The Commonwealth of Virginia is a Dillon Rule state which limits the governing authority localities have to what is expressly granted to them by the legislature, by state statute, or written in their municipal charter. Localities in Virginia request legislation every year to grant them enabling authority for specific powers they do not have already. These requests generally originate from the City Council, City staff, and boards and commissions. 

The goal of the City’s Legislative Package is to clearly communicate the City’s legislative and budget priorities to legislators, staff, advocates, and the general public. The requests that form the Package generally originate from City Council members, City staff, and the City’s many boards and commissions. 

The City's Legislative Package is drafted through requests that originate from City Council members, City staff, and boards and commissions, with additional input coming from the public through the public hearing process. In the fall of 2022, staff worked collaboratively with these groups to develop legislative and funding proposals for the City's 2023 Legislative Package. Council reviewed the draft package on December 13, 2022, and accepted input from the community and other outside stakeholders at that meeting as well as the December 17, 2022, Public Hearing. A Work Session was held with the City’s Legislative Delegation on November 12 where we received input on their priorities for the 2023 session and their feedback on the Legislative Package.

The approved 2023 Legislative Package has the proposals organized into two sections — Legislative Principles and Legislative Priorities. 

In March 2022, Alexandria City Council adopted six priorities that provide a cohesive framework for the City’s budget and policy decisions for the upcoming fiscal year:

• Recover from the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Provide Diverse Housing Opportunities
• Support Youth and Families
• Foster Economic Development
• Develop a Compensation Philosophy
• Define our Community Engagement Approach

These priorities do not take away from the City’s ongoing commitment to continuing core services and accountability for the delivery of those core services; rather, they bring focus to Council, and the community’s, greatest concerns and highest needs.

The City’s 2023 Legislative Package is structured around these six City Council priorities in order to create a clear nexus between Council’s priorities and the legislative and funding measures necessary to accomplish them. The work of City staff at the General Assembly each legislative session is key to ensuring that City staff and City Council have the legal framework, authority and funding necessary to provide core government services efficiently and effectively and accomplish those priorities identified by City Council.

In addition, Council, and staff, are working to view each budget and policy proposal intended to accomplish these six Council Priorities through the lenses of equity, environmental justice, civility and respect, transparency and service. These lenses also guide the Legislative Principles included in the 2023 Legislative Package.

The City’s Assistant City Manager and Legislative Director, Sarah G. Taylor, will represent the City during session, and will report regularly on the status of legislative and budget issues that arise during the 2022 General Assembly Session.

The Honorable Members of Alexandria City Council adopted this 2023 Legislative Package on December 17, 2022.

As we work to identify and overcome intentional and unintentional barriers to our City’s systems and services, the City supports legislation and funding that helps City staff protect the most vulnerable members of our community, including children, older adults, survivors of domestic and sexual violence, individuals in behavioral health crisis, and those of differing abilities. The City supports legislation that reforms our criminal justice system so it operates fairly and equitably for all members of our community. The City supports legislation and budget priorities that ensure Alexandria has safe, reliable and frequent mobility choices regardless of resources or ability and provide a wide variety of safe, connected, multimodal transportation options in our city that enable access to daily activities in our community and our region. The City supports efforts to reduce inequities in our health system, increase access to necessary, appropriate healthcare for all residents, and achieve health equity related to tobacco use. The City supports legislation and funding to ensure access to voting for all Virginia citizens. The City supports legislation to expand local authority to utilize automated traffic enforcement solutions. The City supports legislation to protect vulnerable road users, including bicyclists and pedestrians, and help us achieve our Vision Zero goals.

As we work to provide equitable access to a healthy environment and take proactive measures to mitigate and adapt to future climate change, the City supports legislation and the funding necessary to plan for and mitigate urban and inland flooding that is often the result of climate-triggered historic rain events. The City supports legislation that assists in our efforts to expand our tree canopy, attain clean air and clean waterways, and increase recycling in the Commonwealth, including container deposit laws to reduce beverage container litter. The City supports efforts at the General Assembly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Commonwealth 50% by 2030, including efforts to decarbonize the statewide electricity supply, give communities choice over their electricity supply, and other policy strategies included in the City’s Environmental Action Plan 2040. The City supports legislation to increase energy efficiency in existing buildings and to mitigate greenhouse gas emission impacts of the transportation sector. The City supports legislation to provide localities with the authority to regulate the use of commercial gas-powered leaf blowers.

