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Consultant briefed board on General Assembly halfway point; flagged retail cannabis, utility bills and local authority risks
Summary
Advantage Strategies consultant Lauren Gilbert gave a high-level February update on the General Assembly session at the halfway point, noting crossover is Feb. 18 and flagging bills on undergrounding transmission lines, retail cannabis (Sen. Lucas) and several measures that could affect local authority; she offered to provide a written summary on affordable housing bills.
Lauren Gilbert of Advantage Strategies joined the meeting virtually to deliver a high-level update on the Virginia General Assembly at the legislative halfway point and to flag bills of local interest.
"Today's our halfway point in the general assembly session... Crossover is going to be the 18th," Gilbert said, and reviewed committee movement for bills concerning collective bargaining, sovereign immunity, paid leave and local-option school-construction funding. She flagged SB 651 and SB 497 from Senator Perry regarding transmission-line corridor standards and undergrounding, and noted Senator Lucas’s retail-cannabis bill as likely to pass this year though it currently lacks explicit local-zoning provisions; Gilbert said she was coordinating with VACO and local governments to seek incorporation of local zoning clarity.
Board members asked specifically about affordable-housing bills; Gilbert said she would assemble a summary for staff and the board, having focused her briefing on bills that could remove or constrain local authority. She noted that many significant fiscal matters were likely to be resolved in the upcoming budget and that committee action in the money committees would determine advancement of several items.
Gilbert’s presentation was provided as a high-level briefing; she offered to provide follow-up written material to staff for distribution.
