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| Tom Garrett, John McGuire, David Owen (Goochland County image) |
Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, which means that local
governments, like Goochland, have only those powers given to them by the state
legislature. (Put Dillon Rule into your search engine for detailed
explanations.)
The Virginia General Assembly meets in Richmond every
January to conduct the Commonwealth’s business, which includes passing laws
that affect us all. Open lines of communication between local and state elected
officials are vital to protect the interest of citizens and avoid unintended consequences
of “one size fits all” laws, which often cause more problems than they solve,
especially at the local level.
On October 23, Goochland resumed its practice of holding an
annual meeting between our General Assembly Delegation comprised of Senator
John McGuire, District 10, Delegate Tom Garrett, District 56, and Delegate
David Owen, District 57 and elected officials. No meeting was held last year
because of turnover in both local and state offices. The discussion was productive
and freewheeling, highlights follow.
McGuire, who is running for U. S. Congress in the 5th
District, which includes Goochland, left around 10 a.m. for other commitments.
Board of Supervisors’ Chair Charlie Vaughters, District 4,
called the meeting to order and asked for the delegation’s summary of the 2024
session.
McGuire said that tax cuts, implementing best practices in cyber
security for all state government systems to safeguard against backdoor
incursions into sensitive sites, and cleaning up the voter rolls were major
accomplishments of the 2024 session.
Garrett contended that the General Assembly (GA) works on a
NOVA (northern Virginia) versus ROVA (rest of Virginia, south of Occoquan)
basis. NOVA, he said, controls the agenda, believes that the Commonwealth runs
on revenue generated inside the beltway, and does not care what happens in the
rest of the state.
Garrett would support closing the prison on the James River
to open its beautiful location for development and moving the facility to a less
scenic part of Virginia which could use the jobs. Curiously, he made no mention
of another state facility, the Goochland Campus of Reynolds Community College,
which has been sitting mostly empty since before Covid.
Garret reported unsuccessful moves in GA to usurp land use
decision power, especially regarding solar facilities and data centers, from
local government to place them under the purview of the state corporation
commission. “There is nothing more fundamental than local decisions regarding
land use,” he said.
He contended that state-imposed regulations destroyed
volunteer fire departments throughout Virginia and was pleased with his work to
increase support for first responders and law enforcement. “The backbone of a
lot of rural communities is a fire station.” Garrett thanked Jennie Wood, a current member
of the Goochland Economic Development Authority, for her help in addressing
this issue.
Garrett noted that getting legislation passed is a process. Even
though a bill does not pass in one session, it can lay the groundwork for future
success. He said that the 2025 session is going to be fascinating and has
potential to get a lot of things done.
Owen echoed Garrett’s contention about NOVA control of the
GA, especially over which bills are heard. He said that each legislator is
limited to 15 bills. Even so, 3,000 pieces of proposed legislation are expected
to be introduced and acted upon in next year’s “short” session.
Disclosure power of localities is severely limited by state
law. For instance, Goochland cannot require sellers of property to divulge the
proximity to an active quarry; the extra 32 cents of ad valorem tax levied in
the Tuckahoe Creek Service District; planned location of future county facilities;
or that “stub” roads, mandated in new subdivisions by VDOT—the state agency
whose motto is “Oops!”—could lead to future development.
Owen contended that the opposition to disclosure, by
realtors, not home builders, was because different regulations in each
jurisdiction, make it difficult to do business across county lines.
Neil Spoonhower, District 2, pointed out that lack of
disclosure leads to newcomers complaining to the county that “no one told us,” leaving
local government to clean up the mess. He contended that the Dillon Rule “says they
(the state) don’t trust me” to make good decisions.
Spoonhower also expressed astonishment at the excessive cost
of road improvements, citing the $1.7 million price tag to build 2,500 feet of
sidewalk along River Road West in Courthouse Village. Even though the county
will do the work, VDOT fees for the project were $100k.
Tom Winfree, District 3 agreed that zoning control should be
kept at the local level and supported a return to one day, one vote rule.
