Lynchburgs city staff and councilmembers convened Oct. 14 for a work session to shape a proposed legislative package the city will ask state lawmakers to carry during the upcoming General Assembly session. The package contains roughly 17 distinct requests or positions, and staff said each will be converted to bill language and presented for final direction on Oct. 28.

Items discussed included proposals to expand local zoning authority; a request from one councilmember to give localities the option to invest in cryptocurrencies or alternative assets for specific capital needs; opposition to any statewide mandate requiring collective bargaining; and a request to permit the city, by ordinance, to establish an elected school board (a local option) while staff also explored the mechanics and charter implications.

Council members debated whether to seek explicit statutory clarification of local zoning power in light of other pending statewide bills; several councilors said they already believe local zoning authority is sufficient and cautioned that redundant or late-filed language could be counterproductive.

On public-safety and criminal-justice items, the package included an ask to reintroduce mandatory minimum sentences for violent felony offenders (a reversal of some 2020 reforms) and a proposal to expand penalties or create clarifying statutory language addressing situations when children are present in vehicles where marijuana is being used; staff said they will add language on presumptive limits and potential child-abuse/neglect reporting tools.

Other items included requests to revisit school-funding formulas and human-services allocation models (to weight funding by active caseload rather than population), support for transitional literacy and targeted transitional kindergarten programs, and continued calls for more regionally equitable transportation funding formulas under Virginias Smart Scale program.

Several items drew specific procedural questions: councilmembers asked for analysis before endorsing a proposed amendment that would add explicit statutory authority for local governments to prohibit abortion clinics (the council later voted separately to send a zoning-based amendment to the Planning Commission for review). Councilmembers also discussed whether to request the General Assembly to allow cities to consolidate the elected office of treasurer into an appointed finance chief and the related charter changes such a move would require.

Staff said they will refine the packages text, remove or separate items that require more time (for example, the abortion/zoning item), and circulate a revised draft before the Oct. 28 docket. The city manager and intergovernmental relations staff asked council members to provide final edits and guidance before staff prepares bill language for state lawmakers and local legislative partners.

Ending: Staff will bring back the revised legislative packet for council action at the Oct. 28 meeting and requested any additional edits by then.