SB162: Vacant building registration; enhances penalties for failure to register.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 15.2-1127 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 15.2-1127. Vacant building registration; penalty.
The Town of Pulaski, in a conservation and rehabilitation
district of the town, and any city, by ordinance, may require the owner or
owners of buildings that have been vacant for a continuous period of 12 months
or more to register such buildings on an annual basis and may impose an annual
registration fee not to exceed $25 to defray the cost of processing such
registration. The registration of buildings shall be on forms designated by the
locality and filed with the agency designated by the locality. Failure to
register shall be a $50 civil penalty misdemeanor and any
person convicted of such a violation shall be punished by a fine of not more
than $500; however, failure to register in conservation and
rehabilitation districts designated by the governing body, or in other areas
designated as blighted pursuant to § 36-49.1:1, shall be punishable by a civil penalty not exceeding $250 fine of not more than
$2,500. Notice shall be mailed to the owner or owners, at the
address to which property tax notices are sent, at least 30 days prior to the assessment of the civil penalty prosecution for
failure to register such building or buildings. Each day during which the
violation continues after the date of conviction shall constitute a separate
offense.