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Roanoke's legislative committee maps deadlines, urges outreach to state transportation administrators on Smart Scale
Summary
The Roanoke City legislative committee set timelines and discussed priorities for the 2026 General Assembly, including a recommendation that the city engage CTB and OIPI before seeking legislative changes to Smart Scale scoring.
The Roanoke City legislative committee met Sept. 15 to begin development of the city's 2026 legislative program, review calendar deadlines and budget dynamics for the upcoming General Assembly, and discuss regional priorities that may require bills or formal positions by the city.
Margaret Rockwell of McGuireWoods Consulting delivered a procedural briefing that framed the timing for the next eight weeks: legislators can begin pre-filing bills Nov. 17; Department of Legislative Services (DLS) drafters will provide final drafts to sponsors by Dec. 31; the General Assembly convenes Jan. 14, 2026; and the new governor will be sworn in Jan. 17. Rockwell emphasized that the budget process will have three distinct stages this year'the outgoing governor's proposed budget (December), legislative amendments by the House and Senate (January-February), and the incoming governor's amendments'and that all three stages may change priorities and available funds.
Why it matters: The committee will finalize its legislative program in October and begin formal outreach to the Roanoke delegation in November. With a new biennial budget and potential federal funding changes, committee members stressed early engagement with state legislators and state agencies.
Smart Scale and transportation funding: The committee spent substantial time on Smart Scale, the state's transportation project-prioritization program. Rockwell and committee members warned that Smart Scale scoring and selection have been deliberately situated in an administrative process under the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) and its Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI) since the 2014 law. Rockwell said there have been repeated legislative attempts over the years to change Smart Scale criteria and that such bills typically fail; she recommended that the city and regional partners first pursue outreach and technical engagement with CTB and OIPI and prepare a regional white paper or analysis outlining how Smart Scale criteria affected local projects before attempting legislation.
Council members and staff noted that Roanoke and nearby regions performed poorly in the most recent round and that differences in regional funding capacity (for example, Northern Virginia or Hampton Roads leveraging other revenue sources) affect competitiveness. Councilman Lisonbee, who serves on the Roanoke Valley Transportation Planning Organization, said the TPO has discussed the same issues with OIPI and indicated the region is considering whether to seek new local funding mechanisms to make projects more competitive.
Other committee business and deadlines: Rockwell and staff reviewed other upcoming dates: the school division expects to adopt its legislative positions in mid-October; the committee will finalize its program for transmission to the delegation in October; and the committee plans meetings in early November to start bill drafting with legislators. Rockwell also suggested initial informal outreach to lawmakers sooner rather than later to test appetite for proposals.
Possible items raised at the meeting: committee members flagged a range of potential priorities including Smart Scale criteria, land-bank assessed-value limit changes (housing), support for Safer Communities grants and the Community Builders program (public safety and education/violence prevention), and recategorizing 911 operators as first responders for personnel/benefits purposes. The chair asked councilmembers to rank their top two or three items in each category and return rankings by Sept. 24 so staff and McGuireWoods can prepare an October draft.
Next steps: The committee asked councilmembers to send prioritized lists to vice mayor Maguire and Councilman Vollison by Sept. 24 so staff can prepare a draft legislative program prior to the Oct. 6 committee meeting.
Source notes: Presentation and discussion are from the legislative committee session at the Sept. 15 council meeting; key time-sensitive dates and strategic recommendations were provided by McGuireWoods consultant Margaret Rockwell and city staff.
