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2015 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Finance

Co-Chair: Walter A. Stosch - Co-Chair: Charles J. Colgan

Clerk: Patty Lung
Staff: Lisa Wallmeyer, Nicole Brenner
Date of Meeting: January 28, 2015
Time and Place: 9:00 a.m. Senate Room B
Updated to add SB1399 & bills Passed by on 1/27

S.B. 687

Patron: Marsden

Virginia Retirement System; average final compensation. Provides that if an employee receives increases in compensation related to a promotion or new position in the last four years of service that exceed 400 percent of the employee's average annual compensation during the preceding three years, then the employee's service retirement allowance shall be based upon average annual compensation during the employee's final ten years of service. The provision would not apply to an employee who returns to service after at least a one year gap in service, who receives a judicial appointment, or who is elected Governor or Attorney General.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 51.1-152 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Retirement System; average final compensation.

15100156D

S.B. 700

Patron: Stanley

Animal Cruelty Conviction List established. Requires the Superintendent of State Police to establish and maintain an Animal Cruelty Conviction List available to the public on the website of the Department of State Police by 2017. The list shall include the names of persons convicted of certain felony animal cruelty offenses on or after July 1, 2015. Persons so convicted will be required to pay a fee of $50 per conviction to fund the maintenance of the list. The bill requires the State Police to remove a person from the list after 15 years if he has no additional felony conviction of a relevant animal cruelty offense.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 9 of Chapter 65 of Title 3.2 a section numbered 3.2-6573.1, relating to the establishment of an animal cruelty conviction list.

15100730D

S.B. 738

Patron: Carrico

Virginia Sickness and Disability Program; open enrollment period for members of the State Police Officers' Retirement System. Opens the enrollment into the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program from October 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015 for employees covered by the State Police Officers' Retirement System who are not currently covered by the program. An election to participate in the program must be in writing and is irrevocable. The sick leave balance of such employees who elect to join the program would be converted to retirement service credit on the basis of one month for every 173 hours of sick leave. The bill also contains technical changes.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 51.1-1103, 51.1-1110, and 51.1-1112 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Sickness and Disability Program; open enrollment period for members of the State Police Officers' Retirement System.

15100537D

S.B. 741

Patron: Carrico

Coalfield employment enhancement tax credit; expiration. Extends the expiration date of the credit from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2022.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-439.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the expiration date of the coalfield employment enhancement tax credit.

15101561D

S.B. 843

Patron: Locke

Claims; Jonathan Christopher Montgomery. Provides relief in the amount of $175,440 to Jonathan Montgomery, who was incarcerated for a total of three years and three days after being convicted of forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, and animate object sexual penetration. Mr. Montgomery has been issued a writ of actual innocence.

A BILL for the relief of Jonathan Christopher Montgomery.

15101276D

S.B. 866

Patron: Chafin

Health insurance for local school board employees. Allows local school boards to elect to have all their employees and retirees, as well as the dependents of employees and retirees, eligible to participate in the state employee health insurance plan in lieu of the current state-administered local health insurance plan. The local school board shall be responsible for whatever portion of the cost of such insurance is not paid by the employee, except any portion that the General Assembly elects to pay.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-1204 of the Code of Virginia, relating to health insurance program for school division employees.

15102399D

S.B. 942

Patron: Stuart

Virginia Retirement System; purchase of prior service credit. Allows a member of the Virginia Retirement System granted an unpaid leave of absence for the death of a child to purchase up to one year of service credit per occurrence of leave. Current law allows the purchase of service credit for an unpaid leave of absence related to the birth or adoption of a child.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 51.1-142.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Virginia Retirement System; purchase of prior service credit.

15101973D

S.B. 949

Patron: Stuart

Tax credit for hybrid vehicle registration. Creates a $64 tax credit for the 2015 tax year for hybrid vehicle owners who paid the $64 annual license tax between July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014. The bill has a July 1, 2018, expiration date.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-339.13, relating to a tax credit for hybrid vehicle registration.

15102386D

S.B. 975

Patron: Ruff

Tourism zones; tax revenues for tourism projects. Decreases from 80 percent to 70 percent the share of the total cost of a tourism project that the project must have in place before being eligible to receive a percentage of the state and local sales tax revenues generated on the premises of the project, to be used towards debt service to bridge the gap between available debt and equity and the expected costs of the project.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-3851.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to tourism zones; tax revenue for tourism projects.

15102396D

S.B. 977

Patron: Ruff

Virginia Sickness and Disability Program; open enrollment period. Opens enrollment into the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program between October 1, 2015, and January 1, 2016, for eligible employees not currently participating in the program. Any employee electing to participate in the program would convert his sick leave balances to (i) additional retirement service credit on the basis of one month of service for each 173 hours of sick leave or (ii) disability credits on the basis of one hour of disability credit for each hour of sick leave. An election to participate in the program must be in writing and is irrevocable.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 51.1-1103 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Sickness and Disability Program; open enrollment period.

15101553D

S.B. 978

Patron: Ruff

Virginia Retirement System; participation in Plan One. Allows an employee hired before July 1, 2010, who did not have at least 60 months of creditable service as of January 1, 2013, to make a one-time, irrevocable election to participate in the Virginia Retirement System as a Plan One employee.

