Over the course of 2021, the HBAV Legislative Committee established the association's top priorities for the 2022 General Assembly Session.

HBAV's 2022 Legislative Agenda is comprised of 11 bills - and we are pleased to report that, with one exception, all of our bills have passed their original Chamber and will now be sent to the other Chamber for consideration.

Plan Validity Extension - HB 272 (Marshall) / SB 501 (Lewis)

Extends the validity of locally approved plats, plans, special exceptions, special use permits, conditional use permits, and rezonings to July 1, 2023, provided that those approvals were valid as of July 1, 2020. In 2020, the Home Builders Association of Virginia passed legislation to extend local plan validity in response to the economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic – that extension is set to expire on July 1, 2022.

Both bills have passed their respective chambers and will now be sent to the other chamber for consideration.

Housing Opportunity Tax Credit - HB 843 (Bloxom) / SB 47 (Locke)

Last year, the HBAV worked to establish a Virginia Housing Opportunity Tax Credit, also known as a State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). This tax credit is similar to the Federal LIHTC, which has been used to attract private equity investments to affordable housing developments. During the 2022 Session, we have worked to expand that tax credit - but because of the complexity of the program, and it's impact on the state budget, the two bills have been "moving targets". We will provide more information on these bills as the House and Senate money committees continue their deliberations.

Stream Mitigation Credits - HB 479 (Bulova)

Addresses the supply and pricing volatility in the stream mitigation credit market by allowing developers to purchase “dam removal credits” generated in the same or adjacent river watershed as the development site. This legislation was developed in partnership with representatives from the mitigation banking industry.

After concerns were raised by the environmental community and several Republican and Democratic members of the House of Delegates, the mitigation bankers and HBAV agreed to "table" this effort for the year. At the suggestion of mitigation bankers, HBAV, and other stakeholders, the Chairman of the House Chesapeake Subcommittee received a commitment from the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene a stakeholder workgroup later this year to identify legislative and regulatory proposals that would increase the supply of mitigation credits and reduce price volatility. The Director also indicated that his team has already begun looking at this issue.

The supply of nutrient and wetland/stream mitigation credits has become one of the most pressing issues facing the residential land development industry in Virginia - and increasing the supply of credits will continue to be at the top of our legislative and regulatory agenda. Please contact HBAV's Vice President of Government Affairs if you would like to be involved in this effort.

You can read more about our efforts on this issue during the last Session here.

VDOT Performance Metrics and Standards - HB 482 (Austin)

Directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to establish performance metrics to measure the efficiency of residential and commercial development plan reviews, including the length of time it takes to review plans and the number of reviews that are required to achieve final approval. This data will be collected and published by the CTB on a quarterly basis. The bill also requires the CTB and VDOT to establish performance standards for the review and approval of residential and commercial development plans by January 1, 2025.

This bill has passed the House of Delegates and will now be considered by the Senate.

VDOT Secondary Street Acceptance Requirements (SSAR) - HB 275 (Coyner)

Amends Virginia Code §33.2-334 (Secondary Street Acceptance Requirements) to allow for greater flexibility to reduce the number of connections to adjacent property or highway networks. The bill also directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board to convene representatives from the development community and local government to incorporate the additional flexibility into the SSAR regulations.

This bill has passed the House of Delegates and will now be considered by the Senate.

Licensure Exemption Threshold - SB 121 (Hackworth)

Virginia Code §54.1-1101 allows individuals to provide construction services that do not require an individual licensure or certification from the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) provided that the work is valued under $5,000 and performed on behalf of a licensed residential, commercial, or home improvement contractor. Over the last several years, the $5,000 threshold has become obsolete due to construction labor shortages, supply-chain bottlenecks, and increases in the price of raw materials and products like lumber, shingles, and windows.

SB 121 would increase the licensure exemption threshold to $25,000 for trades such as framers, masons, drywall and flooring installers, and painters. It does not apply to individuals providing construction services that require an individual license or certification from DPOR, including plumbing, electrical, HVAC, gas-fitting, water well systems, elevator/escalator mechanics, and others.

This bill has passed the Senate and will now be considered by the House of Delegates.

Accelerated Release of Stream Nutrient Credits - SB 187 (Hanger)

Virginia has implemented several programs designed to facilitate economic development and help businesses, local governments, and citizens satisfy local and state stormwater runoff requirements.

