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- Subject Index: Since 1995
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2018 SESSION
Co-Chair: Thomas K. Norment, Jr. - Co-Chair: Emmett W. Hanger, Jr.
Clerk: John Garrett
Staff: Lisa Wallmeyer
Date of Meeting: February 27, 2018
Time and Place: 9:00 AM Committee Room B Ground Floor Pocahontas Building
Patron: Jones, S.C.
Budget Bill. Amending Chapter 836 of the 2017 Acts of Assembly.
Patron: Jones, S.C.
Budget Bill. Appropriations of the Budget submitted by the Governor of Virginia in accordance with the provisions of § 2.2-1509, Code of Virginia, and to provide a portion of revenues for the two years ending respectively on the thirtieth day of June, 2019, and the thirtieth day of June, 2020.
Patron: Miyares
Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); real property tax exemption for surviving spouses of certain disabled veterans. Provides for a referendum at the November 6, 2018, election to approve or reject an amendment to the real property tax exemption for a primary residence that is currently provided to the surviving spouses of veterans who had a one hundred percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability to allow the surviving spouse to move to a different principal place of residence. Similar real property tax exemptions provided in the Constitution of Virginia to (i) the surviving spouses of members of the armed forces killed in action and (ii) the surviving spouses of certain emergency services providers killed in the line of duty allow the surviving spouse to move to a different principal place of residence and still claim the tax exemption.
Patron: Yancey
Worker retraining tax credit; manufacturing instruction for students. Modifies the worker retraining tax credit by allowing credit to manufacturers conducting a manufacturing orientation, instruction, and training program that is (i) provided to students in grades six through 12, (ii) coordinated with the local school division and certified as qualified for tax credit by the Virginia Economic Partnership Development Authority, and (iii) conducted either at a plant or facility used by the manufacturer or at a public middle or high school in Virginia. The credit would equal 35 percent of the manufacturer's direct costs in providing the program, not to exceed $2,000 for any year.
The bill provides that the Department of Taxation (the Department) shall not issue more than $1 million in tax credits per year. Under current law, the Department is authorized to issue up to $2.5 million in credits each year.
Patron: Habeeb
Revolutionary War cemeteries and graves. Authorizes the Comptroller of the Commonwealth to disburse appropriated sums to the Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution for the maintenance of no more than 4,050 Revolutionary War graves set forth on a list submitted annually by the society to the Director of the Department of Historic Resources (the Director). The bill expands the categories of people whose graves may be maintained or marked to include persons rendering service to the Patriot cause in the Revolutionary War. The bill prohibits retroactive disbursements and requires the Director to deposit any funds that have been appropriated for grave maintenance but are not disbursed during the same fiscal year into the Revolutionary War Cemeteries and Graves Fund, which is created by the bill. The bill provides that the Director may use moneys in the Fund to make grants to perform extraordinary maintenance, renovation, repair, or reconstruction of cemeteries or graves or to erect and care for markers, memorials, and monuments.
Patron: Wright
Ground water withdrawal permit term; lengthening to 15 years; permit fee. Lengthens from 10 years to 15 years the maximum term of a ground water withdrawal permit issued by the State Water Control Board. The bill also lengthens from 10 years to 15 years the maximum term of a ground water withdrawal special exception and directs the Board to raise the applicable permit fee from $6,000 to $9,000. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron: Morefield
Income tax; modification for certain companies and subtraction for their employees; local grants. Establishes an income tax modification for companies that, from 2018 through 2028, either (i) invest at least $5 million in new capital investment in a qualified locality and create at least 10 jobs paying at least twice the minimum wage in a qualified locality or (ii) create at least 50 jobs paying at least twice the minimum wage in a qualified locality. A company is eligible to claim the modification only if it had no property or payroll in Virginia on the effective date of the act.
The bill defines "qualified locality" to include (a) the Counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Craig, Dickenson, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Wise, and Wythe and the Cities of Bristol, Galax, and Norton; (b) the Counties of Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Patrick, Pittsylvania, and Prince Edward and the Cities of Danville and Martinsville; (c) the Counties of Accomack, Caroline, Essex, Gloucester, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, Northampton, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland; and (d) the City of Petersburg. "Qualified locality" also includes certain real property owned or partly owned by such localities outside of their territorial boundaries.