A BILL to allow certain persons to elect to participate in the Virginia Retirement System Plan One.

15101556D

S.B. 1009

Patron: Howell

Income tax deduction; long-term health care insurance premiums. Reduces the allowable income tax deduction for long-term health care insurance premiums to from 100 percent to 50 percent of the amount an individual pays annually in premiums, effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-322 of the Code of Virginia, relating to income tax deduction; long-term health care insurance premiums.

15102141D

S.B. 1012

Patron: Watkins

Income tax subtraction; sale of land for open-space use. Eliminates the income tax subtraction available for the gain derived from the sale of land for open-space use for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-322 and 58.1-402 of the Code of Virginia, relating to income tax subtraction; sale of land for open-space use.

15102147D

S.B. 1019

Patron: Watkins

Land preservation tax credit; maximum credit claimed. Reduces from $100,000 to $20,000 the maximum amount of the land preservation tax credit that may be claimed beginning with income tax returns for taxable year 2015. Any taxpayer affected by the credit reduction would be allowed an additional three taxable years in which to claim the land preservation tax credit.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-512 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the land preservation tax credit.

15101926D

S.B. 1037

Patron: Hanger

Green job creation tax credit; sunset. Extends the green job creation tax credit for five years, through taxable year 2019.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-439.12:05 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the green job creation tax credit; sunset.

15103617D

S.B. 1075

Patron: Vogel

State health plan; participation by local school divisions. Provides for the participation by employees of a school division in the state employee health plan. After a period of three plan years, the local school board shall be required to make an irrevocable election whether to participate in the state employee health plan. The total cost of participation shall be borne by the local school board and the employee of the school division.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-2818 of the Code of Virginia, relating to health insurance program for school division employees.

15101323D

S.B. 1142

Patron: McDougle

Apportionment of corporate income tax; data processing and hosting companies and specialized telecommunications companies. Requires data processing and hosting companies and specialized telecommunications companies to use a formula for apportioning taxable income to the Commonwealth based on multiplying their incomes by the sales factor. The provisions of the bill would be effective for taxable years beginning July 1, 2015, and would be phased in with the apportionment formula having a 100 percent sales factor by July 1, 2016.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-408 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 58.1-422.2, relating to apportionment of corporate income tax; data processing and hosting companies and specialized telecommunications companies.

15102488D

S.B. 1147

Patron: Stuart

Median income taxpayers tax credit. Creates a $250 nonrefundable tax credit for taxpayers who have one or more dependents under the age of 18 and whose family adjusted gross income is within 25 percent, above or below, of the statewide median household income. The tax credit is available for taxable years 2016 through 2020.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-339.13, relating to median income taxpayers tax credit.

15103475D

S.B. 1161

Patron: Colgan

Coal tax credits. Limits the amount of the credit that may be claimed for each of the coal employment and production incentive and coalfield employment enhancement tax credits to $500,000 per return. The $500,000 limitation for the coalfield employment enhancement tax credit applies to such credits claimed on the tax return or redeemed with the Tax Commissioner. The bill also reduces the coal employment and production incentive tax credit from $3 per ton of coal purchased and consumed by an electricity generator to $2 per ton.

Any unused tax credits may be carried forward for 5 taxable years. However, any coal employment and production incentive tax credit earned prior to January 1, 2015, may be carried forward for the 12 taxable years following the year in which the credit was earned.

The provisions of the bill would become effective for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2015.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-433.1 and 58.1-439.2 of the Code of Virginia, relating to coal tax credits.

15103375D

S.B. 1162

Patron: Watkins

Hybrid retirement program; school division deferred compensation and cash match plans. Allows school divisions the option of establishing and administering their own deferred compensation and cash match plans for the hybrid retirement program. Employees of such school divisions would have the option of participating in such programs. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2016.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 51.1-169 and 51.1-610 of the Code of Virginia, relating to hybrid retirement program; school division deferred compensation and cash match plans.

15103535D

S.B. 1172

Patron: Carrico

Entitlement to certain sales tax revenues; developments of regional impact. Allows an existing development of regional impact to be expanded into an adjoining county that has a portion of Interstate 81 within its boundaries and that has an agreement with the city in which the existing development is located. The expanded area may not exceed 84 acres and must be within three miles of the existing development. The county and city would not be entitled to any sales tax revenues generated by retail establishments operating on July 1, 2015, in the expanded portion of the development.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-608.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to entitlement to certain sales tax revenues; developments of regional impact.

15102368D

S.B. 1173

Patron: Carrico

Virginia Retirement System; revocation of participation of political subdivision. Allows a political subdivision that has not made retirement contributions on behalf of its employees to the Virginia Retirement System for 25 or more consecutive years to revoke its agreement to participate in the Retirement System. This is an exception to the general rule that election to participate in the Retirement System is irrevocable.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 51.1-139 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 5 of Chapter 1 of Title 51.1 a section numbered 51.1-139.1, relating to Virginia Retirement System; revocation of participation of political subdivision.

