Late last week the legislative committee decided to defer our legislative agenda item #5 until next year. This initiative sought to protect the privacy of the elderly and handicapped and disabled veterans, by exempting them from disclosure in the public land book and adding them to the list of prohibitions contained in § 58.1-3. A. Secrecy.
After several colleagues raised concerns regarding this initiative, it was decided that we should study the merits of amending 58.1-3984 and related code sections in order to determine we have comprehensively addressed and fully vetted all aspects of this issue.
The executive committee has been briefed and both Pres. Phil and Del. Bulova, the patron have been spoken with, and they agree with this course of action. The revised legislative agenda reflects this change.
In addition, HB 7 (Del. Ware) has been assigned to enhance and clarify reporting requirements to § 58.1-3826. Transient occupancy tax. Lastly, budget amendments totaling $1.4 M are being prepared that seek full funding for 154 deputy positions that have been unfunded since 2002.