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Portsmouth committee lays out 2026 state legislative package, seeks code authority for ABC permits and public-safety changes
Summary
City legislative committee presented five proposed state initiatives — including adding Portsmouth to Va. Code 15.2-2286 to allow conditioned special exceptions for retail alcohol permits — and six priority budget requests; several items already have delegation sponsors while two bills still lack sponsors.
Miss Neal, presenting the city's legislative advisory committee recommendation, told the Portsmouth City Council during a Nov. 25 work session that the city will submit a 2026 state legislative package that includes five specific statutory initiatives, six budget amendment requests and several state public-policy positions.
The package's first request would add Portsmouth to Virginia Code 15.2-2286 to give the city authority to impose conditions on special exceptions or use permits for retail Alcoholic Beverage Control licenses and to allow those permits to automatically expire on a change of ownership, change in possession or a specified passage of time. "The cities of Norfolk and Hampton have already been given this authority," Miss Neal said, and Portsmouth is asking to be added to the same code section.
Other proposed bills are aimed at public safety: legislation to permit retired law-enforcement officers to execute temporary detention and emergency custody orders to free up active officers; a proposed class-2 misdemeanor for leaving firearms in unlocked vehicles; an amendment to photo-enforcement rules that would increase business-day review time for stoplight speed infractions from 10 to 30 days (to achieve parity with school-bus infractions); and authorization for locally employed technicians to review and certify photo and video traffic violations so police staff are not diverted from other duties.
Miss Neal said pre-filing began on Nov. 17 and that the city's delegation has agreed to sponsor several items, though two pieces still lacked sponsors at the time of the briefing: the unsecured-firearms misdemeanor and the 10-to-30-day photo-enforcement parity change. At least one member of the delegation offered to carry or cosponsor items: Senator Jordan said she "can carry it or be a cosponsor," referring to multiple measures flagged by the city.
The briefing also included discussion of statewide policy positions the city will support or oppose. Miss Neal highlighted support for behavioral-health funding programs and for implementing recommendations from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission related to K-12 education funding. She said the committee opposes any acquisition of the Virginia International Gateway by the Virginia Port Authority or the Commonwealth that would occur "without providing adequate compensation to the city of Portsmouth for lost tax revenues." Participants in the meeting referenced a local estimate of approximately $9,000,000 per year in foregone tax revenue tied to that facility.
Council members and delegation representatives used the session to press for materials and clarity. Speaker Scott asked Miss Neal to supply the original bill and the code language for 15.2-2286; Miss Neal agreed to provide the requested documents. Miss Neal also reviewed the calendar for the coming months: the governor's budget presentation, the Jan. 14 start of the General Assembly session, a Jan. 29 internal legislative committee briefing, and a Feb. 5 local government debt day.
The presentation drew several related local concerns into the discussion. Senator Jordan and council members raised maternal health as a priority; Mayor Glover said, "you can't deliver a baby in the city of Portsmouth," and participants described work under way from a maternal-health task force to explore public-private partnerships and legislative options to restore local labor-and-delivery services.
Miss Neal closed by reminding the council that, after the work session, the council is scheduled to adopt a resolution to approve the city's state and federal legislative packages and that staff would continue to coordinate with delegation offices on sponsors and bill language.
Next steps: the city expects to submit bills during the pre-filing window, follow up with delegation offices on sponsorship for the remaining two measures, and return to the council with any changes to the package before authorizing the final resolutions.
