bills would include an estimate of the cost of compensation for facilities staff. This includes various recommendations from the 2023 JLARC report regarding SOQ.
HB1831 (Simonds) was incorporated into HB1954 (Rasoul) in the House Appropriations Committee.
HB1831 would require the Department of Education (DOE) to examine actual school division spending on support costs. The bill would also require support positions to be funded based on a calculation of prevailing costs by eliminating the support cap.
SB1236 (Aird) was left in committee the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee.
SB1236 would require the Department of Education (DOE) to examine actual school division spending on support costs. The bill would also require support positions to be funded based on a calculation of prevailing costs by eliminating the support cap.
HB1594 (Clark) was left in the House Appropriations Committee
HB1594 would require the Governor’s budget to include funding to ensure that teachers are paid at the national average for the 2026-2028 biennium budget.
HB2164 (Cole) was tabled in the House Appropriations Committee and SB1149 (French) was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Education and Health Committee.
HB2164 and SB1149 would require the DOE to exclude the true value of real property eligible for certain disabled veterans and surviving spouse property exemptions in the locality when calculating the local composite index (LCI) for each school division.
HB2231 (Cherry) was left in the House Appropriations Committee and SB1346 (Jordan) was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Education and Health Committee.
HB2231 and SB1346 would establish the Virginia Opportunity Scholarship Grant Program. This bill would provide grants for $5,000 per eligible student up to 10,000 students per year to be used exclusively for private education needs such as textbooks and uniforms. Eligible students are listed in the bill and will be managed by the Department of Treasury.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Elections
Education legislation status updates: A mixed bag of passed and failed bills
Passed
SB1009 (Salim) passed the Senate and the House and is now awaiting signatures before being sent to the Governor for final action.
SB1009 would allow local elections to be conducted by rank-choice voting. The State Board of Elections would be required to create standards and approve tabulation software on existing systems conducting rank choice voting elections as well as provide voter education materials on ranked choice.
SJ253 (Surovell) was agreed to by the Senate and agreed to by the House.
SJ253 would create a two-year study on the feasibility of consolidating and scheduling general elections. A 13-member joint subcommittee would be tasked with studying the potential and probable effects of moving some or all of Virginia’s state or local elections to even-numbered years coinciding with the federal election schedule. This change would require a constitutional amendment.
Both HB1794 (Helmer) and SB1119 (VanValkenburg) passed the Senate and the House. These bills are identical and awaiting signature before being sent to the Governor for final action.
HB1794 and SB1119 would move all primary elections to be held on the presidential primary date. Concerning candidates for election in November of a presidential election year, the bill would lift the requirement that petition signatures must be collected after January 1.
Failed
HB1938 (Reid) passed the House but was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee.
As amended, this bill would maintain the 40-foot prohibited area around polling places, electoral board meetings, and recount locations with an additional requirement of a five-foot prohibition around vehicles.
HB2139 (Walker) was passed by indefinitely in the House Privileges and Elections Committee.
HB2139 would allow candidates for local office who have been nominated by a political party or in a primary election to be identified by a political party at the discretion of the candidate.
HB1566 (Green) was stricken from the docket in the House Privileges and Election, Election Administration Committee.
HB1566 would require any ballot mailed to an absentee voter to be printed on a secure paper that incorporates a visible watermark that identifies the ballot as an official ballot to preserve ballot secrecy. While VML does not have a position on this bill, the potential local fiscal impact was concerning.
SB1175 (Sutterlein) was passed by indefinitely in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee.
SB1175 would require in-person absentee voting to be available from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday during early voting and from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on the first and second Saturday and Sunday before all elections. This removes the flexibility that local governing bodies currently have to establish hours of satellite locations and adds Sunday hours.
SB1404 (Pekarsky) failed to report in the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee.
SB1404 would mandate that all school boards be elected. Current law requires all school boards to be appointed, but they may become elected if approved by referendum. This bill would have affected 12 localities.
HB2478 (Zehr) failed to report in the House Privileges and Elections Committee.
HB2487 would require 24-hour video surveillance of all absentee ballot drop-off locations, including polling locations such as schools, government buildings, shopping malls, etc.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Technology
Technology legislation updates: Remaining bill dealing with use of high-risk artificial intelligence by public bodies awaits action in the Senate
Passed
HB2094 (Maldonado) passed the and the Senate and is now awaiting signature before being sent to the Governor for final action.
HB2094 would create requirements for vendors to develop, deploy, and use high-risk artificial intelligence systems, as defined in the bill, to be enforced by the Attorney General. This bill comes as a recommendation from JCOTS this summer. It does not include any public bodies; however, it does mandate developers that local governments will use.
