Prohibited acquisition of residential land;restrictions; civil penalty. Restricts any partnership, corporation,or real estate investment trust that manages funds pooled from investors,is a fiduciary to such investors, and has $50 million or more innet value or assets under management on any day during a taxableyear from acquiring any interest in residential land, as definedin the bill, in the Commonwealth and requires registration with the Secretary of the Commonwealth on or after July 1, 2024. The billrequires the Secretary to report annually by December 1 on the registrationsand any penalties assessed for failure to register and to submit such report to the Governor and the General Assembly. The bill alsorequires all real property tax bills to contain notice of such prohibitedbusiness ownership restrictions and registration requirements.
Public school staffing ratios; specializedstudent support positions. Increases the number of specialized student support positions required to be employed by each local schoolboard from at least three to at least four such positions per 1,000students in the local school division. Such specialized student supportpositions include school social workers, school psychologists, schoolnurses, licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts,and other licensed health and behavioral positions.
Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund; Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund; Advisory Review Committees. Requires the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to convene an Advisory Review Committee to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund (the Preparedness Fund) and adds the Advisory Review Committee to the list of those with whom the Department is required to consult in establishing guidelines regarding the distribution and prioritization of loans and grants from the Preparedness Fund. The bill also requires the Director to convene an Advisory Review Committee to assist in the distribution of loans and grants from the Resilient Virginia Revolving Fund (the Revolving Fund) and adds the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources and the Advisory Review Committee to the list of those with whom the Virginia Resources Authority is required to consult in directing the distribution of grants or loans from the Revolving Fund to particular local governments and establishing the interest rates and repayment terms of such loans. The bill requires the Department to make available for public inspection at the office of the Department and on a publicly accessible website records of each application for grants and loans from the two Funds and the actions taken thereon, post such applications within 15 calendar days of the loan or grant round application deadline, and provide an opportunity for a 30-day public comment period prior to each new loan offering to solicit feedback on proposed revisions to the funds' manuals. This bill was incorporated into HB 1458.
Income tax; contributions to Virginia College Savings Planaccounts; report. Increases the maximum individual income tax deduction foramounts paid or contributed to a prepaid tuition contract or college savingstrust account entered into with the Virginia College Savings Plan from $4,000to $7,500 in taxable year 2024, $11,000 in taxable year 2025, and $15,000 fortaxable year 2026 and thereafter. Such amount shall be adjusted for changes inthe Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) beginning in taxableyear 2024. The deduction is limited to $4,000 for taxpayers with federaladjusted gross income that is greater than $100,000 for an individual or$200,000 for married persons filing a joint return.The bill also creates an individual or corporate deduction, asapplicable, of up to $4,000 for the amount a child day center or child dayprogram paid or contributed to a customer's or client's prepaid tuitioncontract or college savings trust account entered into with the Virginia CollegeSavings Plan.The bill also provides a nonrefundable income tax credit fortaxable years 2024 through 2028 for 35 percent of expenses incurred by abusiness during the taxable year for contributions into a Virginia CollegeSavings Plan account owned by an employee of the business. If the employeereceiving the contribution is a qualified employee, as defined in the bill, thebill specifies that the credit shall not exceed $500 annually for each suchemployee. If the employee receiving the contribution is a qualified employeewho is not highly compensated, as defined in the bill, the bill specifies thatthe credit shall not exceed $1,000 annually for each such employee. The billprovides that the total amount of tax credits available for a calendar year shallnot exceed $5 million and that any unused tax credit may be carried over forfive years.
Reinstatement of the estate tax. Reinstatesthe estate tax for persons dying on and after July 1, 2024. The billprovides that no estate tax shall be imposed on a gross estate ifthe majority of the assets of the estate are an interest in a closelyheld business or a working farm. The bill designates revenues fromthe estate tax to be used for early childhood care and educationpurposes.
Real property tax; assessment of real propertyused for affordable housing. Requires the duly authorized real estate assessor of a locality to appraise affordable rental housingin accordance with the income approach, as described by the bill.The bill provides that, should the duly authorized real estate assessorfail to follow generally accepted appraisal practices, the assessmentwill not be entitled to a presumption of correctness, and if theowner then successfully appeals such assessment, the locality shallreimburse the owner for attorney fees and costs incurred.
Income tax subtraction; professional firefighterpension. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000of firefighter benefits in taxable year 2024, up to $30,000 in taxableyear 2025, and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2026 and each year thereafter.The bill defines firefighter benefits to include retirement incomerelated to firefighting services and benefits paid to the survivingspouse of a firefighter whose death occurred in the line of duty.
Chief Medical Examiner; Maternal Mortality ReviewTeam; work group; expansion plan; report. Directs the Officeof the Chief Medical Examiner and the Maternal Mortality Review Teamto convene a work group to expand the work of the Maternal MortalityReview Team. The bill directs the work group to develop criteriaand procedures related to the collection of maternal morbidity data.The bill specifies that the Maternal Mortality Review Team's expansionplan shall include certain plans for data collection, data review, and development and implementation of policies and recommendations.The work group is required to report its findings and provide itsplan to the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations andHealth, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Financeand Appropriations and Education and Health by December 1, 2025.
Court fines and fees; indigent defendant; waiverof fees. Provides that in any criminal or traffic case, the courtmay waive the assessment of certain fees specified in the bill,either wholly or in part, if the court determines the defendant tobe indigent pursuant to relevant law and is unable to pay such fee.The bill provides that the court may make such determination uponmotion of the defendant at any time prior to the entry of order forwhich such fee is assessed or final order has been entered.
Study; Board of Education; work group on theuse of artificial intelligence technology in education; report. Requiresthe Board of Education, in collaboration with the State Council ofHigher Education for Virginia, to convene a work group to study andmake recommendations on guidelines for the use and integration ofAI technology in education in public elementary and secondary schoolsand public institutions of higher education. The bill requires thework group to submit a report on its findings and recommendationsto the Department of Education, the Governor, the Senate Committeeon Education and Health, and the House Committee on Education by November 1, 2024.
School boards; employee criminal history recordschecks and applications; penalty for noncompliance. Clarifiesthat certain school board employees who are (i) employed in an in-personor remote capacity or some combination thereof or (ii) fully licensed,provisionally licensed, or unlicensed are subject to the requirements in existing law to undergo a criminal history records check anda search of the registry of founded complaints of child abuse andneglect and to disclose certain criminal history information at theemployment application stage and upon arrest. The bill provides thatin the event that any school board fails or refuses to perform itsduty to require any employee to undergo a criminal history recordscheck as set forth in relevant law, each individual member of suchboard is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and his position on suchschool board shall be deemed vacant.
Sales and use tax; exemption for data centers.
