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Home My Public Portal About2016_01_12_R008 Modification of 2016 Legislative Positions Statement The Town of Leesburg, PRESENTED January 12,2016 Virginia SOLUTION NO. 2016-008 ADOPTED January 12,2016 A RESOLUTION: MODIFICATION TO THE ADOPTED LEGISLATIVE POSITIONS STATEMENT FOR THE 2016 VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEGISLATIVE SESSION WHEREAS,the Virginia General Assembly will convene on January 13,2016 for the 2016 Legislative Session; and WHEREAS,the Town of Leesburg has specific legislative initiatives that it would like to see addressed during the General Assembly session; and WHEREAS,the Town of Leesburg has developed a Legislative Positions Statement to provide general guidance on various topics for Town staff and state legislators;and WHEREAS,a request to add support for a proposed bill regarding State Corporation Commission public hearing requirements when sighting power transmission lines was received from Delegate Minchew. THEREFORE,RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia that the Town's 2016 Legislative Positions Statement is amended as attached. PASSED this 12th day of January. 2016. Kel y :ur,; ice Mayor Town of Leesburg ATTES11: ' Clerk of Coon'ip 1) P:\Resolutions\2016\0112 Modification to the Adopted Legislative Positions Statement.doc ,�G LF �� Town of Leesburg 2016 Legislative Positions Statement q�LISHE� 7RGtN% 1 GENERAL POSITIONS 2 (Issues are not arranged in priority order) 3 A. Oppose any reduction of local taxing authority 4 The Town Council opposes any reduction or narrowing of the taxing authority of local 5 governments, including but not limited to business license tax, machinery &tools tax and meals 6 tax. Further, the General Assembly should take no action to restrict the use of current local 7 revenue sources. 8 B. Oppose any reduction of local land use authority 9 The Town Council opposes legislation that weakens local authority to plan and regulate land use, 10 zoning and property maintenance. This authority should remain with local governing bodies. 11 The Town Council generally supports the granting of additional land use, zoning and property 12 maintenance authority to localities, especially in areas experiencing high rates of sustained 13 growth, and as a means to address the fiscal burdens experienced by localities in providing 14 needed public services to local residents. 15 C. Oppose any unfunded mandates 16 The Town Council opposes any new state mandates that are not fully funded by the 17 Commonwealth, and opposes the shifting of fiscal responsibility from the state to localities for 18 existing programs. 19 D. Support revenue sharing with state 20 The Town Council supports any state revenue sharing formula to assist local governments with 21 public infrastructure needs, so long as the formula includes recognition of the needs in high 22 growth localities. 23 24 POSITIONS ON SPECIFIC ISSUES 25 (Issues are not arranged in priority order) 26 E. Transportation Funding 27 i The Town Council supports state policy changes to reduce state oversight of locally 28 administered transportation projects. Such oversight is duplicative, cumbersome, and 29 inefficient, and results in unnecessary delays and costs. Periodic state audits of locally 30 administered projects would be more efficient and better policy than constant, day to day 31 oversight. 32 ii The Town Council supports state policy changes to mandate further refinement of VDOT 33 cost estimates for transportation projects in an effort to improve accuracy and thus reduce 34 time lost due to the accumulation of unnecessary excess funds. In those circumstances when 35 excess funds are unavoidable, allow those funds to be allocated to other projects more 36 efficiently. 2016 Legislative Positions (Adopted 11-10-15 with SCC Addition) 2016 Legislative Positions Statement Page 2 37 iii Construction of Grade-Separated Interchanges 38 The Town Council requests dedicated funding for the construction of grade-separated 39 interchanges to replace the current at-grade signalized intersections in the following 40 locations: 41 (a) Edwards Ferry Road at the Route 15 Bypass, incorporating the intersection of Fort 42 Evans Road and the Route 15 Bypass, as well as facilities that will allow safe 43 pedestrian passage across the Bypass 44 Status: Interchange Justification Report (IJR) underway. This VDOT managed 45 project has $2 million in NVTA funds allocated for study and design work. 46 (b) Battlefield Parkway at Route 7 (East Market Street) 47 Status: NVTA and VDOT agreement complete. $13 million in NVTA funds secured. 48 County and Town have requested $37 million in 2017 NVTA Funds 49 (c) Battlefield Parkway at the Route 15 Bypass 50 Status: Town has applied for$50 million in HB-2 funding from VDOT. IJR has not 51 been funded 52 F. Transient Occupancy Tax 53 The Commonwealth should not allow online travel companies to avoid paying the full transient 54 occupancy tax and the Town Council supports legislation to clarify this in the state code. 55 G. Civil Zoning Fines 56 The Town Council supports legislation that grants localities the authority to collect unpaid and 57 delinquent civil zoning fines in the same manner as real estate taxes and levies are collected. 