SR38: Senate Committee to study safety of Route 13 in Northampton and Accomack Counties.

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 38

Offered February 18, 2014
Directing the Senate Committee on Local Government to study the safety of Route 13 in Northampton and Accomack Counties and to make recommendations as to safety improvements. Report.
Patron-- Lewis

Referred to Committee on Rules

WHEREAS, the primary speed limit along Route 13 is 55 miles per hour with reduced speeds of 45 miles per hour within town limits; and

WHEREAS, traffic studies indicate that Route 13 in Accomack and Northampton Counties has an elevated fatality rate compared to similar primary routes throughout the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, only minor modifications to the existing shoulders on Route 13 to install shoulder rumble strips and other safety features along the route would be necessary to make safety improvements; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That the Senate Committee on Local Government be directed to study the safety of Route 13 in Northampton and Accomack Counties and to make recommendations as to safety improvements. The Senate Committee on Rules shall assign a total of four members of the Committee on Local Government to conduct the study upon the recommendation of the Chairman of the Committee on Local Government.

In conducting its study, the Committee shall review traffic studies on Route 13 and make recommendations on safety improvements.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the Senate. Legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the Committee shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Committee for this study, upon request, including the Department of Transportation, the Department of State Police, the Northampton and Accomack County Boards of Supervisors, and the county administrators of those counties.

The Committee shall be limited to four meetings for this study during the 2014 interim. Approval for unbudgeted nonmember-related expenses shall require the written authorization of the Chairman of the Committee and the Clerk of the Senate.

The Committee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2014, and the Chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2015 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the Committee intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.