Our Public Policy Director Nancy Hiteshue has stayed busy since coming on board, tracking legislation that impacts business, meeting with policy makers and finding ways to connect Chamber members with their legislators. Read below for the status and business impact of some the key legislation that she has been following on behalf of the Prince William Chamber. Look for more updates—and advocacy action—from Nancy in the near future. If you have any questions in the meantime, give her a call at 571-765-1875 or email nhiteshue@pwchamber.or.g
Local Government:
Prince William County:
BOCS Adopts FY13 County Budget; Approves new tax rate; raises BPOL threshold and commits staff to discuss business tax reform.
At their April 24 meeting, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors took up their final budget debate and approved the FY13 County Budget and a real estate tax rate of $1.209 (per $100 of assessed value). Also at the meeting, the Board continued to uphold their 2011 commitment to pursue business tax reform by unanimously voting to increase the BPOL tax income threshold from the current $200,000 to $250,000. As part of this amendment, the Board also directed county staff to engage in dialogue with the Chamber about initiating significant business tax reforms. Supervisors Marty Nohe (Coles District) and Wally Covington (Brentsville District) proposed the lower threshold; Supervisor Frank Principi (Woodbridge District) proposed the directive. Thank you to all of you who made phone calls and sent emails to the County Board urging them to continue to make business tax reform!
Movement on the North-South Corridor of Statewide Significance (i.e. the Bi-County Parkway)
Yesterday, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors approved a comprehensive plan amendment that reversed a decision of the previous Board by restoring a continuous 150-foot wide north-south Belmont Ridge Road/Northstar Blvd. corridor between Route 7 and the Prince William County line. When connected with the extension of Route 234 north from I-66, the result will be a seamless multi-modal corridor from Route 7 to I-95 (the bi-county parkway). The action reverses the decision of a previous Loudoun Board to limit Northstar Blvd to only two lanes between Braddock Road and the Prince William line. (The Prince William County comprehensive plan already includes the necessary connections to complete this route.) In his comments, Chairman York underscored the importance of this facility in moving people and freight to Dulles Airport. Additionally, Several Loudoun County Board members criticized the Piedmont Environmental Council and its Coalition for Smarter Growth "front group" for their campaign of scare tactics and misinformation including that this facility was an "outer beltway." Others pointed out that failing to provide 6-lane capacity in this corridor would threaten historic US 15 which the PEC claims it seeks to protect.
This summer VDOT will begin the Corridor Master Planning Process, a nine-month study of the corridor. The study will include much stakeholder outreach and incorporates the economic impact study the PW Chamber advocated for, and members of the Prince William General Assembly delegation requested, during the 2012 legislative session. See the attached presentation given by VDOT to the PW BOCS for more details.
City of Manassas:
The City of Manassas will have its first reading (May 14; 5:30pm) and second reading (May 21; 7:30pm) for adoption of the proposed FY13 budget and tax ordinance. City Council Proposed real estate tax to $1.366 per $100 of assessed value. This is a decrease of $0.029 from the 2012 rate of $1.395. You can read more about the City's proposed FY13 budget in summary here or in more detail here.
City of Manassas Park:
The City of Manassas Park will hold its second public hearing on its proposed FY13 real estate tax rate on May 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall, One Park Center Court, Manassas Park, VA.. The City is considering the adoption of a tax rate not to exceed $1.65 per $100 of assessed value. The tax rate which would levy the same amount of real estate tax as last year, when multiplied by the new total assessed value of real estate with the exclusions mentioned above, would be $1.59 per $100 of assessed value. Total assessed value of real property, excluding additional assessments for new construction, or improvement to property, exceeds last year’s total assessed value of real property by 4.01 percent. Based on the proposed real property tax rate and changes in other revenues, the total general fund budget of Manassas Park will increase over last year’s by 0.79%. You can read more about the City's proposed FY13 budget in the City Manager's revised budget letter.
State Government:
General Assembly 2012 Session Wrap-up
Thank you to all who were able to attend Tuesday's Legislative Wrap-up breakfast. At the breakfast we released the Prince William Chamber's 2012 Legislative Report Card. You can view the report card here and read about the event here.
Additionally, attached please find a copy of my 2012 legislative session wrap up report which provides a detailed summary of legislation the Chamber monitored and acted upon during the 2012 General Assembly session.
Federal Government:
National Labor Relations Board
At our April Government Affairs Committee meeting there was much discussion about the regulatory actions recently undertaken by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) such as the union poster rule (requiring employers to post notices explaining workers’ rights to form a union) and the union election rule (speeding up the timeframe for union elections). The US Chamber's Workforce Freedom Initiative keeps track of all the actions of the NLRB (often a difficult task as the board, while having regulatory authority, does not have to report its actions to Congress). More information on this initiative and on NLRB actions can be found here: http://www.workforcefreedom.com/
A few days after our committee discussion of the NLRB Poster Rule, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an emergency injunction against the NLRB, blocking the agency from implementing the rule which would require employers to post a sign explaining the rights an employee has to join or form a union nationwide. The ruling follows lower court cases restricting and blocking the new rule, the latest in which the U.S. Chamber and the South Carolina Chamber successfully filed suit in federal court against the law. The injunction will allow the court time to consider an appeal. You can read more about this latest court decision here: Judge rules against NLRB union poster rule
Also, below are two recent articles related to the NLRB union election rule we discussed at our April meeting.
U.S. Surface Transportation Bill
After months of internal negotiations, at the end of April both the Senate and House of Representatives named conferees who will be tasked with reconciling the House and Senate versions of surface transportation reauthorization legislation. This comes on the heels of House passage of H.R. 4348 , a "shell" bill designed to facilitate movement to a conference with the Senate-passed bill, S.1813.
H.R. 4348 passed the House by a vote of 293-127 on April 18, 2012, and was accompanied by a few additional items including the Keystone XL pipeline extension. This legislation effectively took the place of the more comprehensive H.R. 7 package which did not attract the requisite level of support to advance through the House.
With the House and Senate negotiators now officially appointed, a final long term bill could be in the making very soon. Ensuring this bill is advanced through conference and both houses of Congress is a multi-stage process, however, your continued help is needed to remind Congress this is a must-do item by June 30 . Failure to get a bill forces continued stop-gap extensions, and a missed opportunity to enact the much needed transformational reforms embedded in House and Senate bills.
US House Approves Keystone XL pipeline, again, as part of extension of transportation bill
In late April, the U.S. House of Representatives included Keystone XL pipeline approval in its 90 day extension of the highway and public transportation bill.
The legislation’s Keystone XL pipeline provisions would be an important step toward energy security. The proposed 1,600-mile Keystone XL pipeline, which would deliver more than 700,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta, Canada, through Cushing, Oklahoma, to Gulf Coast refineries. The $7 billion project is expected to create more than 20,000 jobs during the manufacturing and construction phases of the project. The pipeline would also reduce the need for foreign oil imports from less stable regions of the world. In addition, Keystone XL would provide much-needed supply distribution infrastructure for American domestic energy producers in the Upper Northwest/Bakken region and in the Southwest.
The bill now goes to conference with the Senate, which is unlikely to support including Keystone in the Transportation bill. The President has also threatened a veto, saying it violates longstanding practices on cross-border pipelines.
For more information on the Keystone Pipeline, visit the Partnership to Fuel America
