BRISTOL, Va. – Friday’s signature by Gov. Bob McDonnell makes the Bristol Virginia Utilities authority a part of state law.
The act, previously known as Senate Bill 12 and House Bill 27, establishes an independent authority and allows the city utilities provider to convert into that authority on July 1. Now known as Acts of Assembly 117, the measure still faces a legal challenge in Bristol Virginia Circuit Court.
BVU officials received word of the signing Friday morning, General Counsel Walt Bressler said.
“It’s been a long road. But we really felt all along that this would be a real bonus for Bristol, Southwest Virginia and the entire region,” Bressler said. “And we look forward to being able to do all this better than we felt we could have done it in our present form.”
Under the act, BVU will become a subdivision within the state and be allowed to borrow money, completely manage its own finances and set some rates for service without the direct oversight of the City Council.
Opponents claim the act will diminish the city’s worth by giving away its electric, water, wastewater and telecommunications assets.
The governor’s final approval occurred 158 days after the BVU board of directors first discussed and approved the plan in an open session. Three weeks after that, a divided City Council also gave its stamp of approval – after two lengthy public hearings – and the measure was forwarded to the Virginia General Assembly.
Matching bills rolled through the state House and Senate in late January and February, with the final, unanimous Senate approval March 1. The legislation reached the governor Monday.
“This was a seven-day bill, which means the governor was to consider the bill within seven days of it reaching his desk,” attorney Anthony Troy said Friday. “He signed it this morning. It is law.”
A former state attorney general, Troy is lead counsel representing BVU in the lawsuit filed by city residents Lonnie and Jeanette Whitley.
The lawsuit claims the City Council’s 3-2 approval wasn’t sufficient for the “sale” of city assets and should invalidate the act. BVU claims this is a conversion, not a sale. No court date has yet been set.
“We’re in the process of doing discovery and that will take us up to about the first of April. I suspect it will be set shortly after that,” Bressler said.
dmcgee@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2532
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