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Virginia Beach staff briefs council on post‑session developments from Richmond
Summary
City staff summarized outcomes from the just‑concluded General Assembly session, flagged a late budget fight over a data‑center tax exemption, and walked through bills affecting affordable housing, energy, and local government authority that now await the governor's action or reconvened sessions in April.
Brent McKenzie told the City Council on March 17 that the Virginia General Assembly adjourned after a long final day and will reconvene April 22 to consider gubernatorial amendments and vetoes, with a special session starting April 23 to finalize the state budget.
“The general assembly session concluded this past Saturday … they will come back into session on April 22nd for what we call the reconvene session,” McKenzie said, describing the schedule and the governor's 30‑day window to sign, amend or veto bills.
McKenzie said the major late‑breaking dispute involved a proposed tax exemption for data centers that the Senate included in its budget but conferees did not reconcile with the House version. “The major sticking point … revolved around the debate over the data center exemption … that provided a little over a billion dollars in additional funds,” he said, adding negotiators expected to finish the budget work by April 23.
He highlighted several bills the city tracked that could affect local authority and services if enacted. On housing, HB4 would give localities a first‑right‑of‑refusal when a previously affordable development is sold, and SB74 would authorize local affordable dwelling unit programs; SB90 would give local governments a path to compel landlords to remedy conditions that materially violate rental agreements. McKenzie also flagged energy bills including HB770 (discounted utility service for low‑income residents), HB2 (energy‑efficiency improvements to at least 30% of qualified customers), and SB659 (a solar interconnection grant program intended to reduce interconnection fees for local governments).
On labor policy, McKenzie said a new collective bargaining law and a paid family and medical leave program remained headed to the governor. He noted both pieces include delayed effective dates and regulatory work: “The Department of Labor has until July 1st, 2028 to kind of promulgate all of the regulations,” he said, and the new paid‑leave taxes will not take effect until April 1, 2028.
McKenzie told council staff and managers would continue reviewing enrolled legislation and work with the governor's staff to propose technical fixes where local implementation questions remain. “We'll be reaching out to the staff to offer … fixes to some of the holes that we see,” he said.
Why it matters: The bills McKenzie highlighted could change how the city preserves affordable units, funds local solar projects, and implements workplace policy for public employees. Many measures depend on future budget negotiations or rule‑making, giving local officials time to prepare implementation plans and to advise the governor's staff on technical corrections.
What comes next: Council members asked staff to continue tracking enrollments and to return with more detail on items that would affect the city's budget, intergovernmental partnerships and permitting processes once the governor acts or the reconvened session concludes.
