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Manassas Park reviews and refines FY26 legislative priorities, backing hunger, school meals and public‑safety retirement items
Summary
Council reviewed a broad FY26 priorities list and expressed support for hunger programs, school meals, certain public‑safety retirement reforms and housing/tenant measures while flagging concerns about a statewide housing‑target mandate and a 1% sales‑tax proposal for school CIP funding.
City staff presented a draft list of state and federal legislative priorities for fiscal year 2026 and solicited council direction on which items to include in the final package to be shared with state and federal representatives.
Staff said the packet includes near‑term items (SNAP, school breakfast and lunch programs), public‑safety retirement improvements (firefighters, 911 dispatchers, hazard pay continuation), and several constitutional‑amendment resolutions that had passed one session and require a second pass to reach the ballot (removal of the same‑sex marriage ban, a right to reproductive freedom, and automatic restoration of voting rights for previously incarcerated people). Staff noted some submissions are conceptual and do not yet have companion bills.
On housing priorities, council generally supported measures to expand affordability and tenant protections (notice timelines, eviction waiting periods) but opposed the current statutory formulation of statewide housing targets that would require jurisdictions to increase housing stock by a fixed percentage and could expose localities to penalties. Council members asked staff to pursue tailored language and monitor amendments.
Council also discussed a proposed state enabling act that would allow a local 1% sales tax for school capital improvements (SB 1307); the body recorded opposition from two members who said it could harm restaurants and local businesses, while the majority expressed conditional support for seeking authority (emphasizing any local imposition would require voter referendum).
Staff said the final prioritized package will be condensed to an "elevator‑speech" one‑pager for legislators, with a longer bill list appended. Staff plans to circulate a refined document for council adoption at a future meeting and to share it with regional liaisons and VML/VACo legislative staff.
