Virginia Freedom of Information Act; officers, employees, or members of a public body; alleged willful and knowing violations; mitigating factors to be considered. Specifies that civil penalties may only be imposed on officers, employees, or members of a public body in actions brought against them in their individual capacity for certain violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill further requires a court, when determining whether an officer, an employee, or a member of a public body has committed certain violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act willfully and knowingly, to consider certain mitigating factors, including good faith reliance on (i) opinions of the Attorney General; (ii) court cases substantially supporting such officer's, employee's, or member's actions; (iii) advisory opinions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council; and (iv) advice of counsel for the public body, as evidence that such officer, employee, or member did not willfully and knowingly commit such violation. Current law provides any officer, employee, or member of a public body the right to introduce at any proceeding regarding such willful and knowing violation a copy of a relevant advisory opinion issued by the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.
Adult adoptee access to original birth certificate; contact preference form. Allows the State Registrar to provide, upon written request, any adult adopted person access to his original birth certificate. The bill allows a birth parent to indicate whether they would like to be contacted by an adoptee on a contact preference form provided by the State Registrar that will accompany the adoptee's original birth certificate, to be released to an adopted person when he requests his original birth certificate.
Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity; Virginia Public Procurement Act; certification for service disabled veteran-owned businesses and veteran-owned businesses; participation requirements; penalty. Provides that the Director of the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity may adopt regulations to implement certification programs for service disabled veteran-owned businesses and veteran-owned businesses in the Commonwealth and adds such businesses to the definition of "SWaM" and relevant provisions. The bill requires each public body to annually award at least one percent of its contract dollars to service disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned businesses under the Virginia Public Procurement Act and requires each public body that has annual procurement expenditures exceeding $10 million to designate a Veteran Business Procurement Liaison. The bill requires the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, in consultation with the Department of Veterans Services, to develop a plan to implement the provisions of the bill and make such plan available to the public on the electronic procurement system known as eVA by December 1, 2026. The bill requires the Department of General Services to update eVA to reflect the procurement opportunities available to service disabled veteran-owned and veteran-owned businesses. The bill directs the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.
Real property tax; classification of land and improvements; City of Newport News. Authorizes the City of Newport News to levy a tax on the improvements to real property at a different rate than the tax imposed upon the land on which it is located. The rate levied on the improvements to real property shall not be zero and shall not exceed the rate of tax on the land on which it is located. This bill was incorporated into HB 282.
Real property tax; classification of land and improvements; City of Fredericksburg. Authorizes the City of Fredericksburg to levy a tax on the improvements to real property at a different rate than the tax imposed upon the land on which it is located. The rate levied on the improvements to real property shall not be zero and shall not exceed the rate of tax on the land on which it is located. This bill was incorporated into HB 282.
Income tax subtraction; incentive stock options. Establishes an income tax subtraction for any income received as gains from exercising incentive stock options, as defined by the bill, that were previously taxed in another state.
Sales tax exemption; vital baby products. Creates a retail sales and use tax exemption for vital baby products, including (i) children's diapers, (ii) therapeutic or preventative creams and wipes marketed primarily for use on the skin of children, (iii) child restraint devices or booster seats, (iv) cribs, (v) strollers meant for transporting children from infancy to 36 months of age, and (vi) food represented for dietary use solely as a food for infants.
Individual income tax subtractions; overtime. Establishes an individual income tax subtraction for income attributable to overtime in an amount equal to (i) 25 percent of the federal overtime deduction for taxable year 2026 and (ii) 50 percent of the federal overtime deduction for taxable year 2027 and thereafter.
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; radon measurement, mitigation, and mitigation compliance inspection services; Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors renamed; penalty. Transfers the oversight and licensure of persons who practice radon measurement, radon mitigation, and radon mitigation compliance inspection services from the Board of Health to the Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, Radon, and Home Inspectors, as renamed in the bill from the Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors, under the direction of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.
Income tax; standard deduction and earned income tax credit. Removes the sunset from and makes permanent the standard deduction amounts of $8,750 for single individuals and $17,500 for married individuals filing jointly. Under current law, the standard deduction is scheduled to revert to $3,000 for single individuals and $6,000 for married individuals filing jointly after taxable year 2026. The bill also removes the sunset from and makes permanent the increase in Virginia's refundable earned income tax credit from 15 percent to 20 percent of the allowable federal earned income tax credit. Under current law, the Virginia refundable earned income tax credit expires in taxable year 2027 and Virginia's nonrefundable earned income tax credit, which has no expiration date, is equal to 20 percent of the federal credit.
Sales and use tax; food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Eliminates the remaining one percent local sales and use tax that is imposed on food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Under current law, no other sales and use tax is applied to such products. The bill requires an equivalent amount of revenue to be distributed to cities and counties on a monthly basis in compensation for the lost tax revenue. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
Display of license plate; only rear plate required; exception. Permits every registered motor vehicle to display a single license plate issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles on the rear of the vehicle, except for tractor trucks, which shall display such license plate on the front of the vehicle. Current law requires license plates displayed on the front and rear of most such vehicles.