58 H. Conditional Zoning (Cash and In-Kind Proffers) 59 The Town Council supports existing local authority to accept cash and in-kind proffers from 60 developers to assist localities in financing the capital facilities and infrastructure needed to serve 61 new development and opposes legislation to eliminate or restrict that authority. 62 I. Local Authority to Prohibit Firearms on Public Property 63 The Town Council supports legislation that authorizes localities to adopt ordinances that prohibit 64 firearms and ammunition on property owned or leased by the locality. 65 J. Prohibit Predatory Lending Practices (Council Resolution, July 13, 2010) 66 The Town Council supports legislation that prohibits all predatory, usurious lending practices, 67 including but not limited to provisions that would: 68 i. Impose an interest rate cap of eighteen percent(18%) above the prime lending rate, 69 calculated as an effective annual percentage rate including all fees or charges of any kind, for 70 any consumer credit extended in the Commonwealth of Virginia; 71 ii. Incorporate into the Virginia Code the protections regarding consumer credit to military 72 personnel as reflected in the Military Lending Act, 10 United States Code, Section 987. 2016 Legislative Positions (Adopted 11-10-15 with SCC Addition) 2016 Legislative Positions Statement Page 3 73 K. Utility Rates & Connection Fees 74 The Town Council supports the existing authority of localities or locally created authorities to 75 impose utility rates and connection fees adequate to support the full cost of water, wastewater 76 and stormwater utility systems, and opposes any legislation that would limit that authority. 77 L. Higher Education Presence in Leesburg 78 The Town Council requests funding for a state-supported higher education presence in the Town 79 of Leesburg. 80 M. Independent Consumer Advocate for Transmission Line Issues 81 The Town Council supports legislation that creates an independent office of the consumer 82 advocate within State government to actively participate in transmission lines issues before the 83 State Corporation Commission. 84 N. Enforcement of Recycling Regulations 85 The Town Council supports legislation that grants localities the authority to enforce compliance 86 with recycling regulations. 87 O. Line of Duty Act 88 The Town Council supports the Virginia Municipal League's position that funding responsibility 89 for the Line of Duty program should be returned to the Commonwealth. 90 P. Legal Notice Publication 91 The Town Council supports legislation that would give localities the authority to post legal 92 notices on websites as a substitute for publishing legal notices in newspapers. 93 Q. State Funding for School Resource Officers 94 The Town Council supports legislation that would provide state funding for school resource 95 officers at all public elementary, middle, and high schools. 96 R. Virginia Public Procurement Act 97 The Town Council supports the positions of the Virginia Association of Governmental 98 Purchasing on legislation regarding the Virginia Public Procurement Act. 99 S. Non-partisan Redistricting that Preserves Jurisdictional Boundaries 100 The Town Supports redistricting reform, including the use of a non-partisan independent 101 commission to draw state legislative and Congressional lines based on specified and consistent 102 criteria, including insofar as possible preservation of the integrity of existing city, town, county, 103 and precinct lines. 104 2016 Legislative Positions (Adopted 11-10-15 with SCC Addition) 2016 Legislative Positions Statement Page 4 105 106 T. Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and Commonwealth Resilience Fund 107 The Town Council supports VML in urging the General Assembly to address greenhouse gas 108 emissions targets through a Regional Greenhouse Gas Inventory (RGGI) carbon credit auction, 109 and/or a carbon emissions tax. All proceeds derived from the auction of credits should be used 110 to establish the "Commonwealth Resilience Fund", a special state dedicated fund to assist 111 localities in addressing flooding, energy efficiency improvements, and economic development. 112 U. Chesapeake Bay TMDL and State Water Quality Management Planning Regulation 113 The Town Council supports the Virginia Municipal Wastewater Association's position opposing 114 revision of existing nutrient allocation of dischargers (local governments, authorities and 115 industrial facilities) for the purpose of transferring allocation to new facilities. 116 V. State Corporation Commission Public Hearing Requirements 117 The Town Council supports a requirement that the State Corporation Commission hold a public 118 hearing on matters relating to the sighting of power transmission lines when an affected locality 119 provides a written request for a public hearing. 120 2016 Legislative Positions (Adopted 11-10-15 with SCC Addition)