6.3 Local Ordinances and Codes

• Library: A Guide to Legal Research in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2017 Ed.)

6.3 LOCAL ORDINANCES AND CODES

Local governments are lawmaking bodies for their jurisdictions, subject to limitations set by the Virginia Constitution and the General Assembly.

6.301 Codification. Pursuant to section 15.2-1433 of the Virginia Code, localities have the option to codify (arrange by subject) any or all of their ordinances. The statute does not require, however, that a codification be comprehensive, and some ordinances may remain uncodified. The statute also does not mandate supplementation even if a locality elects to codify, so researchers must be alert when consulting local codes.

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6.302 Sources of Ordinances and Codes.

A. Local Government Websites. Most localities make their ordinances available through their websites, although online versions are not necessarily current or official. Some codes are easy to find from home pages. Others are located within a county or city attorney's website and may be easier to find using Internet search engines like Google.

B. Commercial Online Sources. Another approach to finding online codes is to go to the sites of the major publishers. The Municipal Code Corporation website has more than 100 Virginia county, city, and town codes. ¹⁶ Codes for other Virginia municipalities are available from the sites of General Code, LLC ¹⁷ and American Legal Publishing Corp. ¹⁸ Most of these codes are also available in print.

C. Local Sources. If a code is not available online, an individual ordinance can be obtained from the clerk's office of the appropriate city, town, or county. State law requires that at least one copy of all codifications, recodifications, and supplements be kept in the office of the clerk of the governing body, and these copies must be available for public inspection during normal business hours. ¹⁹ Some local bar associations and regional law libraries maintain copies of local government codes. Appendices B through E to this book list law libraries and other information sources in the commonwealth.

D. Interlibrary Loan. For ordinances from other jurisdictions, a librarian might be able to borrow materials or obtain copies from a public institution or law firm in the geographic area of interest. A librarian in Roanoke, for example,

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might be willing to scan provisions of regional codes for a distant colleague in need.

E. Virginia State Law Library (Virginia Supreme Court Library). ²⁰ The State Law Library acquires and maintains codes from the larger cities and counties. Prior editions of these codes are retained.

F. The Virginia Municipal League. ²¹ The Virginia Municipal League is a statewide organization of city, town, and county governments established in 1905 to improve and assist local governments through research, education, and legislative advocacy. Membership includes cities, towns, and a few counties in the commonwealth. ²² The league maintains a large collection of codes in its Richmond office and allows in-house use of these resources.

6.303 Judicial...