HB2541 (Tran) passed the House and the Senate and is now awaiting signature before being sent to the Governor for final action.
HB2541 would make several changes to the Virginia Information Technology Act to align the Virginia Code with Federal Standards all local bodies must comply with by 2026 or 2027. This bill would add small adjustments above federal standards.
Failed
HB2046 (Anthony) passed the House and reported from the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. The bill was read for the second time on the floor but was passed by on the final days for bills effectively killing it.
HB2046 would create requirements for the development, deployment, and use of high-risk artificial intelligence systems, as defined in the bill, by state public bodies. The bill would direct the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to develop, publish, and maintain policies and procedures concerning the development, procurement, implementation, utilization, and ongoing assessment of systems. This bill does not include counties, cities, or towns but does include a work group to determine the feasibility of extending this requirement to local governing bodies.
SB1214 (Aird) passed the Senate but was left in the House Appropriations Committee.
SB1214 would create requirements for the development, deployment, and use of high-risk artificial intelligence systems, as defined in the bill, by state public bodies. The bill would direct the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to develop, publish, and maintain policies and procedures concerning the development, procurement, implementation, utilization, and ongoing assessment of systems. This bill does not include counties, cities, or towns but does include a work group to determine the feasibility of extending this requirement to local governing bodies.
VML Contact: Josette Bulova, jbulova@vml.org
Opportunities
Invitation for local elected officials: Exploring Virginia’s Waterways Tour
Virginia’s local elected officials are invited to join the Virginia delegation of the Local Government Advisory Committee to the Chesapeake Executive Council (LGAC) on the Exploring Virginia’s Waterways bus tour, a two-day peer-to-peer learning exchange focused on how can we effectively balance economic growth with environmental sustainability to ensure thriving communities and a resilient future for Virginia.
When: Thursday, April 10 - Friday, April 11, 2025
Where: The first pickup location will be at the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC), 723 Woodlake Dr, Chesapeake, VA 23320. We will then travel to Hopewell for a second pickup. The exact location in Hopewell is TBD. Cars may be left in both locations overnight. The first tour stops will be in Hopewell before traveling to a Utility Scale Solar operation, ending the day at Smithfield Station. On Friday, we will tour the SWIFT Research Center, an innovative water treatment facility, in the morning and end the tour back at HRPDC for lunch. After lunch, we will return the Tri-Cities officials to their vehicles in Hopewell. See the attached draft itinerary for additional details.
Who: Local elected officials who are passionate about helping their communities.
Why: This bus tour is an opportunity for you to share your local priorities with other elected officials and learn about the priorities of your peers.
Cost: There is no cost to you. The comfortable bus, all meals, and an overnight stay at Smithfield Station will be provided for free. We simply ask for two days of your time. Funding for this opportunity was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Chesapeake Bay Program.
This will be a small group of no more than 30 local elected officials. We will discuss the challenges YOUR community faces in addressing Clean and Green Growth in Virginia and share examples of successes and obstacles the other participating officials face. By elevating local issues and concerns to state leaders, including Governor Youngkin, LGAC is a strong and trusted voice for local governments within the Chesapeake Bay Program.
View/Download the invite packet here >.
To RSVP, please complete this form or contact Rick Mittler, Local Government Projects Coordinator at rmittler@allianceforthebay.org.
VML Contact: Mitchell Smiley, msmiley@vml.org
Free in-person event: Municipal Autonomous Vehicle Forum happening Friday, March 14
VML Community Business Member MITRE Corporation welcomes all VML members to participate in this municipally-focused laboratory tour of MITRE ‘s extensive transportation and AI facilities, followed by a deep dive discussion into the future of municipal autonomous vehicle policies and planning.
Where: This event will be held at MITRE’s headquarters at 7515 Colshire Drive, Mclean, VA 22012.
Date: Friday, March 14
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Register here >.
Note: There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.
What to expect:
Several of the nation’s leading experts on autonomous vehicles and infrastructure will participate in a panel discussion and roundtable with VML members. The discussion will include lessons learned, an exploration of the Commonwealth’s ongoing work with MITRE, and discussion of ongoing and future work with local governments and states around the country, including an upcoming Autonomy Blueprint for a VML member city.
About MITRE:
MITRE is the nation’s leading not-for-profit operator of Federally Funded Research Centers. Chartered by Congress in 1958, MITRE works in the public interest across various domains, including transportation, environment, cybersecurity, healthcare, and more, providing technical expertise and guidance to the U.S. government, as well as states and municipalities and international partners. In 2025, VML and MITRE are embarking on a research partnership to bring customized and specific technical expertise to VML members.
Contact: Jon Desenberg, State and Local Director, MITRE Labs, JDesenberg@mitre.org