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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

January 13, 2009

The 2009 Virginia General Assembly convenes on Wednesday, January 14 for its "short" 45-day session. It is scheduled to adjourn on February 28. Balancing the state budget in the wake of a projected $3.2 billion shortfall in revenues resulting from the economic downturn stands at the top of the list of issues facing the General Assembly. Governor Kaine has proposed to balance the budget with significant cuts and layoffs of state employees. The most controversial elements of his budget balancing plan includes a 30 cent per pack increase in the cigarette tax to reduce cuts required in the state’s Medicaid program (producing $155 million in revenues), proposed cuts in state aid to K-12 education and 15 percent cuts in the operating budgets of the state’s colleges and universities. The budget shortfall could worsen with revised revenue projections that will be released in February as the session reaches its midway point. The House of Delegates and Senate of Virginia are also expected to debate plans for increasing statewide and regional transportation revenues, a subject, which they have disagreed since Governor Kaine took office in 2006. Few observers expect any major progress on the transportation funding debate during the 2009 Session as the House of Delegates enters an election year and the state struggles through the economic downturn.




There will be a variety of bills introduced during the 2009 Session that will be of interest to the commercial development industry. The full scope of these bills will not be known until the bill filing deadline is reached on January 23. As the start of the session nears, observers predict legislation will be introduced to attempt to require all commercial buildings greater than 50,000 square feet in size be required to meet LEED standards, a proposal opposed by the Virginia Association for Commercial Real Estate (VACRE). It is also expected that proposed constitutional amendments will be introduced to adopt a Homestead exemption as well as to enshrine the recently adopted restrictions on the power of eminent domain, both of which are opposed by VACRE. Legislation is also expected, which VACRE supports, to place further restrictions on the powers of localities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to levy an additional tax on commercial development for transportation purposes. VACRE’s lobbyists will continue to keep its members apprised on the progress of these and other issues as the 2009 Session moves forward.


Phill Abraham

VACRE Lobbyist