The bill requires a company to obtain annual certification from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority (the Authority) that the company will have a positive fiscal impact on Virginia, based on consideration of certain factors. It directs the Authority to deny certification to any company that reorganizes for the purpose of taking advantage of the tax benefits provided by the bill.
Generally, the amount of the modification is the value of the company's property and payroll in qualified localities. The bill provides similar modifications for industries that use different apportionment formulas, including motor carriers, financial companies, construction companies, railway companies, manufacturing companies, retailers, and businesses with enterprise data center operations.
The bill also establishes a subtraction from individual income tax for employees of an eligible company. Such employees may subtract up to $250,000 of compensation received from an eligible company. Eligibility for the corporate and individual income tax subtractions shall continue for nine years following the year in which the company initially makes a modification to its apportionment formula. Continuing eligibility is contingent on the company's maintaining its capital investment and jobs created in qualified localities.
The bill permits qualified localities to provide grants and loans to companies that qualify for the modification provided by the bill.
Patron: McQuinn
Historical African American cemeteries; owners and localities receiving funds. Adds any locality or person that owns an historical African American cemetery to the list of qualified organizations able to receive funds for the preservation of historical African American cemeteries and graves. The bill also allows any locality to receive and hold such funds on behalf of any qualified charitable organization until such time as the organization is able to receive or utilize the funds. The bill requires that the owner of a historical African American cemetery allow reasonable ingress and egress to such cemetery by members of an organization qualified to receive funds for cemetery care and maintenance.
Patron: Bulova
Ground water management; subdivisions; technical evaluation. Requires the developer of a subdivision located in a designated ground water management area for which the developer obtains plat approval on or after July 1, 2018, to apply for a technical evaluation, with certain criteria, from the Department of Environmental Quality prior to final subdivision plat approval if there will be 30 or more lots within the subdivision served by private wells.
Patron: Toscano
Historical African American cemeteries; Charlottesville; Daughters of Zion Cemetery. Adds the Daughters of Zion Cemetery in Charlottesville, which cemetery contains 192 eligible graves, to the list of those cemeteries for which qualified charitable organizations may receive funds from the Department of Historic Resources for the care of historical African American cemeteries and graves.
Patron: Rush
Department of Criminal Justice Services; definition of "law-enforcement officer"; security division of the Virginia Lottery. Removes from the definition of law-enforcement officer, as it applies to an investigator who is a sworn member of the security division of the Virginia Lottery, the requirement that such investigator be full time.
Patron: Rush
Income tax subtraction; Virginia real estate investment trust income. Establishes an individual and corporate income tax subtraction for income attributable to an investment in a Virginia real estate investment trust, defined in the bill as an investment fund that is certified by the Department of Taxation as investing at least 90 percent of trust funds in Virginia and at least 40 percent of trust funds in localities that are either distressed or double distressed. The bill defines a distressed locality as one where the unemployment rate is greater than the statewide average or the poverty rate exceeds the statewide average. The bill defines a double distressed locality as one that satisfies both of the preceding criteria. An income tax subtraction would be available only for an investment made on or after January 1, 2019, but before December 31, 2024.
Patron: Bell, Robert B.
Restitution; collection; Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund. Adds to the duties of the Workers' Compensation Commission (the Commission) in its role as administrator of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund (Fund) the obligation to (i) identify and locate victims for whom restitution owed to such victims has been deposited into the Fund and (ii) collect and disburse such unclaimed restitution to such victims. The bill directs the Commission to include in its annual report information on all unclaimed restitution that it disburses. The bill provides that clerks shall deposit into the Fund by November 1 of each year restitution collected for victims who can no longer be identified or located, or state that there is no such restitution to be deposited. The bill requires that clerks record the receipt of restitution payments in the automated information system operated by the Supreme Court or a system established and maintained by a circuit court. The bill also provides that the restitution form used by the court shall include the victim's contact information, including address, telephone number, and email address.
Patron: James
Historical African American cemeteries and graves; Portsmouth. Adds the Mt. Calvary Cemetery in the City of Portsmouth, with 266 eligible gravesites, to the list of historical African American cemeteries for which qualifying charitable organizations may receive funding for maintenance.
Patron: Freitas
Industrial hemp research programs. Authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to undertake research through the establishment of (i) a higher education industrial hemp research program, to be managed by institutions of higher education, and (ii) a Virginia industrial hemp research program. The bill classifies all participants in any research program as either growers or processors and replaces the current licensing requirement, which requires a police background check, with a registration requirement.