Owen said that you’ll never get “one day one vote back in
the bottle” but repeal of Virginia’s 45 day early voting practice needs a
groundswell of support. He advocates two-weeks of early voting, including both
Saturdays before election day, which is when most early ballots are cast. The
extended voting period places a great deal of stress on registrars and poll
workers, which does not seem to have been considered by legislators who made
the rules.
Aspects of education, including the importance of exposing students
to career paths that do not require a four-year degree were discussed. The
excellence of Goochland’s career and technical education (CTE) programs was noted.
Unfunded mandates increase the cost of doing business at the
local level and are another example of how "one size fits all” legislation
often does not.
School Board Chair Angela Allen, District 3 said that classes
in agriculture are in high demand in the school division, but that we have only
one teacher. (District 5 Supervisor Jonathan Lyle has been advocating for an ag
teacher at the middle school for a while.)
Allen said that programs including advanced placement and dual
enrollment with Reynolds Community College prepare students to go into higher
levels of education ready to deal with accelerated rigor in learning.
The local composite index (LCI) used to compute the amount
of state aid localities receive needs to be revised, she said. Goochland’s LCI
is .8, the highest category. That means that Goochland pays 80 percent of its
school costs.
Garrett said that Virginia’s 134 school divisions are “laboratories
for learning” where each community can figure out what works best for them. “We
need more accountability for the outcome of actions. Good teachers can use
their skills to captivate our kids and change their lives.” He agreed that the LCI
needs revision.
Allen said that Goochland Schools oppose collective
bargaining. Most rural areas, including Goochland, have aging schools that they
cannot afford to replace. She cited the new $50 million plus Goochland Elementary
School that opened in August, which was a heavy lift financially for the county,
and asked that the state look at a grant program to address this issue.
Teachers are in short supply, especially those in CTE
programs. Owen contended that older people working in building trades are good
candidates for passing their skills on to the next generation. However, they
have no interest in taking classes to become certified teachers and balk at
lower school pay scales but might be tempted by state benefit packages.
Goochland Superintendent of Schools Michael Cromartie Ed. D.
said that those packages are not as generous as they used to be.
Garrett wondered if a version of the incentive used to
attract lawyers to become judges, which provides two years if Virginia Retirement
System credit for each year worked, could help attract CTE instructors.
Goochland has great teachers, law enforcement officers, and
first responders. Most of them cannot afford to live in the county and all too
often succumb to the siren song of higher wages closer to where they live.
That led to the topic of affordable, or as Spoonhower put it
“attainable” housing.
Owen said that home prices are a factor in reducing turnover
for teachers, deputies, and first responders. He said that the initiative to
make accessory dwelling units—garage apartments, granny flats—is “dead on
arrival” and will not get his support.
He said that there is a serious housing shortage in America
because we have not built enough homes for decades, increasing demand versus supply,
which raises home prices. Regulatory issues that depress efficiency in the
construction process also increase costs and exacerbate the huge deficit in
housing supply.
Spoonhower said that the Dillion Rule prevents localities
from finding creative solutions to the issue.
Looking forward.
Garrett contended that in-person citizen engagement can sway
votes in the General Assembly. Because Goochland is the closest county in his district
to the state capitol he encouraged citizens to show up and make their voices
heard on issues important to them.
Owen said that working “across the aisle” is vital to
getting things done. He invited citizens to visit him in Richmond. He also said
that writing to legislators is effective. Heartfelt personal notes get traction
and are sometimes quoted in speeches supporting or opposing legislation. Form
letters, however, tend to be ignored.
Garrett believes that repealing bad laws is more important
than passing new ones.
These discussions will be used to craft Goochland’s
legislative agenda, a review of the impact and unintended consequences of pending
legislation. This will probably be presented and adopted at the Board’s
November 6 (note this is a Wednesday, county offices are closed on election
day) monthly meeting.
Garrett and Owen thanked Goochland for the meeting and
expressed regret that other parts of their districts do not hold similar
sessions.
Our delegation:
John McGuire- Senate District 10 senatormcguire@senate.virginia.gov
Tom Garrett- House of
Delegates District 56-DelTGarrett@house.virginia.gov
David Owen- House of Delegates District 57-DelDOwen@house.virginia.gov
