Del. Vivian Watts

Refundable income tax credit for low-incometaxpayers. Allows low-income individuals and married persons to claim either (i) a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to $300for each individual, his spouse, and any dependents or (ii) a refundableincome tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned incometax credit claimed that year by the individual or married personsfor the same taxable year. Under current law, low-income individualsand married persons may elect either of these amounts; however, bothoptions for claiming the credit are nonrefundable. The provisionsof the bill apply to taxable years 2022 through 2028.

Arrest and prosecution of individual experiencing a mental health emergency; assault or assault and battery against a law-enforcement officer. Provides that no individual shall be subject to arrest or prosecution for an assault or assault and battery against a law-enforcement officer if at the time of the assault or assault and battery (i) the individual (a) is experiencing a mental health emergency or (b) meets the criteria for issuance of an emergency custody order and (ii) the law-enforcement officer subject to the assault or assault and battery was responding to a call for service requesting assistance for such individual. The bill provides that no law-enforcement officer acting in good faith shall be found liable for false arrest if it is later determined that the person arrested was immune from prosecution.

Commercial sex trafficking, prostitution, etc.;mistake of age defense. Provides that a defendant's ignoranceof the victim's age, the victim's misrepresentation of his age, orthe defendant's belief that the victim was an adult shall not beraised as a defense in a prosecution for certain crimes related tocommercial sex trafficking and prostitution involving a minor victim.

Robbery. Conforms certain provisions of the Code referencing robbery to the degrees of robbery offenses established by Chapter 534 of the Acts of Assembly of 2021, Special Session I. These changes include: (i) limiting certain non-robbery crimes for which committing such crime with the intent to commit a robbery is an element to the offenses to the two higher degrees of robbery, (ii) allowing persons convicted of the two lesser degrees of robbery to be eligible for conditional release if they are terminally ill and for the enhanced earned sentence credits, (iii) allowing persons who are ineligible for parole as a result of being convicted of three certain enumerated offenses to be eligible for parole if convicted of an offense that would constitute any of the three lesser degrees of robbery, (iv) limiting the application of the three-strikes law to the two higher degrees of robbery and making persons convicted under the three-strikes law eligible for parole if one of the three convictions resulting in the mandatory life sentence would constitute one of the two lesser degrees of robbery, and (v) specifying that persons convicted of either of the two higher degrees of robbery while on administrative furlough or released for work release are ineligible for further furlough or work release and that persons convicted of such offenses are ineligible for home/electronic incarceration. The bill leaves unchanged the current law making all degrees of robbery predicate criminal acts by adding the two lesser degrees of robbery to the definition of "predicate criminal act" and adding the two higher degrees of robbery to the definition of "act of violence."

Study; Apprenticeship Council; electric vehicle charging infrastructure apprenticeship programs; report. Requests the Virginia Apprenticeship Council to study the need for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and maintenance and repair of EV infrastructure apprenticeship programs in the Commonwealth, noting the stated goal of the Commonwealth to reduce carbon emissions intensity across all sectors, including the transportation industry. In conducting its study, the Apprenticeship Council should consider a number of factors in studying the need for such apprenticeship programs. The Apprenticeship Council is further requested to report the results of an in-depth study of similar apprenticeship programs in other states to the General Assembly and to convene a stakeholder advisory group to discuss the need for electric vehicle charging infrastructure apprenticeship programs in the Commonwealth. The bill directs the Apprenticeship Council to complete its meetings by November 30, 2022, and report its findings to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Commerce and Labor and the House Committees on Education and Labor and Commerce.

Jury duty; allowance increase. Increasesthe jury duty allowance from $30 to $40 for each day of attendanceupon the court effective July 1, 2022; to $45 effective July 1, 2023;and to $50 effective July 1, 2024, and thereafter.