Patron: Kilgore
Reimbursement of costs necessary to examine, review, and supervise a cooperative agreement. Requires parties who have applied to the Department of Health for approval of a cooperative agreement to pay all costs incurred to examine the initial application and, in the event that the cooperative agreement is approved, all costs incurred for the review and ongoing supervision of the cooperative agreement by the State Health Commissioner, including costs of experts and consultants retained by the Commissioner. Prior to contracting with experts or consultants, the Commissioner shall provide reasonable notice to the parties describing the proposed scope of work and anticipated costs of such experts and consultants..
Patron: Kilgore
Coal tax credits. Reinstates the Virginia coal employment and production incentive tax credit. The credit, which expired on July 1, 2016, can be earned on and after January 1, 2018, but before January 1, 2023. 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 credits may be carried over for seven years. The bill also reestablishes the coalfield employment enhancement tax credit for metallurgical coal for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2018, but before January 1, 2023.
Patron: Pogge
Motor vehicle sales and use tax; semitrailers. Reduces the minimum motor vehicle sales and use tax on semitrailers from $75 to $35.
Patron: Marshall
Virginia Regional Industrial Facilities Act; revenue sharing; composite index. Requires the Department of Taxation's calculation of true values as applied to the Commonwealth's composite index of local ability-to-pay to take into account an arrangement by localities entered into pursuant to the Virginia Regional Industrial Facilities Act whereby a portion of tax revenue is initially paid to one locality and redistributed to another locality. The bill requires such calculation to properly apportion the percentage of tax revenue ultimately received by each locality. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2020.
Patron: LaRock
Constitutional amendment (ballot bill); special funds for transportation purposes. Provides for a referendum at the November 6, 2018, general election to approve or reject an amendment to the Constitution that would require the General Assembly to maintain permanent and separate Transportation Funds. The amendment directs that revenues dedicated to Transportation Funds on January 1, 2018, by general law, other than a general appropriation law, shall be deposited to the Transportation Funds, unless the General Assembly by general law, other than a general appropriation law, alters the revenues dedicated to the Funds. The amendment limits the use of Funds moneys to transportation and related purposes. The amendment specifies that the General Assembly may borrow from the Funds for other purposes only by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house and that the loan must be repaid with reasonable interest within four years.
Patron: Leftwich
Sales tax exemption; veterinarians. Exempts veterinarians from sales and use tax on the purchase or prescription of drugs and medicines.
Patron: Jones, S.C.
Revenue Reserve Fund created. Creates the Revenue Reserve Fund to be used to offset shortfalls in the budget of two percent or less of general fund resources collected.
Patron: Davis
Income tax; apportionment of sales for debt buyers. Requires debt buyers, defined in the bill, to apportion their income from the collection of debt to Virginia based on a single sales factor starting with taxable year 2019. Generally, under current law, a taxpayer apportions its income to Virginia based on the ratio of its property, payroll, and sales in Virginia to the same factors in all other states.
Current law requires multistate businesses to apportion income from sales, other than sales of tangible personal property, to Virginia if the income-producing activity is performed only in Virginia or a greater proportion of the income-producing activity is performed in Virginia than in any other state.
The bill provides that all income recovered on debt from a person or entity residing in the Commonwealth shall be apportioned to the Commonwealth for income tax purposes.
Patron: Stolle
Public aircraft; definition. Provides that the definition of "public aircraft" includes any fighter or attack jet, defined in the bill, that is leased or owned by a private entity, provided that the aircraft operations are conducted exclusively for the purpose of military combat training in service to the federal government. The bill has an expiration date of September 1, 2023.
Patron: Knight
Alcoholic beverage control. Increases the alcoholic beverage general license application fee from $65 to $195. The bill also increases the application fee for mixed beverage special event licenses from $15 to $45 and increases the state tax on wine shipper's licenses, beer shipper's licenses, and wine and beer shipper's licenses from $95 to $230. The bill establishes that it is a Class 1 misdemeanor for (i) any person to sell wine to retailers or consumers without paying the wine excise tax or (ii) any retailer to purchase, receive, transport, store, or sell any wine on which such retailer has reason to know such tax has not been paid and may not be paid. The bill provides for a civil penalty for (a) each manufacturer or wholesaler who fails to make any return and pay the full amount of the wine excise tax or (b) each manufacturer or wholesaler who makes a false or fraudulent return, where willful intent exists to defraud the Commonwealth of any excise tax due on each liter of wine. Current law provides for these criminal and civil penalties with regard to failure to pay the excise tax imposed on beer and wine coolers but not for failure to pay the excise tax on wine.