Regulatory costs and other factors have chilled investment in stream restoration nutrient banks, and as a result, have limited the supply of credits available for residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects. SB 187 will help nutrient bankers expedite the process to deliver credits to the market by allowing the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to accelerate the release of 50% of a stream restoration project’s nutrient credits if the nutrient banker has provided enhanced financial assurances to ensure success of the stream restoration project and cover the cost of accelerated credits should there be a failure.

This bill has passed the Senate and will now be considered by the House of Delegates.

Economic Development Authorities; Affordable Housing Grants – HB 1194 (Carr)

Allows all local Industrial Development Authorities (IDAs) and Economic Development Authorities (EDAs) to make grants to affordable housing developments. Currently, only IDAs/EDAs in localities without a housing authority are able to provide grants to affordable housing developments.

This bill has passed the House of Delegates and will now be considered by the Senate.

Smoke Alarm Testing by Home Inspectors - SB 607 (McPike)

Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries in new and existing homes. However, 41% of home fire deaths were in properties with no smoke alarms and 16% were in properties with smoke alarms that failed to operate. SB 607 will inform buyers about the status of their smoke alarms by requiring home inspectors to test each smoke alarm in the property and include the results in their final report. Currently, home inspectors are only required to inspect the presence or absence of smoke alarms.

This bill has passed the Senate and will now be considered by the House of Delegates.

There were several bills introduced this Session to allow localities to enact local building codes that are more stringent than the Uniform Statewide Building Code. The proponents of these bills made various claims that Virginia’s energy codes are “years behind” – a point that HBAV disputed with reports from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (here) and the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (here) which give Virginia’s residential energy code a near-perfect score.

HBAV opposed these bills during the committee hearings and they were ultimately defeated. You can read more about our testimony on the proposals here: Virginia Mercury: "Affordable housing concerns tank energy efficiency proposal"

Virginia’s uniform statewide building code allows builders and design professionals who work in multiple jurisdictions to achieve economies of scale, which is key to minimizing significant increases in housing costs.

House Bill 885: Expanded the list of provisions in the Uniform Statewide Building Code to include “livability standards”.

Senate Bill 606 / House Bill 701 / SB 452 / HB 905: Allows a locality to establish local energy efficiency building and conservation codes that are more stringent than the Uniform Statewide Building Code

House Bill 998: Allows localities to establish energy use intensity/building codes for new and existing structures. Allows localities to incentivize, by ordinance, the owner or operator of a building meeting certain criteria, or an agent of such owner or operator, to report energy use intensity (EUI) information and reduce EUI.

Broadband Infrastructure: As introduced, SB 446 and HB 445 would have allowed localities to enact ordinances to require broadband service and associated infrastructure be installed whenever a new residential or commercial development is permitted. The HBAV agreed with the premise of the bill (expanding broadband) but did have concerns about granting broad authority to deny a residential development application in areas currently unserved or underserved by broadband service providers. Working with the stakeholders, HBAV drafted a substitute bill which directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to convene a workgroup of local governments and industry representatives to identify existing policies/ordinances that are being used to expand broadband infrastructure in new residential and commercial developments. The substitute bill was adopted by both the House and Senate.

Mandatory Contributions to Affordable Housing Trust Funds: HB 465 would have allowed Albemarle, Loudoun, and Fairfax Counties, and the Cities of Alexandria, Charlottesville, and Fairfax, to require that any applicant for a residential development contribute to the locality's affordable housing trust fund. Currently, any project that is subject to an affordable housing dwelling unit program in these localities is not required to also contribute to the locality's housing trust fund. This legislation was stricken by the patron.

Local Government Authority to Enact Inclusionary Zoning Ordinances: HB 635 would have allowed localities to enact a wide array of ordinances that are not currently authorized by the Code of Virginia, including, but not limited to, mandatory contributions to local affordable housing trust funds and affordable housing set-asides, prohibitions on the use of specific building materials, impact fees, and any virtually any other policy or ordinance deemed appropriate by the locality. This legislation failed to advance. 

Required Disclosures in Land-Use Proceedings: HB 626 would have required planning commissioners and members of the Board of Supervisors and Board of Zoning Appeals to disclose any “business or financial interest” with an applicant at a public hearing. Currently, this requirement only applies to Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. This legislation was defeated in the House Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee.

Civil Actions; Standing: SB 208 would have provided that a person in a civil action shall be deemed to have standing if that person has a cognizable interest in the outcome of the matter, which may be represented by the ownership of an affected property interest or the suffering of an injury unique to that individual. This bill was stricken at the request of the patron.

