Income tax; housing opportunity tax credits.Increases the aggregate annual limit on housing opportunity tax creditsfrom $15 million to the sum of (i) $150 million, (ii) the amountby which the allocation for the previous year exceeds credits actuallyreserved in that year, and (iii) the amount of credits recapturedor disallowed for the previous year. The bill removes the credit'ssunset, which under current law is January 1, 2026; however, the Virginia Housing Development Authority (the Authority), which administersthe credit, would be authorized to reserve credits only for fiscalyears beginning in January 1, 2021, but before January 1, 2026. The bill directs the Authority, which is theagency charged with administering the federal low-income housingtax credit (the federal credit), to reserve a housing opportunitytax credit (the state credit) for a taxpayer whenever it allocatesa federal credit. The reserved state credit must be at least one-halfof all federal credits allocated to the taxpayer over the 10-yearperiod for the federal credit. However, the bill limits the amountof credits a taxpayer may claim in a single taxable year to the lesserof (a) the amount of the federal credit allocated to the taxpayeror (b) one-tenth of the reserved amount. Thebill removes the Authority's power to allow credit applicants tosell credits to other taxpayers.
Sponsored bills
Department of Education; School ConstructionFund and Program; Gaming Proceeds Fund revenues. Establishesthe School Construction Fund as a special nonreverting fund in thestate treasury and requires the Department of Education to establishthe School Construction Program for the purpose of providing grantsfrom the Fund, subject to certain conditions, to school boards thatleverage federal, state, and local programs and resources to financethe design and construction of new school buildings and facilitiesor the modernization and maintenance of existing school buildingsand facilities. The bill provides that three percent of any fiscalyear's budget surplus shall be appropriated to the School ConstructionFund and Program. The bill also provides that any remaining revenuesnot appropriated by the Gaming Proceeds Fund shall be appropriatedto the School Construction Fund and Program. Under current law, anyremaining revenues in the Gaming Proceeds Fund not appropriated remainin the Fund until appropriated by the General Assembly for programs established to address public school construction, renovations, orupgrades.
Standards of Quality; work-based learning; teacher leaders and mentors; principal mentors; certain personnel positions and initiatives. Makes several changes to the Standards of Quality, including requiring the establishment of units in the Department of Education to oversee work-based learning and principal mentorship statewide and requiring the Board of Education to establish and oversee the local implementation of teacher leader and teacher mentor programs in Standard 5. The bill also makes several changes relating to school personnel in Standard 2, including (i) establishing schoolwide ratios of students to teachers in certain schools with high concentrations of poverty and granting flexibility to provide compensation adjustments to teachers in such schools; (ii) requiring each school board to assign licensed personnel in a manner that provides an equitable distribution of experienced, effective teachers and other personnel among all schools in the local school division; (iii) requiring each school board to employ teacher leaders and teacher mentors at specified student-to-position ratios; (iv) requiring state funding in addition to basic aid to support at-risk students and granting flexibility in the use of such funds by school boards; (v) lowering the ratio of English language learner students to teachers; (vi) requiring each school board to employ reading specialists and establishing a student-to-position ratio for such specialists; (vii) requiring school boards to employ one full-time principal in each elementary school; (viii) lowering the ratio of students to assistant principals and school counselors in elementary, middle, and high schools; and (ix) increasing from at least three to at least four the required number of specialized student support positions, including school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, and other licensed health and behavioral positions, per 1,000 students.
Sales tax; exemption for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Provides a state sales and use tax exemption beginning January 1, 2023, for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. The bill also provides, beginning February 1, 2023, an allocation of state revenues to fund the distribution to localities for educational funding that would have been distributed to them absent the exemption created by the bill. Under current law, such products are taxed at a reduced state sales and use tax rate of 1.5 percent and the standard local rate of one percent. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.
