HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-02-26 LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
CITY OF ROANOKE
Date: March 2, 2026
Time: 9:00 A.M.
Location: Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building
Council Chamber, Room 450
215 Church Avenue, S.W.
Roanoke,Virginia 24011
CALL TO ORDER,ROLL CALL—9:10 A.M.
PRESENT: Chairman S. Terry McGuire, Mayor Joseph L. Cobb, Council Members
Nicolas Hagen, Vivian Sanchez-Jones, Phazhon Nash, Peter Volosin, and Evelyn
Powers, Mary"Franny"Apel (arrived at 9:18 a.m.)
OFFICERS PRESENT: Valmarie H. Turner, City Manager; Vanessa Bohr, Deputy
City Manager; and Laura Carini, City Attorney.
OTHERS PRESENT: Alan Siebert, RCPS Legislative Representative; Senior Vice
President at McGuire Woods Consulting,and the City of Roanoke's Legislative Liaison
(via Microsoft Teams); Clayton Cox and Scott Binkley,Federal Legislative Consultants
(via Microsoft Teams).
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE SECRETARY: Cecelia McCoy, City Clerk, City of
Roanoke.
ABSENT: Deidre Trigg(RCPS Committee Members)
OPENING REMARKS:
•
Chairman S. Terry McGuire welcomed the Committee members, as well as all present at the
meeting.
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES—MARCH 2, 2026
Board Member Hagen moved that the reading of the minutes be dispensed with and
approved as recorded. The motion was seconded by Board Member Volosin, and
adopted by the following vote:
AYES: Board Members Hagen, Sanchez-Jones, Mayor Cobb, Nash, Volosin, Powers, '
and Chairman McGuire-7.
NAYS: None-0.
(Committee Members Apel and Trigg were absent at the time of the vote).
DISCUSSION OF THE LEGISLATIVE ITEMS:
Legislative Update—L. Preston Bryant,Jr.—City of Roanoke Legislative Liaison
Mr. Bryant provided General Assembly review on the following topics:
o General Assembly Calendar
o Housing
o Public Safety
o Economic Development
o Budget and Funding
o Transportation
o Environment
o Civil Liberties
o Governance
o Other Items of Interest
• Committee Member Volosin inquired about the status and direction of cannabis
legislation.
o Mr. Bryant stated that the House intends to take a measured approach to the
matter.
o He noted that the primary fiscal pressures influencing legislative priorities at
this time are Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
• Committee Member Nash asked additional questions regarding the cannabis bill,
specifically referencing the projected sales tax revenue estimate of$300,000, which
he characterized as relatively low.
o Mr. Bryant indicated he would follow up with further information.
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Education Funding Related to Cannabis Revenue
• Committee Member Powers requested clarification on:
o The methodology behind the sales tax calculation
o Whether education funding would receive 10% or 3% of cannabis-related revenue
o Whether$900 million in revenue would ultimately be directed to schools
• Mr. Bryant acknowledged the questions and committed to providing additional detail.
Data Centers and Tax Policy
• Chair McGuire expressed interest in establishing clear guardrails for data centers,
emphasizing that such facilities should contribute their fair share in taxes.
• Chair McGuire also referenced a recent article indicating that no tax increases are
currently being proposed.
(See presentation on file in the secretary's office).
Federal Legislative Priorities—Clayton Cox and Scott Binkley, Federal Legislative
Consultants:
Mr. Cox and Mr. Binkley gave an overview of the following:
o FY 2026 Federal Funding Successes
• Project RBE Biotechnology Accelerator
• In-River Kayak Park
o Federal Funding Priorities Working List
• In-River Kayak Park
• Roanoke Regional Airport Projects
• Public Transit
• Affordable Housing Funding
• Others
o Upcoming Dates
• Mid-Early March—Deadlines for CPF Funding
• March 18—Hill Day Meetings in Washington, DC during National
League of Cities Conference
• May 4—Scott and Clayton presenting in person to Council and
touring priority projects in Roanoke
(See presentation on file in the secretary's office).
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Following the presentation, Mayor Cobb inquired about the proposed budget and HUD
cuts. Continued conversation and comments from Chairman McGuire, committee
member Nash and Volosin.
ROANOKE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS LEGISLATIVE UPDATE --Alan Seibert,RCPS
Legislative Representative:
o RCPS Priorities
o Appointed School Boards
o State Budget and Funding for Community Builders
o Over 150 Other Bills
o Next Steps
• Mr. Siebert provided a brief summary of the legislative priorities for Roanoke
City Public Schools.
• Committee Member Franny Apel departed the meeting prior to this portion of the
discussion.
Chairman McGuire announced the next meeting will be held on Monday,April 6,2026.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:12 a.m.
APPROVED
ATTEST:
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Cecelia F. McCoy, CMC S.Terry McGuire
City Clerk Chairman
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