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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: February 11, 2015
Time and Place: 9:30 a.m. - Senate Room B

H.B. 1275 Hampton Roads Veterans Care Center; funding of project.

Patron: Cox

Hampton Roads Veterans Care Center project. Provides for funding of the Hampton Roads Veterans Care Center project through an allocation of the proceeds of $300 million of Virginia Public Building Authority bonds, which were authorized pursuant to Chapter 1 of the Acts of Assembly of 2014, Special Session I. The bill provides that none of the proceeds of the $300 million of authorized bonds may be used for any purpose until the state share of the funding requirements of the Hampton Roads Veterans Care Center project and the Northern Virginia Veterans Care Center project have been met in full through an allocation of the proceeds of such bonds. The bill also appropriates $60.7 million in federal funds to the project.

H.B. 1276 Northern Virginia Veterans Care Center; funding of project.

Patron: Cox

Northern Virginia Veterans Care Center project. Provides for funding of the Northern Virginia Veterans Care Center project through an allocation of the proceeds of $300 million of Virginia Public Building Authority bonds, which were authorized pursuant to Chapter 1 of the Acts of Assembly of 2014, Special Session I. The bill provides that none of the proceeds of the $300 million of authorized bonds may be used for any purpose until the state share of the funding requirements of the Northern Virginia Veterans Care Center project and the Hampton Roads Veterans Care Center project have been met in full through an allocation of the proceeds of such bonds. The bill also appropriates $60 million in federal funds to the project. The Care Center is authorized up to a 230 bed facility.

H.B. 1291 Real property tax; notice of assessments.

Patron: Ware

Real property tax; notice of assessments. Clarifies that the information required on the notice of assessment regarding assessments in the immediately prior two tax years refers to the immediately prior two tax years' final assessments.

H.B. 1340 Tangible personal property tax relief; autocycles.

Patron: Scott

Tangible personal property tax relief; autocycles. Adds autocycles to those motor vehicles that qualify for tangible personal property tax relief. Beginning in 2016, certain localities would be required to apply tangible personal property tax relief to autocycles used for nonbusiness purposes.

H.B. 1345 Retail Sales and Use Tax; exemption for certain light bulbs.

Patron: Carr

Sales and use tax exemption; certain light bulbs. Expands the list of qualified products that are exempt from sales and use tax during the Energy Star and WaterSense tax holiday to include all Energy Star light bulbs. Under current law only Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulbs are exempt.

H.B. 1459 Neighborhood assistance tax credits; eligibility of physician and health care specialists.

Patron: O'Bannon

Neighborhood assistance tax credits; eligibility of physician specialists. Makes physician specialists who donate specialty medical services to patients who are referred from a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to provide specialty medical referrals to such patients eligible for neighborhood assistance tax credits regardless of where the physician specialist performs the specialty medical services.

H.B. 1483 Real property assessment; valuation for land preservation.

Patron: Rush

Real property assessment; valuation for land preservation. Permits localities to set acreage requirements less than the current five-acre requirement for agricultural property to qualify for land use valuation.

H.B. 1567 Tax-delinquent property; multijurisdictional sale.

Patron: Orrock

Multijurisdictional sale of tax-delinquent property. Provides a method for the sale of tax-delinquent real property that is located in more than one locality. The consent of the treasurer of each locality within which the property is located is required.

H.B. 1701 Neighborhood assistance tax; tax credit percentage for business firm or an individual.

Patron: Wilt

Neighborhood assistance tax credits; tax credit percentage. Provides that a business firm or an individual making a qualified donation may by written agreement accept a tax credit of less than 65 percent for such donation. Under current law, a business firm and an individual are allowed a tax credit equal to 65 percent of the value of any qualifying donation made to a neighborhood organization. If a business firm or individual accepts a tax credit of less than 65 percent, the neighborhood organization must include the written agreement in the tax credit certification materials it provides to the Superintendent of Public Instruction or the Commissioner of the State Department of Social Services. The bill also provides that no credit will be granted for any donation with a value of less than $616. The provisions of the bill are effective beginning with the 2015 taxable year.

H.B. 1704 Transient occupancy tax; Bland Co. added to list of counties that may impose tax at a rate up to 5%.

Patron: Morefield

Transient occupancy tax; Bland County. Adds Bland County to the list of counties that may impose the transient occupancy tax at a rate up to five percent, with any amount over two percent designated solely for tourism and travel promotion purposes.

H.B. 1711 Real property tax; nonjudicial sale of certain tax-delinquent property.

Patron: Yost

Real property tax; nonjudicial sale of certain tax-delinquent property. Clarifies that the person who administers a locality's zoning ordinance, and therefore the person who makes determinations whether certain tax-delinquent real property meets the requirements for a nonjudicial sale, does not have to have "zoning administrator" as his official title.

