VA AG: 1998 law allows removal of Confederate monuments
By Geremia Di Maro | 08/27/2017
Attorney General Mark R. Herring ... In an advisory opinion .. Friday ... said statues can be removed by cities if there are no specific laws pertaining to individual memorials ...
A 1998 statute restricts the movement of war memorials in Virginia cities and does not apply to those monuments constructed before that year, according to Herring.
When the General Assembly omits a clear manifestation of intent that a statutory change should apply retroactively, it generally should be concluded that the legislature did not intend such an application, Herring wrote in the advisory opinion.
However, the original law passed in 1904 still prevents the removal of war memorials constructed after that year if they fall under the jurisdiction of a county government in Virginia, according to Herring ...
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2017/08/va-attorney-general-says-1998-state-law-allows-for-removal-of-confederate-monuments