City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: MAY 7, 2026
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER
FROM: DR. WENDY GINSBERG, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR
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Final Review of the 2026 Virginia General Assembly Session. Update on Mandatory and Permissive Local Authority Granted by 2026 General Assembly Legislative Action.
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ISSUE: Final Review of the 2026 Virginia General Assembly Session. Update on Mandatory and Permissive Local Authority Granted by 2026 General Assembly Legislative Action.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1. Receive a final update on the status of bills the City tracked from the General Assembly; and
2. Receive information regarding new laws that mandate City action, including action that may be required of Council; and
3. Receive information on what new, permissive authorities are available to the City.
BACKGROUND: Virginia is a "Dillon Rule" state, which means that localities only have authority that is expressly granted to them by the General Assembly or written in their municipal charters, as well as such powers necessarily implied by those authorities.
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 adopt any permissive authority granted to them by the General Assembly.
During the 2026 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 several subject areas.
DISCUSSION: The 2026 General...
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