PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The city's intergovernmental affairs manager presented a recommended 2026 state and federal legislative package to Portsmouth City Council that asks the General Assembly and Congress for new public-safety authorities and for funding to complete water, sewer and homeless-services projects.

The package asks the General Assembly to add Portsmouth to a code section allowing localities to impose conditions on special exceptions or special-use permits for retail alcoholic beverage licenses so those permits automatically expire on a change of ownership, possession, management or after a set time. It also seeks relief for police executing Temporary Detention Orders and Emergency Custody Orders, a new Class 2 misdemeanor for leaving a firearm in an unlocked vehicle, expansion of review time for camera-based traffic enforcement and authority to let trained special conservators of the peace or technicians perform reviews so sworn officers can remain on patrol.

"It's my pleasure to be before you this evening to share with you the recommendations of the Portsmouth City Council legislative advisory committee," the intergovernmental affairs manager said, opening the presentation. She told council the committee worked with city leadership, Virginia Municipal League and Virginia First Cities on several items and that the package is more "dynamic and diverse" than in prior years.

Why it matters: the public-safety measures are intended to reduce officer time spent on lengthy processes and to improve community safety. The presenter said the Portsmouth Police Department logged 58 reports from January through August of firearms stolen from unlocked vehicles, and urged a criminal penalty (up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine) to discourage leaving firearms unsecured in parked cars.

Council members asked whether conviction under a new misdemeanor should also trigger loss of concealed-carry authorization. The city attorney said revocation of a permit is a separate court process and a local legislative proposal should not presume authority for administrative revocations.

Traffic enforcement changes: staff asked the General Assembly to make the review periods for red-light and school-zone speed violations consistent and to extend the allowable review window so police can complete video and photo reviews before issuing summonses. Under current state code, red-light video reviews must be completed within 10 days and school-zone speed photo reviews may be completed within 30 days; staff said the 10-day requirement has resulted in tickets being discarded when backlogs persist. The package also asks for statutory authority to permit trained non-sworn reviewers to perform those checks.

Infrastructure and budget requests: staff presented several budget amendment requests to ask the state and federal governments to help pay for projects already on the city's capital-improvement plan. Highlights include:

- $4.5 million requested again for phase 1 of the Prentiss Street water-transmission project (the same award was included in the city's 2025 legislative package but vetoed by Governor Youngkin).

- $17,000,000 for a new Housing Resource Center, described as a single-site resource serving up to 54 people experiencing homelessness with short-term housing, day services, learning spaces and dining; staff said the $17 million estimate reflects current construction and outfitting costs and that operating funds would be a future budget line item.

- $4.25 million for additional sanitary-sewer pump-station rehabilitation work (the project has an overall cost of about $21 million and prior funding addressed several pump stations), and $1.2 million for a lead-service-line inventory enhancement to support field sampling and a predictive model to locate lead service lines.

On the housing request, council members pressed for details about ongoing operating costs and funding sources. Staff said the construction request is the immediate need; long-term operations would be addressed in the city budget and could include grants or public-private partnerships, but an annual operating estimate was "not specified" at the time of the presentation.

Regional and policy positions: the presentation also covered public-policy positions the city plans to support or oppose. Staff highlighted opposition to any acquisition of the Virginia International Gateway by the Port Authority or Commonwealth "without adequate compensation to the city of Portsmouth for any tax revenue that's lost in that transition." Council members requested updated analyses to support port-related legislative work and suggested commissioning or updating a JLARC-style study on port impacts to inform state and federal advocacy.

Other topics and federal work: staff said they are pursuing a multi-jurisdictional effort to revisit federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) rules for military installations (Portsmouth does not currently receive PILOT fees for certain federal properties) and exploring federal grant funding to study railroad-crossing safety. Staff warned that federal grant work is constrained while Congress operates under a continuing resolution.

Federal-program concerns: the presentation noted potential federal cuts to programs localities rely on, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Section 8 housing assistance; staff said Portsmouth has about 22,000 residents on SNAP and estimated that SNAP benefits represent roughly $4,000,000 per month in benefits for the city, underscoring the local impact if federal funds are reduced.

Process and next steps: staff reminded council of election- and prefiling-related deadlines, a planned joint meeting with Portsmouth's delegation on Dec. 5, the governor's final budget expected Dec. 17 and the start of the 2026 legislative sessions in January. The committee will meet periodically during the session and coordinate visits to the legislature to advocate for the package.

Closed-session motion: toward the end of the meeting the council moved and voted by roll call to enter a closed session under Virginia Code '4 2.2-3711(A) to consult with counsel regarding shootings in the city and to discuss interim city-attorney and city-attorney positions; the council later certified in open session that only the stated matters were discussed.

What's next: staff said it will continue working with Virginia Municipal League, Virginia First Cities and the city's legislative delegation as the package is finalized; council members asked for additional information on costs, models for operations of the Housing Resource Center and potential regional partners for homelessness services.