The Town of Smithfield is in full support of House Bill 1752 related to the use of golf carts within the Town of Smithfield. This change will allow more residents to access the historic downtown portion of Smithfield via golf cart. This will provide additional economic opportunities as well help with our parking issues in the historic downtown.

HB 2146, Parked cars in VDOT right-of-ways appears to be a common sense, innocuous bill designed for the public to be able to stop on a VDOT right-of-way and save a cat or dog in danger of being hit by a vehicle. Unfortunately, I must point out the background and real purpose and impact of the legislation. Of course, the general public are not receiving tickets for saving an animal in danger, but who are receiving a few tickets based on current Virginia Code are deer dog hunting clubs hunting on highway road shoulders. HB 2146 is designed to make it legal for these clubs to park on the VDOT road shoulders waiting for the deer dogs to run deer to these roads so they may shoot them. The danger this common practice of lining public roads with hunters waiting for the hounds to run the deer to them is already extreme. Drivers going 60 mph suddenly come upon parked vehicles, hunters with weapons spread along the road, not to mention the deer and dogs that end up in the travel lanes. The bills sponsor, Delegate Miyares, received a $2000 contribution from the deer dog hunting lobby this past November. The deer dog lobby supports this dangerous bill. I have attacked a video taken December 30, 2020 in Essex County showing deer dog hunters using the right-of-way to hunt, a very common and illegal practice under current Code. HB 2146 would make it legal for all dog hunters to line the highways waiting to "catch their companion animals.” Respectfully, Ben Fulton, Federal Wildlife Biologist - Retired Caroline, VA

I fully support each of these and hope you will as well

I am the Executive Director for the Virginia Beach Hotel Association. We support HB2043 which creates the Virginia Beach Tourism Authority. It is a necessity to remain competitive in challenging industry, especially during COVID. Virginia Beach is the largest city and the largest tourism destination in the state. The city is in competition for tourism with many other East Coast destinations. The Tourism Authority will help not only Virginia Beach be more competitive and nimble in its marketing, but jump start tourism and the recovery for the hospitality industry coming out of the pandemic. I support the proposed technical change in HB1825. In continuing to grow the state’s largest city and tourism destination, entertainment and sporting venues create more opportunities to attract consumers to Virginia. This legislation has long been on the books, but due to some slowdowns and changes, the Code needs to be changed to allow the timing of the bonds to shift with the timing of the project. Thank you for your support of these bills and the Virginia Beach tourism industry, stakeholders and residents who count on the industry which provides great economic impact to the city.

I am in support of the dome site. We need a venue that will bring groups to VB. I hope you are as well. Thank you.

VRLTA supports Delegate Askew's legislation and urges the committee to pass it as written.

On behalf of Prince William County, we extend our support for H.B. 1949. We commend Delegate Runion and Albemarle County for initiating this legislation, which will facilitate greater transparency in our local government budgeting process. The bill allows for funds appropriated for capital improvement projects to be carried over from one fiscal year to the next, improving multi-year budgeting. The analogy would be the county has approved the building of a new fire station, which will span multiple budget cycles that includes appropriated funds and grants, with this bill allowing the county to continue the project without closing out at the end of the fiscal year and going through a new appropriations process, creating greater efficiency for the locality. We hope it is the pleasure of the committee to pass HB 1949. Sincerely, Glynn Loope, Legislative Liaison Prince William County

The Prince William Chamber of Commerce supports this bill. It would allow for the Prince William County Government to rollover already appropriated funds for capitol improvement projects without having to go through the appropriations process again., which would save the community time, money and resources.

Under current Virginia Code §§15.2-520 and 15.2-2506 in counties operating under the county executive form of government (Albemarle and Prince William), funds appropriated for outstanding grants may be carried over for one year without being re-appropriated. This change would give staff the latitude to make budgetary adjustments as the previous year is closed out to make sure that the proper project balances are brought forward into the new fiscal year. The Board of Supervisors would be able to appropriate multi-year grants and capital projects once, with the appropriated funds automatically carrying forward each year until the grant or project is completed.

Jay Deck with the Virginia Education Association. We support both bills HB 1917 and HB 1949.

This is a request for an unregulated body with no oversight and nearly universal powers to CONVERT WITHOUT CONSENT the use of private land and private property to COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES. This is an improper request from those who hold offices in the PUBLIC TRUST.