As we work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the City supports legislation and funding that ensures all residents, students, workers and businesses in our community, and across the Commonwealth, continue to experience a healthy, resilient, and equitable recovery from the far-reaching impacts of COVID-19. The City supports legislation that promotes the mental and physical well-being of every resident in our community and provides a system of support for residents with behavioral health needs. The City supports efforts to separate access to behavioral health services, care, and support from the criminal justice system. The City supports efforts in the General Assembly to identify and maintain adequate resources to respond to the emergent needs of residents experiencing a mental health emergency, including increasing the number of psychiatric beds available in the Commonwealth.

As we work to provide diverse housing opportunities in our community, the City supports the protection of local authority to plan, zone, and enforce land use regulations, without restricting local zoning authority or the zoning process. The City supports legislation that affords localities the authority necessary to encourage smart, appropriate development in our community, preserve the diverse, mixed-income character of our neighborhoods, maintain and expand our stock of affordable housing, and protect the historic character of our City. The City supports legislation to enhance building safety in the Commonwealth, particularly in high-rise buildings.

As we work to support youth and families in our community, the City supports legislation and funding that fully fund K-12 education and acknowledge the true cost of K-12 education in education funding. The City supports efforts to ensure that our schools are safe and in good condition, free of environmental health and other hazards. The City supports legislation and budget priorities that invest in Pre-K programs, reduce the local match for the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI), and encourage flexibility and creativity in the delivery of VPI programs in our community.  The City supports efforts to increase access to and affordability of high-quality early childhood education and childcare. The City supports efforts to encourage and incentivize family-friendly workplace policies in businesses throughout the Commonwealth, including the need for paid family leave for all workers. The City supports efforts to provide comprehensive crisis mental health care specifically for youth/adolescents. The City supports common sense gun safety legislation, especially efforts that focus on youth access to firearms. The City supports efforts to ensure that marijuana legalization efforts include protections for children and youth.

As we work to foster economic development in our community, the City supports legislation and funding that aids our efforts to utilize budgetary, land use, regulatory and other economic development tools to foster sustainable and equitable development, diversify revenue, and allow greater investment in our infrastructure. The City supports legislation to enact a state prevailing wage and protect workers from wage theft. The City supports legislation that assists in the deployment of universal, affordable access to broadband technology, in both unserved and underserved areas, and efforts to ensure a fair and open Internet. The City supports legislation that affords localities flexibility and additional authority in the areas of hiring and procurement, so localities can provide services efficiently and in a fiscally responsible manner while also encouraging hiring local workers and the involvement of local businesses in municipal projects and services.

As we work to develop and implement a compensation philosophy, the City supports legislation and funding that better reflects the true cost of compensation for employees supported – either statutorily or practically – through a combination of State and local funds, including employees in our Health Department, Court Services Unit, Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Department and public schools.

As we work to define our community engagement approach, the City supports legislation to ensure immigrants, refugees, and their families can fully participate in the economic, civic, social, and cultural life of our city and our Commonwealth. The City supports efforts to make membership on public bodies more accessible to residents.

As we work to provide core government services efficiently and effectively and accomplish those priorities identified by City Council, the City supports legislation and appropriations that fund or remove unfunded mandates from our local government, provide additional revenue or revenue authority in order to support core municipal operations and services, and support the City’s facility needs and plans. The City supports the preservation of existing state aid to localities, requests the full funding of all state funding commitments to localities, and opposes efforts to shift the costs of shared services to localities. The City supports legislation and funding that encourages civility, respect and a healthy exchange of ideas and perspectives, supports transparency and efforts to operate in a way that is easy for others to see and understand, and puts public service and the public interest first.

The City of Alexandria considers the following proposals to be key initiatives for the City during the 2023 General Assembly legislative session:

Positions will be posted following City Council Legislative meetings.
City Council legislative meeting dates:

• January 24, 2023
• February 14, 2023

2022

• January 25, 2022
• February 8, 2022

• 2022 City of Alexandria Legislative Package
• 2021 City of Alexandria Legislative Package
• 2020 City of Alexandria Legislative Package
• 2019 City of Alexandria Legislative Package