Taxation in the Commonwealth. Makes numerous changes to the Commonwealth's tax structure. The bill provides that the standard deduction for individual income taxes shall be set permanently at $4,500 for individuals and $9,000 for married persons. Under current law, the standard deduction is scheduled to revert to $3,000 and $6,000, respectively, beginning with taxable year 2026. Beginning with taxable year 2022, individual income tax brackets, the filing threshold, the amount of the standard deduction, and the amount of personal exemptions shall be adjusted on an annual basis in accordance with the yearly change in the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U). The bill imposes the retail sales and use tax on digital personal property, defined in the bill as a digital product delivered electronically that the purchaser owns or has the ability to continually access without having to pay an additional subscription or usage fee to the seller after paying the initial purchase price. The bill also applies the retail sales and use tax to the following services: admissions; charges for recreation, fitness, or sports facilities; nonmedical personal services or counseling; dry cleaning and laundry services; companion animal care; residential home repair or maintenance, landscaping, or cleaning services when paid for directly by a resident or homeowner; vehicle and engine repair; repairs or alterations to tangible personal property; storage of tangible personal property; delivery or shipping services; travel, event, and aesthetic planning services; and communications services that are not subject to the communications sales and use tax and are not digital personal property. Certain exemptions are provided to the sales and use tax on services, including health care services that must be performed by a person licensed or certified by the Department of Health Professions, veterinary services, professional services, Internet access services, and services provided by a person who does not receive more than $2,500 per year in gross receipts for performance of such services. The bill exempts services purchased by a nonprofit organization and services purchased by a homeowners' association or by a landlord for the benefit of his tenant. The bill also repeals the service exemptions currently provided for the sale of custom programs and modification of prewritten programs. The bill imposes the communications sales and use tax on prepaid calling services and on digital subscription services, defined in the bill as services for which the user pays in order to access and use software, reading materials, or other digital data or applications for a defined period of time, which products the user does not own or have permanent access to outside of such period of time. The bill provides that a portion of the income tax credit for low-income taxpayers who are residents of the Commonwealth shall be refundable. Under current law, eligible taxpayers may claim either (i) a nonrefundable income tax credit equal to $300 for each individual, his spouse, and any dependents or (ii) an income tax credit equal to 20 percent of the federal earned income tax credit. For taxpayers claiming the credit referenced in clause (ii), 50 percent of the value of the credit would be refundable in taxable year 2021, and the refundable portion would increase by five percent each year, becoming fully refundable starting in taxable year 2031. Nonresident taxpayers and resident taxpayers claiming the credit referenced in clause (i) shall not be eligible for a refundable credit. The bill also exempts food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products (the grocery tax) from all state and regional sales taxes and that, beginning July 1, 2022, food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products are also exempt from the local sales tax, and the grocery tax is eliminated.

Assault and battery; penalties. Providesthat a simple assault or an assault and battery committed againsta judge, magistrate, law-enforcement officer, correctional officer,person directly involved in the care, treatment, or supervision ofinmates, firefighter, or volunteer firefighter or emergency medicalservices personnel by a juvenile who has not been previously convictedof or proceeded against informally or adjudicated delinquent foran offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult is punishableas a Class 1 misdemeanor. Currently, any such offense is a punishableas a Class 6 felony, with a mandatory minimum term of confinementof six months. The bill also provides that any person charged withsuch offense who has been diagnosed by a psychiatrist or clinicalpsychologist with a mental illness, developmental disability, orintellectual disability and the violation was caused by or had adirect and substantial relationship to the person's mental illnessor disability, then such person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Interventionand Prevention; Virginia Firearm Violence Intervention and PreventionFund; creation. Establishes the Virginia Center for Firearm ViolenceIntervention and Prevention (the Center) within the Department ofCriminal Justice Services and transfers to the Center the administrationof the existing Virginia Gun Violence Intervention and PreventionFund.

Health insurance; coverage for the diagnosisof and treatment for infertility and standard fertility preservationservices. Requires health insurance policies, subscription contracts,and health care plans to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and for standard fertility preservation procedures,defined in the bill.