There has been no referendum on this proposed authority for the people to cast their sovereign vote on this matter. It seems that this is a request for an unregulated body with no oversight and nearly universal powers to CONVERT WITHOUT CONSENT the use of private land and private property to COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES. The city acted without authority to forward this bill and it should be withdrawn for consideration and examination by the people. Comments are by commercial real estate organizations, illustrating what this bill is really about: a “land grab” attempt to acquire an inventory of homes for rental purposes with callousness towards the private land and private property owners, whose neighborhoods they want to commercialize. By what authority do those with Oaths of Office to serve the PUBLIC TRUST demand a PRIVATE AUTONOMOUS AUTHORITY UNDER NO OVERSIGHT AND NO REGULATION AND GRANTED UNLIMITED POWERS with the sole purpose of CONVERTING private land and private property to COMMERCIAL USE without the will of the people and without the consent of the people? Those who made this request for the Tourism Authority,expect the private land and private property owners in these historic 100-year-old communities to fund a non-profit tax-exempt organization. They will shoulder increasing taxes, be subject to the encumbrance of their neighborhoods with continual transient travelers, increased crime and disruption and the demoralization and destruction of the quiet and peaceful lives. This action was taken without authority and without required notice during a pandemic, making communication inadequate for proper dialogue on the issue. The Request should be withdrawn or failed by this committee. Re-zoning ordinances for an Overlay with Short Term Rentals, a condition highly opposed in the North End, with confusion in the terms of rental duration per year, the City Council sent this Request for authority to the Virginia Assembly, at the 11th hour, without notification of or submission to the people. Virginia Beach Councilman John Moss on January 5, 2021, cited the following: • “The rushed passage of the Tourism Authority Request to the General Assembly has been with an “unprecedented lack of public engagement given the magnitude of proposal” • The question is “Should $30 million dollars for marketing be transferred to an autonomous nonelected independent political subdivision of Commonwealth with no direct accountability to the voters. That is the question embedded in this legislative proposal.” • ”We cannot ask (of the General Assembly) to transfer that which, as City Council, we do not own without the direct consent from voters by referendum” HR 2043 shows no evidence of marketing tools, but cites unlawful unauthorized corporate powers over private property of the sovereign people. (See Powers HB 2043 6.7.8.13.) The Request excludes the people, especially the private land and private property owners of the North End, and makes the Request for a Tourism Authority prima facia evidence that the City Council and the Planning Commission have acted WITHOUT AUTHORITY in the conversion of private land and private property to COMMERCIAL USE AND COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES from the establishment of their PUBLIC TRUST OFFICES January 5, 2021 and to present.

Please support HB2043.

I am the Executive Director for the Virginia Beach Hotel Association. We support HB2043 which creates the Virginia Beach Tourism Authority. It is a necessity to remain competitive in challenging industry, especially during COVID. Virginia Beach is the largest city and the largest tourism destination in the state. The city is in competition for tourism with many other East Coast destinations. The Tourism Authority will help not only Virginia Beach be more competitive and nimble in its marketing, but jump start tourism and the recovery for the hospitality industry coming out of the pandemic. I support the proposed technical change in HB1825. In continuing to grow the state’s largest city and tourism destination, entertainment and sporting venues create more opportunities to attract consumers to Virginia. This legislation has long been on the books, but due to some slowdowns and changes, the Code needs to be changed to allow the timing of the bonds to shift with the timing of the project. Thank you for your support of these bills and the Virginia Beach tourism industry, stakeholders and residents who count on the industry which provides great economic impact to the city.

My name is Emily Reynolds and I am the Executive Director of Government Affairs for the Hampton Roads Chamber. We are a pro-business organization serving over 1,200 members. On behalf of our members, specifically in Virginia Beach, we ask that you support HB2043. The Virginia Beach Tourism Authority will not only help enhance Virginia Beach's competitiveness and strategic marketing but more importantly, jump start tourism and the recovery for the hospitality industry coming out of this pandemic. We need this authority now more than ever. For these reasons, we ask that you support this bill. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I am in support of the VB Tourism Authority House bill. I hope you will support as well.

On behalf of the Virginia Beach Vision Board of Directors and its 120-member business and civic leaders, we solicit the General Assembly’s support of House Bill 2043 authorizing the creation of a Virginia Beach Tourism Authority. We believe having this enabling authority from the 2021 legislature is essential to provide options for restructuring the city’s existing Convention and Visitors Bureau. As detailed in the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau Management Analysis and Recommendations, Virginia Beach is “falling behind its competitors, relative to product development, community collaboration and marketing/sales innovation.” We know the visitor industry is vital to our city’s economy, attracting millions of annual visitors, $132 million in local and state tax revenue and 14,000 jobs. As Virginia Beach’s greatest economic engine, we can ill afford the degradation of the industry to continue. Virginia Beach Vision has previously endorsed the findings and recommendations of the Virginia Beach Resort Area Strategic Action Plan. These and other investments in our resort area will reposition the city as a top tourist destination and economic engine but not without concurrent effective and robust marketing within and outside the region. The VBCVB Conclusions and Recommendations management analysis clearly demonstrate the need for a high performing CVB in Virginia Beach. The best practices recommended in the report are utilized by some of the nation’s highest performing destination marketing organizations (DMOs). Today, Virginia Beach stands alone among the industry’s top competitors as the only government run CVB. As such, we are deterred by government procurement regulations, compensation levels well below market, and a structure that does not encourage industry support and collaboration. Following the departure of the CVB’s director and other key employees, the organization is at a pivotal point. We must embrace the opportunity to redefine how the CVB is managed. Our ability to do so is dependent upon the General Assembly enabling the city’s option of establishing a tourism authority. We can ill afford delay of another year in furthering these critical changes.