15102440D

S.B. 1205

Patron: Wagner

Recyclable materials tax credit. Changes the recyclable materials tax credit by (i) extending the expiration date of the credit by five years to January 1, 2020, (ii) increasing the credit allowed from 10 to 20 percent of the purchase price of qualifying machinery and equipment, (iii) prohibiting denial of the credit based solely on another person's use of goods produced by the credit applicant from recyclable materials, (iv) clarifying that no credit will be allowed for machinery and equipment that does not manufacture, process, compound, or produce items of tangible personal property from recyclable materials, and (v) establishing an annual cap of $3 million in recyclable materials tax credits that may be issued by the Department of Environmental Quality. The provisions of the bill are effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-439.7 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the recyclable materials tax credit.

15101974D

S.B. 1210

Patron: Ebbin

Retail sales and transient occupancy taxes on room rentals. Provides that retail sales and hotel taxes on transient room rentals are computed based upon the total charges or the total price paid for the use or possession of the room. For those cases in which a hotel or similar establishment contracts with an intermediary to facilitate the sale of the room and the intermediary charges the customer for the room and such facilitation efforts, the bill would require the intermediary to separately state the taxes on the bill or invoice provided to the customer and to collect the taxes based upon the total charges or the total price paid for the use or possession of the room.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-602, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, 58.1-603, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, 58.1-612, 58.1-1742, 58.1-3819, 58.1-3819.1, 58.1-3823, 58.1-3824, 58.1-3825, 58.1-3825.2, 58.1-3826, 58.1-3842, and 58.1-3843 of the Code of Virginia and to amend and reenact Chapter 265 of the Acts of Assembly of 1977, as amended by Chapter 675 of the Acts of Assembly of 1984 and Chapter 834 of the Acts of Assembly of 1992, and carried by reference in the Code of Virginia as § 58.1-3820, and Chapter 436 of the Acts of Assembly of 1990, as amended by Chapter 896 of the Acts of Assembly of 1994 and Chapter 111 of the Acts of Assembly of 2006, and carried by reference in the Code of Virginia as § 58.1-3821, and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 6 of Chapter 38 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-3818.8, relating to retail sales taxes and transient occupancy taxes on the rental of rooms, lodgings, accommodations, or similar spaces.

15103399D

S.B. 1319

Patron: Saslaw

Temporary exemption periods from retail sales and use taxes for qualifying items. Combines the three existing "sales tax holidays" into one three-day holiday that begins on the first Friday in August and ends at 11:59 p.m. the following Sunday. Currently, the sales tax holidays for Energy Star products, school supplies, and hurricane preparedness equipment take place at different times during the calendar year and for differing lengths of time.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-609.1, 58.1-611.2, and 58.1-611.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to temporary exemption periods from retail sales and use taxes for qualifying items.

15102201D

S.B. 1335

Patron: Cosgrove

State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training. Requires the State Board for Community Colleges to adopt, no later than December 31, 2015, a policy for the award of academic credit to any student enrolled at a comprehensive community college who has successfully completed a military training course or program as part of his military service that is applicable to the student's certificate of degree requirements and is recommended for academic credit by a national higher education association that provides academic credit recommendations for military training courses or programs, noted on the student's military transcript issued by any of the armed forces of the United States, or otherwise documented in writing by any of the armed forces of the United States.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 16 of Title 23 an article numbered 2.1, consisting of a section numbered 23-220.5, relating to the State Board for Community Colleges; policy for the award of academic credit for military training.

15103726D

S.B. 1336

Patron: Wagner

Sales and use tax exemption; bullion. Exempts from sales and use tax legal tender and gold, silver, and platinum bullion. The provisions of the bill exempting gold, silver, and platinum bullion expire July 1, 2020.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 58.1-602, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, and 58.1-609.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to sales and use tax; exemptions.

15103440D

S.B. 1364

Patron: Alexander

Corporate income tax; apportionment of income for manufacturers; defense manufacturers. Exempts defense manufacturers that elect to use single sales factor apportionment for purposes of determining corporate income tax liability in the Commonwealth from the requirement that they maintain certain levels of employment and wages of their full-time employees. The exemption would be applicable for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2015, but before January 1, 2021.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-422 of the Code of Virginia, relating to corporate income tax; apportionment of income for manufacturers; defense manufacturers.

15103436D

S.B. 1399

Patron: Petersen

Tax credit for contributions to political candidates. Repeals the personal income tax credit for contributions to political candidates.

A BILL to repeal § 58.1-339.6 of the Code of Virginia, relating to income tax credit for contributions to political candidates.

15103772D

S.B. 1401

Patron: Norment

Entitlement to tax revenues; tourism project of regional impact. Entitles a tourism project of regional significance that meets certain heightened criteria to the revenues generated by a 1.75 percent state sales and use tax on transactions taking place on its premises, to be used for debt service on gap financing for the project. Current law allows certain tourism projects to qualify for revenues generated by a one percent state sales and use tax. A project would be eligible for the increased revenues if it involves new private, capital investment of at least $100 million and supports increased hotel occupancy, job creation, and out-of-state visitors.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 58.1-3851.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to entitlement to tax revenues; tourism projects of regional significance.

15103862D