Legislative priorities approved by Supervisors reflect county needs

The Board of Supervisors approved a list of legislative priorities for the 2023 session of the Virginia House and Senate at the December 20, 2022 meeting at the Botetourt County Administration Center in Amsterdam. An earlier version was sent back for review at the November meeting.

The new version, which the supervisors unanimously approved, was more in line with county goals, Supervisor Chairman Richard Bailey said. Amsterdam District Supervisor Steve Clinton and Blue Ridge District Supervisor Billy Martin worked on the new version.

The county’s legislative wish list includes:

– state funding for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and regional economic development organizations

– state funding to incentivize and support local site development and readiness for economic development

– full funding of $129,000 for operations and stating of the Virginia Lewis and Clark Legacy Trail

– increased funding for economic development initiatives, including the Virginia Jobs Investment Program and the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative

– full state funding for public education, including Standards of Quality positions.

– state funding to finance local school construction, renovations and debt service costs

– maintaining local authority to address utility scale installations of solar power, wind power, and energy storage facilities. The county opposes expansion or extension of a state-mandated tax exemption on local property taxes for solar and energy storage equipment.

– maintaining local authority and autonomy in matters of land use, revenue measures and other local concerns. The county supports extending powers currently granted to some local governments to all local governments. The county opposes legislation that erodes local authority.

– continued funding of Constitutional Officers and employees.

– funding for local Registrar’s Offices

– equitable cost sharing between the state and localities for costs involved in placements of children in residential treatment facilities for non-educational reasons

– replacement of regional funding that was redirected to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.

– extension of a runaway over Interstate 581 at the Roanoke Blacksburg Airport.

– funding for route planning, environmental impact assessment, and other necessary items for Route I-73 through the entirety of the Commonwealth

– full funding for the Commonwealth Transportation’s Board Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement plan

– opioid addiction funding and programming

The Board opposes unfunded mandates and shifting fiscal responsibility for existing programs by the Commonwealth from the state to localities.

The approved wish list would be forwarded to the Virginia General Assembly.

                                                            — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee