Summary: Advertisement of legal notices; website. Allows a locality to advertise legal notices on the locality's websiteinstead of, or in addition to, publishing such notices in a newspaperhaving general circulation in the locality.

Summary: Siting of data centers; site assessment. Allows a locality, prior to any approval for the siting of a data center, to perform a site assessment to examine the effect of the data center on water usage and carbon emissions within the locality.

Summary: Cumberlands Airport Commission. Establishes a new charter for the Cumberlands Airport Commission and repeals the current charter, which was created in 1958. The proposed charter sets out the organization of the Commission and contains powers and duties typically granted for authorities. The bill also removes the Town of Lebanon and the Counties of Lee and Russell from the Commission. This bill is identical to SB 728.

Summary: Zoning; certified recovery residence. Requiresthat a locality's zoning ordinances for all purposes shall considera certified recovery residence in which individuals with substanceuse disorder reside as residential occupancy by a single family.The bill specifies that no conditions more restrictive than thoseimposed on residences occupied by persons related by blood, marriage,or adoption shall be imposed on such certified recovery residence.

Summary: Unfunded mandates; delay of implementation.Allows a county, city, or town, in its discretion, to delay implementingan unfunded mandate until the next fiscal year after the fiscal yearin which any unfunded mandate became effective. The locality shalldo so by ordinance that states with specificity the unfunded mandatethat the locality seeks to delay implementing and the date on whichthe unfunded mandate shall become effective after the delay. The bill defines "unfunded mandate" as an act that imposes on a localitythe responsibility of providing funding for new programs or increasedlevels of service under existing programs and for which the Commonwealthdoes not provide sufficient funding to cover the required costs of such new programs or increased services, whether by appropriationor other means.

Summary: Zoning ordinance and amendments thereto; special exceptions; appeal. Clarifies that a claim (i) challenging theprocedures employed or (ii) stating a decision is void ab initiofor any reason relating to a local governing body's final decisionon a proposed zoning ordinance, or on an amendment of or special exception to such ordinance, only be filed within 30 days of suchdecision in a circuit court having jurisdiction of the land. Thebill provides that the provisions of the bill are declarative ofexisting law and are effective retroactively to any decision madeby a local governing body prior to July 1, 2024.

Summary: Local government; standardization of publicnotice requirements for certain meetings, hearings, or intended actions. Standardizes the frequency with which and length of time in whichnotices of certain meetings, hearings, and other intended actionsof localities must be published. The notice provisions included inthe bill are organized into three groups: (i) publication requiredat least seven days before a meeting, hearing, or intended action;(ii) publication required twice, with the first notice appearing no more than 28 days before and the second notice appearing no lessthan seven days before a meeting, hearing, or intended action; and(iii) publication required three times, with the first notice appearingno more than 35 days before and the third notice appearing no lessthan seven days before the meeting, hearing, or intended action.The bill also standardizes descriptive information in such noticesrelated to (a) proposing, amending, or repealing ordinances; (b)local budget adoption; and (c) zoning ordinances and planning-relatedactions.

Summary: Uniform Statewide Building Code; temporary prohibition on modifications. Provides that neither the Governor nor the Board of Housing and Community Development shall modify any regulation in the Uniform Statewide Building Code prior to the conclusion of the Commonwealth's next triennial code development process.

Summary: Local fiscal distress; determination by Auditor of Public Accounts; state intervention. Sets out a procedure for determining when localities are in fiscal distress, as defined in the bill, and when state intervention may be necessary. The bill requires the Auditor of Public Accounts to develop criteria for a preliminary determination that a locality may be in fiscal distress. The bill also requires the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget to identify any amounts remaining unexpended from general fund appropriations in the state budget as of June 30 of each year, which constitute state aid to local governments. From such unexpended balances, the Governor may reappropriate up to $750,000 from amounts that would otherwise revert to the balance of the general fund and transfer such amounts as necessary to establish a component of fund balance that may be used for the purpose of providing technical assistance and intervention actions for localities deemed to be fiscally distressed and in need of intervention to address such distress. The bill provides that if a report to the Governor concludes that a locality is either unwilling or unable to comply with the conditions necessary to address its fiscal distress, the Governor shall use all powers available to him to intervene for the purpose of addressing such fiscal distress. The bill further grants authority to the Governor to appoint an emergency fiscal manager and grant the manager with all powers available and necessary to implement a plan to restore sustainable fiscal health to the locality. The emergency fiscal officer shall give timely notice of any proposed actions to be taken and an opportunity for public input prior to such action and shall establish benchmarks that will allow a locality to exit the state intervention plan upon meeting such benchmarks.

Summary: Charter; Town of Rocky Mount. Amends thecharter for the Town of Rocky Mount in Franklin County to reflectthe town's transition from May to November for municipal elections.The bill also imposes term limits of three consecutive terms forthe mayor and members of the town council.