SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2013 SESSION

  • print version
Senate Committee on Finance

Chairman: Walter A. Stosch

Clerk: Patty Lung, Cheryl Law
Staff: Nicole Brenner, L. Wallmeyer
Date of Meeting: January 30, 2013
Time and Place: 9:00 a.m. - Senate Room B

S.B. 919

Patron: Watkins

State severance tax; uranium. Establishes a three percent state severance tax on the gross receipts of any uranium severed from the earth in the Commonwealth. One-half of the proceeds of the tax shall be deposited in the general fund of the Commonwealth. The other half of the proceeds shall be deposited into an Economic Development and Environmental Trust Fund established for each locality from which uranium is mined. Each locality's fund would be administered by a board appointed by the governing body of the locality.

S.B. 1111

Patron: McDougle

Local gas severance taxes. Establishes fair market value for purposes of the local gas severance taxes by defining fair market value as the gross receipts from the first sale of gas to an unrelated party less reasonable, actual expenses including the costs of moving and processing the gas, depreciation, compression, marketing, overhead, maintenance, processing, transportation, property taxes, and return on investment. The bill moves the local gas severance taxes out of Chapter 37 of Title 58.1, which sets forth local license tax laws.

The one percent local gas severance taxes would be applied to the fair market value of the gas at the time it is produced at the wellhead within the county or city.

S.B. 1170

Patron: Deeds

Virginia Public Procurement Act; resident employment and apprenticeship participation; required contract provisions. Requires all public bodies to include in every contract of more than $100,000 that involves the performance of work within the Commonwealth provisions requiring the contractor to agree (i) that 51 percent of all positions created in performance of the contract be filled by Virginia residents, (ii) that 35 percent of the total hours worked by apprentices in positions created in performance of the contract be performed by Virginia residents, and (iii) to use the Virginia Employment Commission as the first source of referral for obtaining qualified applicants for any new position. Under the bill, "new position" does not include a position that is filled by a current employee of the contractor or an individual who was previously laid off by the contractor. The required provisions do not apply to any contracts for the procurement of professional services.

S.B. 1186

Patron: Vogel

State Medical Assistance Plan; investigatory powers of the Attorney General; allowable charge for services. Expands the authority of the Attorney General or his authorized representatives in auditing and investigating providers of services under the State Medical Assistance Plan by giving authority to compel the production of fingerprints, photographs, and handwriting exemplars by witnesses. The bill provides that a witness who refuses to testify or produce requested evidence may be held in contempt and incarcerated until he complies. Subpoenas are excepted from certain provisions related to health records privacy and notice provisions, and information developed during a civil investigation is privileged. The bill also requires the Department of Medical Assistance Services to require that the actual charge for certain services, equipment, and materials shall not exceed the lowest price charged by or paid to the provider by any individual or entity, with certain exceptions.

S.B. 1195

Patron: Saslaw

Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program. Creates the Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program, a pilot program administered by the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to improve outreach by state government to the private sector. The objectives of the Program are to (i) strengthen coordination and interaction between state government and the private sector on issues relevant to entrepreneurs and small business concerns, and (ii) make state government programs and operations simpler, easier to access, more efficient, and more responsive to the needs of small business concerns and entrepreneurs. The program has a 2017 sunset date.

S.B. 1267

Patron: Ruff

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; Board for Contractors; licensure of tree care service providers; penalties. Requires the licensure of tree care service providers by the Board for Contractors as of January 1, 2014. The Board shall not issue a license until the applicant has furnished evidence of financial responsibility, consisting of a liability insurance policy that protects persons who suffer legal damages as a result of the performance of tree care services. Performing tree care services without a license or without the required liability insurance is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. A public utility is not obligated to move lines or cables until the person seeking to perform the tree care services provides the utility with evidence that such person is a licensed tree care service provider. The measure also requires that a tree care service provider give customers a signed statement affirming that the provider has the required liability insurance and that the customer's property insurer shall have no liability for damages to the property of the customer and for injuries to the persons performing the tree care services.

S.B. 1290

Patron: Edwards

Higher education; partial tuition waiver for dependent children of faculty. Requires public institutions of higher education to grant a 50 percent tuition waiver to dependent students of current full-time faculty members who have been employed full time by any one or more public Virginia colleges or universities for an aggregate period of at least seven years if sufficient funds are available in the Dependent Children of University and College Faculty Reduced Tuition Fund, which is created in the bill. The waiver would be valid at any public institution of higher education in Virginia. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.

S.B. 1365

Patron: Wagner

Tax administration; awards for detection of tax underpayments. Creates a program for the payment of monetary rewards to individuals who provide information to the Tax Commissioner that leads to the successful collection of taxes that are owed by other individual or business taxpayers. Awards may only be given if the underpaying individual taxpayer's income exceeds $100,000 or the underpaying business taxpayer's income exceeds $500,000, and the amount in question exceeds $50,000.

S.B. 1370

Patron: Vogel

Entitlement to sales and use tax revenue; City of Winchester. Allows a public facility in the City of Winchester to include retail, restaurants, offices, and other spaces devoted to commercial uses, so long as such commercial use is ancillary to the primary purpose of the facility, and the building is not owned by the City. Generally, under current law, public facilities that are entitled to a portion of sales tax revenue collected at the facility do not include shopping centers or malls.

EMERGENCY