HB619: Erosion and sediment control; may assess civil penalty.
This has just passed the House and as with the Health Care bill, has been defanged there (although maybe not as badly as the Health Care bill). Now, it is up to the Senate.
The
Richmond Sunlight's Bill Tracking page for this bill shows two versions. The original and the eviscerated version that will proceed. The original bill is HB619 and the version as modified and passed by the House is HB619E. The Richmond Sunlight's information on the right side of the page explains how to find the changes (they are either highlighted {shown as underlined below} if something is added,or have a line through them if something is deleted
The original change draws a clear line that identifies the first fine ($100) and each additional fine ($1000). The new, upgraded version allows for the locality to pick a figure between $100 & $1000 on each and every violation (each day constitutes a different violation). On the surface this may seem better, however, there is a lot of room for a 'hitch in the get-a-long' of this UNLESS this is (1) incorporated into the jurisdictions ordinance and (2) is applied in the same way to each and every violator.
If the violator is a simple citizen clearing an area of his/her backyard for a garage or shed, as opposed to a big development, I can see where you may want some latitude. This new version makes it easy for local government to make an uneven playing field by treating 'friends' or 'family' or 'good old boys/girls' differently from other people when the overall situations may be exactly the same. But, hey! We all know that kind of stuff doesn't happen, right? There is no way any local jurisdiction in Virginia would slap a civil fine of $100 on someone who is a friend of one of the Supervisors/Council members and a $1000 fine on someone else that someone didn't like or was new to the area, etc. We all know that codes are fairly and equally applied in the area of enforcement. I can see where this could get interesting.
Take the time to go to the
Richmond Sunlight site and look at the changes between those two bill (just click on the
View Full Text link). Take time to vote on what you think while you're there. If you have feelings about this, either pro or con, now is the time to start contacting your State Senator and let him/her know what you think and what you would like to see happen. I would prefer that the fee be based upon the amount of surface area involved so that those doing the most damage will pay the highest fees. I would also like to see that the money collected for this would be mandated to be used for restoration efforts. But...that's just my opinion.
Wonder what, if anything, the Town of Christiansburg will do with this if it passes at the State level.