The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission and the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization hosted a Legislative Workshop with the members of the General Assembly’s Hampton Roads Caucus. Peninsula Delegates David Yancey and Marcia Price attended along with many of their House and Senate colleagues from the Southside. Each year when the General Assembly is in session, the Hampton Roads Caucus meets weekly to discuss legislative issues that impact the region, however, the Caucus does not always have the opportunity to meet between sessions.

Both the Planning District Commission and the Transportation Planning Organization meet monthly and are made-up of local elected and appointed officials. The Legislative Workshop was a great opportunity to bring together a large group of State and Local officials before the 2017 General Assembly so that they could identify and discuss our region’s priority issues. There were ten topics for discussion on the agenda, several of which focused on funding, such as public education, transportation, and transit. Other topics included increased passenger rail to Hampton Roads, short-term rental regulation, Commonwealth Transportation Board representation, Coleman Bridge tolls and the HRSD Ground Water Injection Project.

The majority of those present agreed that there are many challenges to be faced in the coming legislative session. With the State facing an estimated $1.47 billion budget shortfall, funding issues in particular will be daunting. Going forward the HRPDC, HRTPO, and the participating localities now have insight on where our State elected officials stand on priority issues, while the General Assembly members gained helpful information about many of the topics that are likely to be before them in the 2017 session. Presentations that were given at the workshop can be found on the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization website.