H.B. 1716 Income tax, state; individual subtraction for income attributable to discharge of student loan.

Patron: LeMunyon

Individual income tax subtraction; discharge of student loan. Establishes beginning January 1, 2015, an individual income tax subtraction for income attributable to the discharge of a student loan solely by reason of the death of the student.

H.B. 1724 Forest products; revision of definition, changing of tax on all products.

Patron: Fariss

Forest products tax. Makes several changes to the forest products tax including (i) revising the definition of a taxable "forest product" as wood derived from trees severed for commercial purposes; (ii) revising the definition of "manufacturer" liable for the tax as any person that uses, consumes, processes, or stores forest products for commercial purposes at a fixed place of business; (iii) providing that the first manufacturer using, consuming, processing, or storing the forest product is liable for the tax and that severers of wood are liable for the tax on sales to unregistered manufacturers; (iv) changing the forest products tax on wood chips, currently assessed per 100 pounds of roundwood, and mulch to $0.20 per ton for pine, $0.04 per ton for other species, and $0.10 per ton for loads consisting of both pine and other species; (v) changing the alternative forest products tax on wood chips, currently assessed per 100 pounds of roundwood, and mulch to $0.026 per ton for pine, $0.04 per ton for other species, and $0.03 per ton for loads consisting of both pine and other species; and (vi) requiring severers of wood to file tax returns and retain records relating to the tax.

H.B. 1727 Commonwealth's tax code; conformity with federal law.

Patron: Ware

Commonwealth's tax code; conformity with federal law; emergency. Advances conformity with the federal tax code from January 2, 2013, to December 31, 2014. The bill contains an emergency clause.

EMERGENCY

H.B. 1741 Income tax; subtraction for long-term capital gains, extends investment period.

Patron: Hugo

Income tax subtraction for long-term capital gains; extends investment period. Extends from June 30, 2015, to June 30, 2020, the date by which investments in certain technology businesses must be made in order to claim an income tax subtraction for any long-term capital gain or investment services partnership interest income from such investments. Currently, a taxpayer investing in a technology business between April 1, 2010, and June 30, 2015, may claim an income tax subtraction for any long-term capital gain or investment services partnership interest income attributable to such investment if the business has its principal office or facility in the Commonwealth and had less than $3 million in annual revenues in the fiscal year prior to the investment. Under the bill, the Department of Taxation is required to record and, upon request, report the fiscal savings accruing to individuals and corporations claiming the subtraction.

H.B. 1843 Green job creation tax credit; extends sunset provision.

Patron: James

Green job creation tax credit; sunset. Extends the green job creation tax credit for two years, through taxable year 2016.

H.B. 1844 Major business facility; job tax credit to spread over two years per qualified full-time employee.

Patron: James

Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit. Makes permanent the provision requiring a qualified major business facility to spread the credit allowed per qualified full-time employee over two taxable years, i.e., to take 50 percent of the credit in each year, instead of over three taxable years. Under current law, this requirement applied only to taxable years beginning January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2014.

H.B. 1891 Capital outlay plan; creates a six-year plan.

Patron: Jones

Capital outlay plan. Revises the six-year capital outlay plan for projects to be funded entirely or partially from general fund-supported resources.

H.B. 1892 Commonwealth of Virginia Institutions of Higher Education Bond Act of 2015; created.

Patron: Jones

Bonds for institutions of higher education. Authorizes issuance of bonds in an amount up to $67,500,000 for revenue-producing capital projects at institutions of higher education.

EMERGENCY

H.B. 2047 Income tax refunds; voluntary contributions to Federation of Virginia Food Banks.

Patron: Filler-Corn

Voluntary contributions of income tax refunds; Federation of Virginia Food Banks. Adds the Federation of Virginia Food Banks to the list of organizations and funds that may receive contributions of taxpayer refunds. The Federation of Virginia Food Banks will be added to the bottom of the list of other organizations and funds waiting to appear on the income tax return. The bill requires the Federation of Virginia Food Banks to make an equitable distribution of all such moneys to Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Capital Area Food Bank, Feeding America Southwest Virginia, FeedMore, Inc., Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, Fredericksburg Area Food Bank, or Virginia Peninsula Foodbank.

H.B. 2222 Commonwealth's Attorneys Training Fund; established.

Patron: Jones

Commonwealth's Attorneys Training Fund. Establishes the Commonwealth's Attorneys Training Fund to be used for the purpose of supporting prosecutor training and law-enforcement training.

H.B. 2273 Virginia Port Authority; expands police powers.

Patron: Stolle

Virginia Port Authority police powers. Expands the police powers of the Virginia Port Authority by allowing the Authority to employ special police officers on property owned, leased, or operated by the Authority or its subsidiaries.