Patron: Orrock
Real property tax; land use valuation. Provides that (i) land devoted to agricultural use includes land devoted to the sale of products made from plants and animals located on the property, (ii) land devoted to horticultural use includes land devoted to plants and the sale of products made from horticultural items, (iii) the agreement pursuant to soil and water conservation programs that qualifies land as devoted to agricultural or horticultural uses may be made with the Commonwealth, (iv) land designated for use value assessment shall not lose such designation solely because of its location in a newly created zoning district that was not requested by the property owner, and (v) if the state uniform standards for eligibility for real estate devoted to agricultural use or horticultural use require a minimum length of time of a specified use, then the use of other similar property by a lessee of the owner shall be included in calculating such time, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall include in the uniform standards a shorter length of time for real estate with no prior qualifying use, provided that the owner submits a written document of the owner's intent regarding use of the real estate containing elements set out in the uniform standards.
Patron: Orrock
Onsite sewage systems; evaluation and design services. Directs the Department of Health to take steps to eliminate evaluation and design services for onsite sewage systems and private wells provided by the Department. The bill provides specific requirements and a timeline for such elimination.
Patron: Byron
Sales tax revenue allocation; increase amount allocated to discretionary spending for airports. Requires the Aviation Board to, during the second six months of each fiscal year, allocate certain funds from the Commonwealth Airport Fund to all eligible airports on a discretionary basis, except airports owned or leased by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Current law provides a structure whereby such funds are split between air carrier and reliever airports and general aviation airports. The bill retains this existing structure for the first six months of each fiscal year.
Patron: Toscano
Claims; Robert Davis. Provides relief in the amount of $582,313 to Robert Davis, who was incarcerated from 2004 until 2015 after entering an Alford Plea to charges of first-degree and second-degree murder. On December 15, 2016, Governor McAuliffe granted an Absolute Pardon to Davis, after two witnesses who had testified against him recanted their testimony and law enforcement stated that his confession was improperly obtained.
Davis's relief would be paid as follows: (i) an initial lump sum of $116,463 to be paid within 60 days immediately following the execution of a release by Davis from any present or future claims he may have and (ii) the sum of $465,850 to purchase an annuity before September 30, 2018, for the primary benefit of Davis with the terms structured in his best interests. In addition, the bill entitles Davis to receive up to $10,000 for tuition for career and technical training within the Virginia Community College System.
Patron: Gooditis
Nonresident youth fishing license; exemption. Authorizes a nonresident under age 16 to fish without a fishing license when accompanied by a person possessing a valid license to fish in Virginia. Current law allows a resident under age 16 or a nonresident under age 12 to fish without a license.
Patron: Pillion
Abandoned school revitalization zones in coalfield region. Allows localities located in the coalfield region of Virginia to establish by ordinance one or more abandoned school revitalization zones for the purpose of providing incentives to private entities to purchase or develop real property or to assemble parcels suitable for economic development that include an abandoned school site. Each locality establishing an abandoned school revitalization zone may grant incentives and provide regulatory flexibility. The incentives may include, but not be limited to, (i) reduction of permit fees, (ii) reduction of user fees, (iii) reduction of any type of gross receipts tax or any other type of tax as permitted by state law, and (iv) waiver of tax liens to facilitate the sale of property, if deemed appropriate. A school located in an abandoned school revitalization zone shall be eligible for participation in the Virginia Shell Building Initiative.
Patron: Hugo
Real property tax; open space; special and separate assessment in certain counties. Requires the assessing official in any county that experienced at least a 14% increase in population from 2010 to 2016 to specially and separately assess real property that is devoted to open space and contains at least five acres based on the actual physical use of the property, if requested to do so by the owner. The measure is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018.