Literary Fund; loans; application process; maximum loan amounts; rates of interest; closing costs; waiting lists. Requires the Board of Education (the Board) to establish an annual open application process for Literary Fund loans to finance the construction and renovation of public elementary and secondary school buildings in the Commonwealth to occur during the period that the Board deems most suitable and requires the Board to prioritize applications on the basis of the composite index of local ability-to-pay. The bill increases from $7.5 million to $25 million the maximum Literary Fund loan amount and requires the Board to offer a loan add-on not to exceed $5 million per loan for projects that result in school consolidation and the net reduction of at least one existing school. The bill further requires the Board, in consultation with the Department of Treasury, to establish loan interest rates that are benchmarked to a market index on an annual basis, not to exceed two percent per year for the localities with a school division composite index of local ability-to-pay between 0.0 and 0.299 and requires the Board to utilize a sliding scale based on the local school division's composite index of local ability-to-pay to determine the interest rate on each such loan. Under current law, such rates are required to be set between two and six percent per year. The bill requires the Board to establish a competitive program for the award of up to $25,000 to a school division that receives a Literary Fund loan for the purpose of subsidizing all or a portion of the closing costs for such loan. In addition, the bill permits the Board to remove any project that has been inactive for at least five years from any Literary Fund loan project waiting list that it maintains. As introduced, this bill is a recommendation of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization.
Requirement for appeals bond; indigent parties;appeal of unlawful detainer. Removes the requirement for an indigentdefendant in civil actions to post an appeal bond in any civil caseappealed from the general district court. The bill also removes provisionsof the Code allowing a plaintiff in an unlawful detainer case thathas been appealed to the circuit court to request the judge to ordera writ of eviction immediately upon entry of judgment for possession.
Requirement for appeals bond; indigent parties;appeal of unlawful detainer. Removes the requirement for an indigentdefendant in civil actions to post an appeal bond in any civil caseappealed from the general district court. The bill also removes provisionsof the Code allowing a plaintiff in an unlawful detainer case thathas been appealed to the circuit court to request the judge to ordera writ of eviction immediately upon entry of judgment for possession.
Virginia Employment Commission; administrative reforms; reporting requirements; electronic submissions; Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman established; emergency. Requires the Virginia Employment Commission to calculate and report the (i) average unemployment insurance benefit levels, (ii) average income replacement of unemployment insurance benefits, and (iii) recipiency rate for unemployment insurance benefits in the Commonwealth as part of the Commission's annual balance sheet. The bill also requires the Commission, as part of its biennial strategic plan submitted to the Department of Planning and Budget, to develop and maintain an unemployment insurance Resiliency Plan that describes the specific actions the agency would take, depending on the level of increase in unemployment insurance (UI) claims, to address staffing, communications, and other relevant aspects of operations to ensure continued efficient and effective administration of the UI program.The bill creates within the Commission on Unemployment Compensation a subcommittee that shall be responsible for monitoring the Virginia Employment Commission's management of the unemployment insurance program. The subcommittee shall meet at least once each quarter and shall report annually, beginning on December 1, 2022, to the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Commerce and Energy, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The bill also directs the Commission to convene an advisory committee composed of stakeholders and subject matter experts to review information related to UI claims.The bill requires employers to submit claim-related forms and separation information electronically, as well as other information and electronic tax payments upon the Commission's request, unless the employer has received a waiver by the Commission.The bill provides that a claim for unemployment benefits that has been determined invalid by the Virginia Employment Commission as a result of the claimant's monetary ineligibility shall first be reviewed upon a request for redetermination prior to filing an appeal. The bill also creates an Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman position for the purpose of providing information and assistance to persons seeking assistance in the unemployment compensation process and exempts confidential case files of the Unemployment Compensation Ombudsman from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.The bill directs the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management to lead a multiagency work group to discuss strategies for staffing assistance and support for agencies that might need staffing assistance during emergencies. Additionally, the Virginia Employment Commission is directed to task its internal audit division to review and revise documents and online resources related to unemployment compensation. The bill contains an emergency clause and is identical to HB 270.