City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JUNE 20, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: SARAH G. TAYLOR, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR
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Mandatory and Permissive Local Authority Granted by 2023 General Assembly Legislative Action.
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ISSUE: Mandatory and permissive authority granted by 2023 General Assembly action.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Receive information regarding new laws that mandate City action, including action that may be required of Council; and
(2) Review what new, permissive authority it wishes to exercise and provide direction to staff.
BACKGROUND: Virginia courts recognize no inherent local government powers; this is the legal doctrine known as "Dillon's Rule." As a Dillon Rule state, the governing authority of Virginia localities is expressly limited to what is expressly granted to them by the legislature, by state statute, or written in their municipal charter.
Therefore, each session of the General Assembly, bills may be passed and signed into law which grant localities certain governing authority; this authority may be mandatory or permissive. Once these laws go into effect and this authority is granted, it falls to the locality to appropriately implement whatever mandatory authority is required of them and determine whether they want to take advantage of any permissive authority granted to them by the General Assembly.
During the 2023 session of the General Assembly, legislation was passed, and signed into law by the Governor, that in some cases mandates localities to act, and in other cases grants permissive authority to localities in a number of subject areas.
Information on the new laws which mandate City action is provided here for your awareness, and City staff will work to implement these changes as necessary.
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