Patron: Byron
Agricultural best management practices tax credit; refundability for corporations. Allows taxpayers to apply for a refund of corporate income tax credits received for expenditures for agricultural best management practices. Under current law, corporate income tax credits that exceed the taxpayer's tax liability are not refundable but may be carried forward for up to five years. Furthermore, under current law, individual income tax credits for expenditures related to agricultural best management practices are refundable.
Patron: Aird
Bond referenda; authorizing counties to make bond issuance contingent on enactment of a food and beverage tax. Authorizes counties to enact ordinances providing that bonds shall be repaid from food and beverage tax revenues. The bill provides that if a county enacts such an ordinance, the referendum submitted to the voters shall include as a single question the issuance of bonds and the enactment of a food and beverage tax. Under current law, the questions of bond issuance and tax enactment are submitted as separate ballot questions.
Patron: Edmunds
Special license to hunt bear, deer, and turkey; fee. Directs the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries to create a special license for hunting bear, deer, and turkey, to cost $23 for a resident age 16 or older and $150 for a nonresident age 16 or older. Current law provides for a license for hunting deer and turkey, at a cost of $12 and $60, respectively, and a separate license for hunting bear, at a cost of $25 for residents and $150 for nonresidents.
Patron: Kilgore
Wireless support structures; public rights-of-way use fees. Establishes an annual wireless support structure public rights-of-way use fee to be charged to wireless services providers and wireless infrastructure providers in connection with a permit for occupation and use of the public rights-of-way under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation (VDOT) or a locality for the construction of new wireless support structures. The amount of the use fee is (i) $1,000 for any wireless support structure at or below 50 feet in height; (ii) $3,000 for any wireless support structure above 50 feet and at or below 120 feet in height; (iii) $5,000 for any wireless support structure above 120 feet in height; and (iv) $1 per square foot for any other equipment, shelter, or associated facilities constructed on the ground. The measure provides that the use fee amounts shall be adjusted every five years on the basis of inflation. The measure also provides that an existing agreement, contract, license, easement, or permit allowing the use of the public rights-of-way by a wireless services provider or wireless infrastructure provider may be enforced by VDOT or the locality only until the current term of the agreement, contract, license, easement, or permit expires.
Patron: Gooditis
Charter; Town of Middleburg. Provides that the Middleburg town council may, notwithstanding any other provision of law, levy a tax on business personal property, as described in the Code of Virginia, without regard to the existence of, or rate of, tax on motor vehicles or any other classification of tangible personal property.
Patron: Garrett
Schedule I and Schedule II drugs. Adds MT-45 (1-cyclohexyl-4-(1,2-diphenylethyl)piperazine) to Schedule I of the Drug Control Act and Dronabinol [(-)-delta-9-trans tetrahydrocannabinol] in an oral solution in a drug product approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Schedule II of the Drug Control Act and removes naldemedine from Schedule II of the Drug Control Act.
Patron: Orrock
Real property tax; assessment of wetlands. Directs the commissioner of revenue when separately and specially assessing wetlands when requested by the owner to recognize (i) the National Wetlands Inventory Map prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (ii) a wetland delineation map confirmed by a Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination or (iii) an Approved Jurisdictional Determination issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Patron: Fariss
Land preservation tax credits; transfer to a designated beneficiary. Provides that a person who has unused land preservation tax credits may provide that such credits be transferred to a designated beneficiary upon his death, so long as such person with unused credits is the person who originally earned them. The bill provides that if a person dies without a will, his unused credit shall be transferred according to the rules of intestacy. The bill provides that such transfers are not subject to any fees and retain the same carryover period as if held by their original owner.
Under current law, a person who has unused land preservation tax credits may transfer them while he is alive. Generally, such transfers are subject to a two percent transfer fee.
Patron: Orrock
Real property tax; boards of equalization. Provides that if a taxpayer applies to the commissioner of the revenue or other official performing the duties imposed on commissioners of the revenue for relief from a real property tax assessment prior to the expiration of the board of equalization's term, and the term of the board of equalization expires prior to a final determination on such application for relief, and the taxpayer advises the circuit court that he wishes to appeal the determination to the board of equalization, then the circuit court may reappoint the board of equalization to hear and act on such appeal.
