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ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2017 SESSION
Co-Chair: Thomas K. Norment, Jr. - Co-Chair: Emmett W. Hanger, Jr.
Staff: Lisa Wallmeyerr
Date of Meeting: January 25, 2017
Time and Place: 9:00 a.m. - Senate Room B
Patron: Ware
Commonwealth's tax code; conformity with federal law; emergency. Advances conformity with the federal tax code to December 31, 2016. The bill contains an emergency clause.
EMERGENCY
Patron: Sturtevant
Accelerated sales and use tax payments. Prohibits the accelerated collection of sales and use tax payments from retail merchants and other dealers who collect and return sales and use tax payments.
Patron: Stanley
Public animal shelters; dogs; euthanasia. Requires a public animal shelter to notify any person or releasing agency of its intent to euthanize an abandoned dog, and to wait five days before euthanizing the dog, if the person or agency has requested the adoption or transfer of the particular animal. The shelter is not required to provide such notice if it has reason to believe that the dog has injured a human or the dog meets certain other specified conditions for euthanasia.
Patron: Carrico
Vehicle registration fees; funds for Department of State Police. Raises the vehicle registration fee by $1.25 on each July 1 from 2017 through 2026 and allocates the funds to the Department of State Police.
Patron: Stanley
Interstate 73 Corridor Development Fund and Program. Reallocates and transfers the U.S. Route 58 Corridor Development Fund and Program to the Interstate 73 Corridor Development Fund effective either July 1, 2020, or upon completion of all parts of the U.S. Route 58 Corridor Development Program, whichever occurs sooner. Currently, $40 million is allocated annually to the Route 58 project.
Patron: Favola
Child protective services; investigation of complaints of child abuse or neglect where child is one year of age or younger. Requires local departments of social services to investigate all reports and complaints that allege suspected abuse or neglect of a child one year of age or younger.
Patron: Favola
Kinship Guardianship Assistance program. Creates the Kinship Guardianship Assistance program (the program) to facilitate child placements with relatives and ensure permanency for children for whom adoption or being returned home are not appropriate permanency options. The bill sets forth eligibility criteria for the program, payment allowances to kinship guardians, and requirements for kinship guardianship assistance agreements. The bill also requires the Board of Social Services to promulgate regulations for the program.
Patron: Wexton
Child care providers; criminal history background check; penalty. Requires the following individuals to undergo a fingerprint-based national criminal history background check:(i) applicants for employment by, employees of, applicants to serve as volunteers with, and volunteers with any licensed family day system, child day center exempt from licensure pursuant to § 63.2-1716, registered family day home, or family day home approved by a family day system; (ii) applicants for licensure as a family day system, registration as a family day home, or approval as a family day home by a family day system, as well as their agents and any adult living in such family day home; and (iii) individuals who apply for or enter into a contract with the Department of Social Services under which a child day center, family day home, or child day program will provide child care services funded by the Child Care and Development Block Grant, as well as the applicant's current or prospective employees and volunteers, agents, and any adult living in the child day center or family day home. The bill also mandates that all background checks required pursuant to §§ 63.2-1720.1 and 63.2-1721.1 of the Code of Virginia be completed by September 30, 2017, or by the date specified on any federal waiver obtained by the Commonwealth, and every five years thereafter.
Patron: Wagner
Sales and use tax exemption; legal tender coins. Exempts legal tender coins whose total transaction sales price exceeds $1,000 from sales and use tax. The provisions of the bill expire on June 30, 2022.
Patron: DeSteph
Certain educational institutions; designation of governing boards. Renames as boards of trustees the boards of visitors of certain educational institutions in the Commonwealth, including baccalaureate public institutions of higher education.
Patron: Hanger
Sales and use tax; nexus for out-of-state businesses. Provides that storage of inventory in the Commonwealth is sufficient nexus to require out-of-state businesses to collect sales and use tax on sales to customers in the Commonwealth.
Patron: DeSteph
Higher education; in-state tuition. Prohibits any percentage increase in in-state tuition or instructional fees for undergraduate students at Virginia's public institutions of higher education that exceeds the annual percentage increase, as determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in the Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, from January 1 through December 31 of the year immediately preceding the affected year.
Patron: DeSteph
Higher education; in-state tuition. Prohibits any percentage increase in in-state tuition or instructional fees for undergraduate students at Virginia's public institutions of higher education that exceeds the annual percentage increase, as determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in the national average wage index as defined in § 209(k)(1) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 409(k)(1), of the calendar year immediately preceding the affected year.
Patron: DeSteph
Higher education; in-state tuition. Prohibits any percentage increase in in-state tuition or instructional fees for undergraduate students at Virginia's public institutions of higher education that exceeds the annual percentage increase, as determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, of the median household income in the Commonwealth established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, of the calendar year immediately preceding the affected year.
