City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 14, 2020
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
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Update on the 2020 Virginia General Assembly Session.
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ISSUE: Update on the 2020 General Assembly Session, including an overview of the Governor Northam’s proposed budget for Fiscal Years 2020-2022.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council approve the legislative positions included in Attachment 1 and Attachment 2 (Recommended Positions on Bills of Impact to the City), as recommended by Council’s Legislative Subcommittee (Mayor Wilson and Vice Mayor Bennett-Parker) at their December 18, 2019 and January 10, 2020 meetings.
DISCUSSION: The 2020 General Assembly Session began on January 9 and is scheduled to adjourn on March 7. This is a long legislative session with the General Assembly in session for 60-days this year. Sarah Taylor, the City’s Legislative Director, will continue to represent the City in Richmond during the General Assembly Session.
The deadline for the introduction of legislation is Friday, January 17. This session, staff reports that more than 5,000 pieces of legislation were submitted for drafting and, as of January 14, more than 3,000 bills and resolutions have been introduced and are in the process of being reviewed by staff. Recommended positions on 396 bills have already been completed by staff, approved by the Legislative Subcommittee, and are included in the attached documents for your approval.
Legislative Package - The City’s 2020 Legislative Package has the proposals organized into two sections - Legislative Principles and Legislative Priorities.
The section of Legislative Principles is structured around the City’s Strategic Plan and creates a clear nexus between the City’s goals and the legislative and funding measures necessary for us to achieve these goals. In general, the Legislative Principles are broadly crafted and focus on comprehensive legislative strategies rather than specific legislative tactics.
Legislation that aligns with and supports the City’s Legislative Principles has been filed in each area, including: affordable housing authority; anti-discrimination in the areas of housing, employment, credit and public accommodations; procurement flexibility for localities; common sense gun safety, including “red flag” laws and stronger background checks for all gun buyers; decriminalization of marijuana possession and the decriminalization of HIV; local authority regarding war memorials on public property; banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth; automated speed enforcement; single use plastic and Styrofoam products; taxing e-cigarettes and vaping products; raising the tax on tobacco products; and protecting vulnerable road users.
The City’s Legislative Priorities are, generally, specific revenue and legislative proposals that the City has identified as the issues of greatest impact to the City. These are the issues the City intends to continue expending significant political capital on and the issues that we intend to ask our General Assembly delegation to engage in on behalf of the City.
Legislation and budget items that align with and support the City’s Legislative Priorities include:
• $65 million in bond proceeds in the FY 2020-2022 budget in support of the City’s CSO project;
• Budget amendments to remove the “one time, final payment” language from the “caboose” budget that granted the City the initial $25 million in bond proceeds for the City’s CSO project;
• Restoration of funding to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA);
• Local authority to regulate firearms in government buildings, in local parks, and at permitted events on public property;
• Incrementally increasing the minimum wage to $15;
• Local authority to raise fees that support law libraries;
• Increasing voter access, including no-excuse early/absentee voting;
• Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment;
• Efforts to reform the redistricting process in Virginia;
• Allowing Virginia to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative;
• Transitioning the statewide electricity supply to carbon-free sources;
• Allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license or driver privilege card.
Biennial Budget - This session is a budget year, with the General Assembly set to consider the Governor’s proposed 2020-2022 biennial budget. As noted above, the Governor’s proposed budget includes $65 million in VPBA bonds for the City’s CSO project over the two years of the budget. The Governor also included $2.443 million for the preservation and curation of the Freedom House historic site as part of his proposed “historic justice” investments.
In addition, there are a number of other budget items of interest to the City, including:
• $140.4 million to increase the “At-Risk Add-On” for educationally at-risk students -- the largest single increase to this funding source in Virginia’s history and a “priority” item in the City’s legislative package;
• $145.1 million for a 3 percent salary increase in the second year, for funded Standards of Quality instructional and support positions;
• $125 million in new flexible per-pupil allocations for local divisions;
• $99.3 million to increase the number of counselors at every grade level;
• $27.6 million to increase the number of instructional positions for English language learners;
• $10.6 million to help cover the cost of school breakfast and lunch for families who qualify for reduced meal pricing; and,
• $808.5 million for formula-driven enrollment and program updates.
• $63 million in the Virginia Housing Trust Fund (VHTF), bringing the total amount to $84 million over three years;
• $6.6 million to establish an Eviction Prevention and Diversion Pilot Program, which will allow local and regional partners to apply for help implementing eviction prevention and diversion programs that cover the costs associated with a pending or potential eviction;
• $22.4 million over the biennium to ensure populations with special needs have access to safe, affordable housing, including $8.9 million for 350 new rental assistance slots for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, one housing coordinator position responsible for the management of the state’s rental assistance program for individuals with disabilities, $8 million in permanent supportive housing funds for individuals being discharged from state behavioral health facilities, and $5 million to increase funding for statewide discharge assistance plans.
• $10 million for a revolving loan fund that will enable both private citizens and local government institutions to make investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
Elections Have Consequences - Due to the results of the November 2019 elections, Democrats gained the majority in both the Virginia Senate (21-19) and in the House of Delegates (55-45). This has led to many historic “firsts” in the General Assembly this session, including:
• Del. Eileen Filler-Corn elected Speaker of the House, as the first woman and the first person of the Jewish faith to hold the position in the 401 year history of the General Assembly;
• Suzette Denslow named Clerk of the House of Delegates, the first woman to hold the position;
• Sen. Louise Lucas named President Pro Tempore, making her the first woman and the first African American to hold the Senate’s second-highest office.
In addition, Democrats in the House made numerous changes to the Rules which govern the body - some substantive, some symbolic, including the banning of firearms from the Capitol and General Assembly buildings and the renaming of a number of committees to better reflect the focus of the committees (“Labor and Commerce Committee” vs. “Commerce and Labor” and,the renaming of the “Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee’ to the “Public Safety Committee”). The new Rules in the House of Delegates include only feminine pronouns, for example: “No member will absent herself from the service of the House unless she has leave granted by the Speaker or is sick or otherwise unable to attend.”
Some of the first legislative actions of the 2020 General Assembly are a direct result of this change. In the first few days of the 2020 session, we saw the passage of the resolution ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in the Senate and House Privileges and Elections committees and the passage of a series of gun safety bills in the Senate Judiciary Committee, including one-gun-a-month, universal background checks, a “red flag” law, and local authority to regulate firearms in government buildings, in local parks, and at permitted events on public property.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Recommended Positions on Bills of Impact to the City Discussed on December 18, 2019
2. Recommended Positions on Bills of Impact to the City Discussed on January 10, 2020
STAFF:
Laura Triggs, Deputy City Manager
Sarah Taylor, Legislative Director