Imposes a 48-month moratorium on the repayment of funds allocated to a locality for a bonded project pursuant to the Economic Development Access Program, provided that the conditions of the Commonwealth Transportation Board's economic development access policy are met. The bill has an emergency clause and is identical to
Permits certain Indian tribes recognized by the federal government to join planning district commissions as members and to negotiate the terms of such membership.
Corrects numerous sections of the Code of Virginia by replacing the term "intellectual disability" with "developmental disabilities" as appropriate.
Authorizes a school security officer to carry a firearm in the performance of his duties if (i) within 10 years immediately prior to being hired by the local school board he was an active law-enforcement officer in the Commonwealth; (ii) he retired or resigned from his position as a law-enforcement officer in good standing; (iii) he meets the training and qualifications to carry a concealed handgun as a retired law-enforcement officer; (iv) he has met the additional training and certification requirements of the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS); (v) the local school board solicits input from the chief law-enforcement officer of the locality regarding the qualifications of the school security officer and receives verification from such chief law-enforcement officer that the school security officer is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, purchasing, or transporting a firearm; and (vi) the local school board grants him the authority to carry a firearm in the performance of his duties. The bill requires DCJS to establish additional firearms training and certification requirements for school security officers who carry a firearm in the performance of their duties. Existing law requires DCJS to establish minimum training and certification requirements for school security officers.
Establishes the Rural Coastal Virginia Community Enhancement Authority, consisting of the 12 counties within the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, and Accomack-Northampton planning districts, if approved by the respective governing bodies. The Authority is created for the purpose of serving as a regional economic development body and represents a partnership of the Commonwealth, the planning districts, and the 12 counties of the coastal region. The Authority shall be governed by a board of up to 15 members. The Authority may seek and approve loans and solicit donations, grants, and any other funding from the Commonwealth, the federal government, and regional, local government, and private entities to carry out its purposes, powers, and duties. Also, the Authority will (i) assist the region in obtaining necessary job training or employment-related education, leadership and civic development, and business development, especially entrepreneurship for the coastal region; (ii) provide special assistance to distressed and underdeveloped counties within the coastal region; and (iii) fund demonstration projects, and conduct research, evaluations, and assessments of the coastal region's assets and needs.
Expands the uncollected personal property tax on vehicles for which the treasurer is required to compile a list to include the personal property tax on trailers, semitrailers, watercraft, and manufactured homes.
Provides an exception to the requirement that before any agency of the state acquires real property, it must follow the guidelines adopted by the Department of General Services and obtain the prior approval of the Governor. The bill grants this exception in cases of the acquisition of real property to be held in trust for the benefit of a state-recognized Indian tribe, provided that such property is (i) annexed into the existing reservation of such tribe and (ii) located within a one-mile radius of the boundary of such reservation. The bill provides, however, that these acquisitions of real estate shall be subject to the review of the Office of the Attorney General and approval by the Governor.
Authorizes the hiring of certified third-party professionals to administer any or all aspects of a program for the management of stormwater and erosion, including plan review and inspection but not including enforcement, on behalf of (i) an erosion and stormwater management program authority, which is the State Water Control Board or a locality approved by the State Water Control Board, or (ii) a stormwater management program authority, which can be a locality, a state entity, or another type of entity.
Directs the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency (the Center) to convene a work group to consider alternative methods of stormwater management in rural Tidewater localities. The bill provides that the group is to be facilitated by the Virginia Coastal Policy Center at William and Mary Law School and is to include representatives of institutions of higher education, state agencies, local governments, private industry, and other groups. The bill provides that the work group is to review and consider the creation of rural development growth areas, the development of a volume credit program, the payment of fees to support regional best management practices, and the allowance of the use of stormwater in highway ditches to generate volume credits. The bill requires the Center to report the results of the work group's examination to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by January 1, 2018, which is the date the work group provisions of the bill are set to expire. The bill also delays from July 1, 2017, to July 1, 2018, the effective date of new stormwater laws enacted during the 2016 Session of the General Assembly.