Patron: Lucas
Host Cities Economic Development Incentive and Host Cities Transportation Support Funds. Creates the Host Cities Economic Development Incentive Fund, administered by the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, to support economic development, growth of existing businesses, and job creation related to the Port of Virginia in one or more host cities. The bill also creates the Host Cities Transportation Support Fund, administered by the Secretary of Transportation, to support transportation projects and facilities related to the Port of Virginia in one or more host cities.
Patron: Barker
Temporary exemption periods from retail sales and use taxes for qualifying items; sunset dates. Extends from July 1, 2017, to July 1, 2022, the sunset dates for the sales tax holiday periods for school supplies and clothing, Energy Star and WaterSense products, and hurricane preparedness products.
Patron: Dunnavant
Two-Year College Transfer Grant Program; Expected Family Contribution. Broadens eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant Program by including students whose Expected Family Contribution, as calculated by the federal government using the family's financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), is no more than $12,000. Currently the program is available only to students whose Expected Family Contribution is no more than $8,000. The bill does not affect additional eligibility requirements for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant Program.
Patron: Dunnavant
Virginia taxable income; deduction for personal exemptions. Increases the deduction, for purposes of computing Virginia taxable income, for personal exemptions. For taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2018, a taxpayer may deduct $1,000 for each personal exemption allowable to the taxpayer on federal income taxes; current law allows a deduction of $930 per exemption. A blind or aged taxpayer may deduct an additional personal exemption in the amount of $900; current law allows an additional deduction of $800.
Patron: Howell
Notification requirement; breach of payroll data. Requires employers to notify the Department of Taxation after discovery of a security breach of payroll information.
Patron: Hanger
Capital outlay plan. Updates the six-year capital outlay plan for projects to be funded entirely or partially from general fund-supported resources.
Patron: Edwards
Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth; mission. Expands the mission of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth to include the reduction and prevention of substance use by youth in the Commonwealth.
Patron: Deeds
Mental health awareness training; law-enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel. Requires the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to establish and administer a mental health awareness program for training persons in emergency services professions in recognizing potential mental health issues and assisting themselves and each other with mental health issues. The bill requires DBHDS to create and administer a process by which a program not created by DBHDS can be certified as a qualified mental health awareness program. The bill requires law-enforcement officers, emergency medical services personnel, and firefighters other than volunteer firefighters to participate in a mental health awareness program created or certified by DBHDS once every two years.
Patron: Sturtevant
Higher education; in-state tuition. Prohibits, without the prior statutory approval of the General Assembly, any percentage increase in in-state tuition or instructional fees for undergraduate students at Virginia's public institutions of higher education that exceeds twice the annual percentage increase, as determined by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, in the Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, from January 1 through December 31 of the year immediately preceding the affected year.
Patron: Sturtevant
Public institutions of higher education; fixed four-year tuition rate. Requires the governing boards of baccalaureate public institutions of higher education to annually establish an in-state tuition rate class cap that identifies the annual amount that the cost of in-state tuition will not exceed for each of the following four years. The bill prohibits the cost of in-state tuition from exceeding the class rate cap for an in-state student in the relevant class.
Patron: Petersen
Motor vehicle fuels sales tax in certain transportation districts; price floor. Establishes a floor on the 2.1 percent tax imposed on motor vehicle fuels sold in Northern Virginia by requiring that the average sales price upon which the tax is based be no less than the statewide average sales price on July 1, 2013.
Patron: Sturtevant
Accelerated sales and use tax payments. Prohibits any requirement that a dealer remit sales and use tax payments except under the following circumstances: (i) if payments are required for dealers with sales of $15 million or less, such threshold may only be lowered by 10 percent the next year; (ii) if the Department of Taxation fails to notify dealers that accelerated payments are due at least nine months in advance, no penalty may be assessed for late payments; and (iii) no penalty may be assessed on a dealer subject to an accelerated payment due to a lowered threshold in the calendar year. The bill prohibits requiring accelerated payments after June 30, 2020.
Patron: DeSteph
Riparian planting grounds lease; eligibility. Reduces from 205 feet to 105 feet the minimum low-water shore front that makes the land owner eligible to apply for riparian planting grounds assignment by the Commissioner of the Marine Resources Commission.
Patron: McDougle
Collection of sales and use tax. Removes the exception that persons selling certain products, such as window shades, kitchen equipment, and countertops, are deemed to be retailers and not consuming contractors for purposes of collecting sales and use tax, even if they intend to install such items for contractors. Generally, tangible personal property incorporated into real property is deemed to have been purchased for consumption by the contractor.
Patron: Carrico
Retail sales and use tax; spirits sold at government stores. Imposes a new one percent retail sales and use tax on the sale of spirits at Alcoholic Beverage Control-operated stores in the Commonwealth. The revenues would be deposited into a new fund to be used to support law-enforcement personnel and law-enforcement duties in the Commonwealth, as may be specified in a general appropriation act.
