Virginia Bills

Proposes the repeal of the constitutional amendment dealing with marriage that was approved by referendum at the November 2006 election. That amendment to the Bill of Rights (i) defines marriage as "only a union between one man and one woman"; (ii) prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing "a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage"; and (iii) prohibits the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing "another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage." The provisions of this section of the Constitution of Virginia are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in

Provides that any person who knowingly possesses child pornography that he has produced shall be punished by not less than five years nor more than 20 years in a state correctional facility, two years of which shall be a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. The bill also provides that any person who knowingly (i) reproduces by any means, sells, gives away, distributes, electronically transmits, displays, purchases, or possesses with intent to sell, give away, distribute, transmit, or display child pornography that he has produced or (ii) commands, entreats, or otherwise attempts to persuade another person to send, submit, transfer, or provide to him any child pornography in order to gain entry into a group, association, or assembly of persons engaged in trading or sharing child pornography that he has produced shall be punished by not less than five years nor more than 20 years in a state correctional facility, five years of which shall be a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. A second or subsequent offense involving the reproduction or attempts to persuade another person to send child pornography that was produced by the offender shall be punished by not less than 10 years nor more than 20 years in a state correctional facility, 10 years of which shall be a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. The bill provides that any violation involving child pornography that the accused has produced constitutes a separate and distinct offense from other production of child pornography offenses.

Requires several actions relating to Virginia taxable income if a general fund surplus is recorded in a fiscal year. First, the bill establishes a refundable individual income tax credit that is a portion of the general fund surplus for the corresponding fiscal year. If $50 million or more in general fund surplus remains after assignments of the surplus for the Revenue Stabilization Fund, the Virginia Water Quality Improvement Fund, the Transportation Trust Fund, and other mandatory assignments, then a refundable income tax credit would be allowed for the corresponding taxable year equal to the remaining surplus divided by the number of individual income tax returns filed for the most recent taxable year. If less than $50 million in general fund surplus remains after such mandatory assignments, no tax credit would be available and the remaining surplus would be assigned by the Comptroller for nonrecurring expenditures. The credit could be claimed only by those individuals who were required under Virginia law to file an individual income tax return and filed such return. Second, if actual general fund revenues exceed the official general fund forecast by at least $500 million in a fiscal year, the income tax rate for Virginia taxable income in excess of $17,000 shall be lowered by one-quarter of one percent for the subsequent taxable year, until all income in excess of $5,000 is taxed at a rate of five percent. Finally, if actual general fund revenues exceed the official general fund forecast by at least $50 million in a fiscal year, the corporate income tax rate shall be lowered by one percent for the subsequent taxable year.