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Virginia Beach receives General Assembly briefing as session accelerates
Summary
Brett McKenzie, the city’s legislative affairs director, told council the 60‑day General Assembly session is under way, flagged deadlines for bill and budget filings, and highlighted priority bills on housing, land use, taxes and public safety — including a compromise on Marsh Terrace permitting and new authority in a proposed pop‑up event enforcement zone.
Brett McKenzie, the city’s legislative affairs director, briefed the Virginia Beach City Council on the 2026 General Assembly session, emphasizing calendar milestones, committee changes and several bills that could affect local authority and the city budget.
McKenzie said the 2026 session is a 60‑day “long session” that began Wednesday, Jan. 14, and will produce the state’s biannual budget. He noted the filing deadline for legislation was the coming Friday and that budget amendment filings were already complete; updates to the city’s budget outlook will follow as amendments are posted.
Why it matters: McKenzie told council that multiple bills under consideration could alter local planning authority or impose new costs on the city. He urged council to track measures tied to land‑use authority, housing and tax changes because they could materially affect local revenues and permitting responsibilities.
Key points from the briefing included:
- Committee and timeline: McKenzie described shifts in committee assignments after the legislature reconstituted following the inauguration, and reminded council that the session is scheduled to conclude by March 14.
- Marsh Terrace permitting: An early strategy to carve the Marsh Terrace project out of existing permitting requirements proved unpopular. McKenzie said environmental groups and the delegation negotiated a compromise that would create a new appeals‑style commission to give “a second look” to difficult permits; he recommended the city support the compromise as a pragmatic pathway that would not guarantee a permit but could provide another opportunity for approval.
- Pop‑up event enforcement zones: The city’s proposal that would allow localities to establish special enforcement zones for disruptive unpermitted events was amended to add an option to designate those zones as gun‑free. The bill would allow localities to select from a menu of enforcement tools—such as temporary speed limits, curfews for unaccompanied minors and occupancy limits—with the new addition giving cities the option to prohibit firearms inside the zone.
- Affordable housing and eviction measures: McKenzie highlighted several housing bills, including a locality first‑right‑of‑refusal measure for affordable developments (HB4) and funding opportunities for public infrastructure to support housing (HB196). He also noted eviction‑process proposals (e.g., bills that would expand notice windows to 14 days) that would alter the current five‑day standard.
- Economic development and workforce: Legislation creating workforce development for offshore wind and bills expanding apprenticeship access for younger workers (as young as 16 in some proposals) were listed as priorities that could benefit the region’s labor pipeline.
- Tax and budget implications: McKenzie outlined competing tax proposals. Several bills seek to broaden the sales‑tax base to include services and certain digital products (with proposals discussed that would both lower the base rate and expand taxable items), create regional highway or use fees and apply taxes to app‑based ride services; other measures would eliminate the local 1% grocery tax. He warned that some proposals — such as a paid family and medical leave program that would be funded by a new payroll tax — could have negative impacts on the city’s budget.
Council questions and follow‑ups: Council members pressed McKenzie on specific items. One asked McKenzie to expand on a bill described as requiring localities to fully fund a superintendent’s estimate of needs; McKenzie described that proposal as effectively an unfunded mandate in its current form and said the city would work to defeat it or secure safeguards. Council also requested a memo with detailed service categories for a proposed bill that would apply sales tax to a wide set of services so members could evaluate local impact.
Next steps: McKenzie said staff will continue monitoring bills, prepare memos and return to council with recommendations when the administration proposes formal positions. The council did not take formal votes on positions during the briefing; members asked staff for additional analysis on the school funding bill and the sales‑tax service proposal.