Patron: Carrico
Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995. Changes the Transportation Public-Private Partnership Advisory Committee to the Transportation Public-Private Partnership Steering Committee and provides that the Deputy Secretary of Transportation on the Committee serves as the chairman of the Committee. The bill provides that the responsible public entity may grant approval for the development and/or operation of a transportation facility by a private entity if that entity can develop and/or operate the transportation facility for less cost than the Department of Transportation (VDOT) or the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). The bill requires the chief executive officer of the responsible public entity to certify in writing to the Governor and the General Assembly that there has been no material change since the finding of public interest to the public contribution requested by the private entity does not exceed the maximum public contribution. The bill requires the responsible public entity, when such entity is VDOT or DRPT, to ensure competition through the procurement process and develop a public sector analysis of the cost for the responsible entity to develop and/or operate the transportation facility. The bill adds to the information required to be included in the finding of public interest a description of the benefits expected to be realized by the responsible public entity and a public sector analysis demonstrating that the private sector can deliver the project for less cost than the responsible public entity.
Patron: Surovell
School supplies and hurricane preparedness sales tax holidays. Adds to the existing sales tax holiday for school supplies, clothing, and footwear an exemption for computers sold at $700 or less. The bill reduces the threshold for exempt clothing or footwear to $65 or less. The bill removes from the hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday the exemption for generators.
The bill extends the sunset dates for the school supplies and hurricane preparedness sales tax holidays from 2017 to 2022.
Patron: Lewis
Secretary for Coastal Protection and Flooding Adaptation. Creates the position of Secretary for Coastal Protection and Flooding Adaptation (the Secretary). The Secretary shall be responsible for consolidating into a single office the resources for coastal flooding threats and adaptation. The Secretary also shall be the lead in providing direction, ensuring accountability, and developing a statewide coastal flooding adaptation strategy. The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Natural Resources, shall identify sources of funding for needed implementation of strategies for coastal protection and flooding adaptation.
Patron: Deeds
Motor vehicle sales and use tax; refund. Allows a purchaser to be refunded any motor vehicle sales and use tax paid if the vehicle is returned, and the purchase price refunded, due to a mechanical defect or failure. The bill requires a person claiming the refund to submit an affidavit to the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles stating that the vehicle was returned due to a mechanical defect or failure, the purchase price was refunded, and the purchaser no longer has possession of the vehicle.
Patron: Petersen
Public institutions of higher education; tuition. Requires the governing board of a public institution of higher education to implement a plan to reduce in-state tuition over the next five years if the total of any budget surpluses or cash reserves is greater than 150 percent of its cost of education for the total enrollment in actual attendance during the fiscal year.
Patron: Sturtevant
Rate of individual income tax; small businesses. Creates a new tax bracket for small businesses filing taxes as individuals in Virginia. The standard tax rates would be lowered one-quarter of a percent over four years, to establish tax rates of one percent for income not in excess of $3,000, two percent for income between $3,001 and $5,000, four percent for income between $5,001 and $17,000, and 4.75 percent for income over $17,000. The bill defines "small business" as a sole proprietorship or pass-through entity with 25 or fewer employees.
Patron: Norment
Virginia Tax Amnesty Program. Establishes the Virginia Tax Amnesty Program to be administered by the Department of Taxation (the Department) during the 2017-2018 fiscal year for not less than 60 nor more than 75 days, as determined by the Tax Commissioner. The Program will be open to any taxpayer that is required but has failed to file a return or to pay any tax administered by the Department. All civil or criminal penalties assessed or assessable and one-half of the interest assessed or assessable, resulting from nonpayment, underpayment, nonreporting, or underreporting of tax liabilities will be waived upon payment of the taxes and interest. For purposes of implementing the Program, the Department is exempt from the project management and procurement oversight of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency.
Patron: Wagner
Motor vehicle fuels sales tax in certain transportation districts; price floor. Places a floor on the 2.1 percent tax imposed on motor vehicle fuels sold in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads by ensuring that the tax is not imposed on a sales price less than the statewide average sales price on February 20, 2013, which is the date used as a floor on the statewide motor vehicle fuels sales tax.
Patron: Chafin
Coal tax credits. Reinstates the Virginia coal employment and production incentive tax credit. The credit, which expired on July 1, 2016, could be earned on and after January 1, 2017, but before January 1, 2022. The bill limits the aggregate amount of credits that may be allocated or claimed for the coal employment and production incentive tax credit in each fiscal year to $7.3 million. An electricity generator must file an application with the Department of Taxation each year to determine the amount of credits that it may claim or allocate, including credits earned in prior taxable years. If the total amount of credits earned in a taxable year exceeds $7.3 million, the Department of Taxation shall apportion the credits on a pro rata basis. The bill also extends the sunset date of the coalfield employment enhancement tax credit through taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022.
Patron: Ebbin
Increase in property tax; public hearing. Changes the notice required by a governing body for a public hearing when a reassessment of real property in a locality would result in an increase of one percent or more in the property tax levied. Current law requires notice to be published at least 30 days in advance of a public hearing through both publication in a newspaper of general circulation and posting in a prominent location in the building where the government body conducts its business. The bill would require newspaper publication at least 25 days in advance and would continue to require notice in the government building to be posted at least 30 days in advance.