Norfolk’s legislative agenda

The City of Norfolk’s Office of Intergovernmental Relations has a draft of the legislative agenda. I obtained a copy after requesting it, although it is not yet available on the website. According to the draft, Norfolk has the following items on its agenda (my comments in italics):

• Legislative priorities:
  • City Charter Changes. Amendment to the charter section 114, in order to add a clause addressing the status of personnel employed by Constitutional Officers and Circuit Court judges. (see SB45 for details)
  • Real estate tax. Norfolk supports the second passage of the constitutional amendment that authorizes a homestead exemption. (see bill list in this post.) Also, the city supports legislation that separates residential and commercial real estate tax rates. (see HB215.) Finally, the city opposes legislation that would “limit local discretion in establishing real estate strategies, such as cap limits.” (such as HJ19, HB74, HB102)
  • Boarded house fee. Requests authority to impose a fee on properties boarded up for more than one year. Fee to be 15% of the property’s assessed value or $2,500, whichever is lower. (For background on this, read this story. No bill introduced yet.)
  • Environmental review for $100,000 projects. HB3202 amended the Virginia Code 10.1-1188 to require state environmental review of certain city projects over $100,000. The city would like this section repealed or to have the dollar threshold raised to $1 million. (see SB43)
  • Organ donor consent.Virginia Code 32.1-283 requires law enforcement officers, among others, to obtain consent for the removal of transplantable tissue from the next of kin upon the death of persons in certain circumstances. Because the primary responsibility for the investigation of the death resides with law enforcement, the city would like them to be removed. (see HB216)
  • Impersonating an officer. Update from a Class 1 misdemeanor to Class 6 felony by amending Section 18.2-174. (No bill yet.)
  • Regulation of secondhand dealers. Supports authorizing legislation for the regulation of secondhand dealers, similar to that of pawnbrokers. (No bill yet.)
  • Smoking prohibition in restaurants. Supports authority for all localities to prohibit smoking in restaurants. (see HB288)
  • HRTA amendments. Supports limited amendments to the HRTA package of revenues and fees while opposes any modification to the operations of the authority or the authorized projects list. (No bill yet.)

The City also has a list of funding priorities including school funding, $1 million for the Virginia Zoo, the establishment of a housing trust fund to help localities finance affordable house, $800,000 for a PACT (Physician-assisted Assertive Community Treatment) team, retention of the $1 million payment in lieu of taxes to port host cities, restoration to the budget of funding for the Norfolk portion of the Norfolk Southern right-of-way, and $25,000 to assist with veteran burials.

Finally, the city expressed their opinion on the following statewide issues:

• Eminent domain. Supports retention of the current eminent domain authority and opposes any restrictions.
• Payday lending. Supports limitations on the operation of these facilities, including capping of interest rates and the creation of a statewide database of loans.
• Telecommunications tax. Supports amendment to the new 5% telecommunications tax since it hasn’t provided revenue neutrality for the localities. (Background on this is here.)