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Subcommittee pauses bill that would require counties to provide certain services to town residents without an MOU
Summary
Delegate Fernando Marty Martinez presented HB 17 74 to require counties to provide the same basic services to residents of incorporated towns as to those in unincorporated areas unless a town requests a different level of service.
Delegate Fernando Marty Martinez presented HB 17 74, a bill intended to ensure residents of incorporated towns receive the same county services provided to residents in unincorporated areas without requiring a memorandum of understanding (MOU) unless the town requests a different level of service.
The sponsor said the bill aims to level the playing field so that "a taxpayer who lives in a town should not ... have to be a memo of understanding just to get the same services like animal control in the town." He said the measure is not intended to abolish MOUs, which remain appropriate where a town provides different or overlapping services.
Supporters from Leesburg said MOUs have delayed needed services in specific cases, citing an instance where a tenant with a suspected infestation could not receive county health inspections until an MOU was in place. A Leesburg representative told the committee such delays had caused inconvenience and risk to tenants.
Opponents — including Joe Lurch on behalf of the Virginia Association of Counties members and Jan Gustafson, attorney for Loudoun County — cautioned that the bill could raise jurisdictional issues where counties and towns share concurrent jurisdiction (for example, erosion control and stormwater management). Gustafson explained that, in areas of concurrent jurisdiction, statute presumes a town will exercise jurisdiction unless an agreement gives the county authority.
After extended discussion and questions about what constitutes "standard" county services and the fiscal impacts, a member moved to "gently lay this bill on the table"; the motion was seconded and the committee called the roll. The transcript does not record a numeric tally for that motion. Committee members asked staff and stakeholders to continue discussions and flagged a pending fiscal-impact review while the subcommittee seeks more information.
Why it matters: The bill addresses relationships between counties and incorporated towns over service provision and could affect how services such as animal control, building-code enforcement and health inspections are delivered and funded.
What’s next: Committee members voted to lay the bill on the table to allow further consultation and to review fiscal-impact analysis; no committee report was recorded in the transcript.