Comprehensive Plans; Climate Resilience Strategies: HB 520 would have required a locality's comprehensive plan to consider strategies to address climate resilience in order to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and adapt to changing conditions and hazardous events. This legislation was defeated in the Land-Use Subcommittee of House Counties, Cities, and Towns.

Comprehensive Plans; Environmental Justice Strategies: HB 969 would have required cities with populations greater than 20,000 and counties with populations greater than 100,000 to consider, at the next and all subsequent reviews of the comprehensive plan, adopting an environmental justice strategy. This bill failed to advance

Comprehensive Plans; Healthy Communities Strategy: HB 1276 would have required localities to adopt “healthy communities strategy”, which would establish objectives and policies to reduce health risks in those neighborhoods by means that include the reduction of pollution exposure; the improvement of air and water quality; emergency management; resilience to increased flooding, excessive heat, and other impacts of a changing climate; and the promotion. This legislation was defeated in the Land-Use Subcommittee of House Counties, Cities, and Towns.

Which the exception of SB 187 (Accelerated Release of Nutrient Credits) on HBAV's 2022 Legislative Agenda, all the nutrient and wetland/stream credit bills were tabled this year - however, at the suggestion of HBAV and other stakeholders, the Chairman of the House Chesapeake Subcommittee received a commitment from the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to convene a stakeholder workgroup this year to identify legislative and regulatory proposals that will increase the supply of mitigation credits and reduce price volatility. The Director also indicated that his team has already begun looking at this issue.

The supply of nutrient and wetland/stream mitigation credits has become one of the most pressing issues facing the residential land development industry in Virginia - and increasing the supply of credits will continue to be at the top of our legislative and regulatory agenda. (You can read more about our efforts on this issue during the last Session here)

Restricting Nutrient Credit Trading: HB 792 and HB 1283 would have restricted the ability of permittees to acquire and use nutrient credits from adjacent watersheds. Nutrient credit trading is one of several programs designed to facilitate economic development while also improving environmental quality and protecting Virginia’s ecosystems. Nutrient credit shortages can result in delayed projects and increased development costs – these bills would have further constrained the supply of nutrient credits. 

Wetland and Stream Mitigation Credits; Secondary Service Area: HB 276 would have removed restrictions on a developer’s ability to purchase mitigation credits from the “secondary service area”. This legislation was “tabled” for the year.

Notification of Purchase/Use of Mitigation Credits: HB 948 would have required developers to notify a locality 100 days in advance of purchasing mitigation credits from a bank within that jurisdiction. Typically, developers do not purchase credits until they have obtained the required Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits and are nearing construction. HBAV was concerned that this legislation, as introduced, would result in significant delays in construction timelines. This legislation did not advance.

Local Government Sale of Wetland and Stream Mitigation Credits: SB 654 would have allowed a permit applicant to purchase wetland and stream mitigation credits from the locality in which the site is located if no credits were available to purchase in the primary service area or no credits were available at a price below 200 percent of the current price of credits.. This legislation was “carried over” for the year.

Regulation of Land Disturbance Under 2,500 Square-Feet: As introduced, HB 448 would have directed the Department of Environmental Quality to convene a work group to make recommendations concerning the regulation of additions and modifications to single-family detached residential structures where the land disturbance is less than 2,500 square feet. This legislation was defeated by the House Counties, Cities, and Towns Committee.

Stormwater management; proprietary BMPs: HB 1224 authorizes the State Water Control Board to update its Virginia Stormwater Management Programs regulations in order to provide for the certification and use of a proprietary best management practice (BMP) if another state, regional, or national program has verified its nutrient or sediment removal effectiveness, and all of such program's established test protocol requirements were met or exceeded. “Certification" means a determination by the Department of Environmental Quality that a BMP is approved for use. An enactment clause requires DEQ to prioritize review of any BMP that was on the Virginia Stormwater BMP Clearinghouse prior to December 31, 2021, and that submits documentation that another state, regional, or national program has verified its nutrient or sediment removal effectiveness and that it met or exceeded all of such program's established test protocol requirements. This bill has passed the House of Delegates and will now be considered by the Senate.

Water Quality; Baseline Conditions: HB 1228 would have required the Department of Environmental Quality to document baseline conditions of any waters of the Commonwealth that may be affected by any discharge authorized by the State Water Control Board. HB 1228 was defeated in the Chesapeake Subcommittee of House Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources.

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