Patron: Hugo
Mass transit in the Commonwealth. Directs the Commonwealth Transportation Board (the Board) to develop a prioritization process for the use of funds in the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund (the Fund), based on criteria specified in the bill. The prioritization process would apply to capital projects administered by the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). The bill establishes separate prioritization processes for the Board's Six Year-Improvement Program, state of good repair projects, and major expansion projects. The bill directs the Board to solicit input from various organizations, including localities and other stakeholders, on its development of prioritization processes and to create a Transit Service Advisory Committee to advise DRPT.
The bill establishes procedures for allocating funds in the Fund. The bill would allocate 53.5 percent to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) for distribution to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) for operating and capital costs. Thirty-one percent would be allocated to support operating costs of non-WMATA transit providers, and 12.5 percent would be allocated to non-WMATA capital costs. Three percent would be allocated for special programs, including ridesharing. The allocation procedures would provide for other uses of the Fund, including establishing a reserve fund.
The bill provides that funds allocated to NVTC for distribution to WMATA would be credited to the Counties of Arlington and Fairfax and the Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church, and, upon commencement of construction of the Silver Line, to Loudoun County. If operating assistance to WMATA increases by more than two percent in a year, the Board is directed to withhold 50 percent of the allocation for WMATA capital purposes.
The bill establishes the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Capital Fund (the WMATA Fund) to be used to fund WMATA capital costs. Starting in 2019, $20 million per year would be transferred from the Northern Virginia Transportation District Fund to the WMATA Fund, and $45 million would be transferred from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Fund to the WMATA Fund before distribution to localities.
The bill establishes a three-member Metro Reform Commission to advise the signatories of the WMATA compact. The bill directs NVTC to request information from WMATA regarding its budget, independent audits, National Transit Data profile, and other subjects.
The provisions of the bill regarding WMATA funding would not take effect until Maryland and the District of Columbia take action to provide their share of $500 million in capital funding to WMATA.
Patron: Peace
Alcoholic beverage control; confectionery license. Creates a confectionery license, which authorizes the licensee to prepare and sell on the licensed premises for off-premises consumption confectionery that contains five percent or less alcohol by volume. The bill provides that any alcohol contained in such confectionery shall not be in liquid form at the time such confectionery is sold and requires the Board of Directors of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill, which shall include a definition of the term "confectionery" and labeling requirements for such confectionery.
Patron: Kilgore
Disclosure of information under the Master Settlement Agreement and Non-Participating Manufacturer Adjustment Settlement Agreement. Provides that officers, employees, or agents of the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Taxation shall share with each other's departments and disclose to the appropriate person or party information in accordance with the Master Settlement Agreement and the Non-Participating Manufacturer Adjustment Settlement Agreement entered into by the Commonwealth on October 10, 2017. The bill provides that any records shared by, collected by, disclosed by, or reported or provided to an officer, employee, or agent of the Office of the Attorney General or the Department of Taxation in accordance with such agreements are exempt from the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) and the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act (§ 2.2-3800 et seq.).
EMERGENCY
Patron: Webert
Horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering.
Establishes historical horse racing as a form of horse racing. The bill defines historical horse racing as a form of racing that creates pari-mutuel pools from wagers placed on previously conducted horse races and is hosted at (i) a racetrack owned or operated by a significant infrastructure limited licensee or (ii) a satellite facility that is owned or operated by (a) a significant infrastructure limited licensee or (b) the nonprofit industry stakeholder organization recognized by the Commission and licensed to own or operate such satellite facilities. The bill establishes retainage fees similar to those already in existence for horse racing.
Patron: Miyares
Constitutional amendment (second resolution); real property tax; exemption for surviving spouse of a disabled veteran. Provides that the real property tax exemption for the principal residence of the surviving spouse of a disabled military veteran applies without any restriction on the surviving spouse's moving to a different principal place of residence.
Patron: LaRock
Constitutional amendment (second resolution); Transportation Funds. Requires the General Assembly to maintain permanent and separate Transportation Funds to include the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, Transportation Trust Fund, Highway Maintenance and Operating Fund, and other funds established by general law for transportation. The amendment directs that revenues dedicated to Transportation Funds on January 1, 2018, by general law, other than a general appropriation law, shall be deposited to the Transportation Funds, unless the General Assembly by general law, other than a general appropriation law, alters the revenues dedicated to the Funds. The amendment limits the use of Funds moneys to transportation and related purposes. The amendment specifies that the General Assembly may borrow from the Funds for other purposes only by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house and that the loan must be repaid with reasonable interest within four years.