Del. Joe McNamara

Sales tax; exemption for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Provides an exemption from local sales and use tax beginning July 1, 2024, for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. The bill also provides an allocation of state revenues to fund the distribution to localities for funding that would have been distributed to them absent the exemption created by the bill. Under current law, such products are exempt from state sales and use tax but are subject to the standard local rate of one percent.

Corporate income tax; sourcing of sales other than sales of tangible personal property. Implements market-based corporate income tax sourcing for attributing sales, other than sales of tangible personal property, to Virginia beginning with taxable year 2025.

Virginia taxable income; standard deduction. Removes the sunset on elevated standard deduction amounts for single individuals and married persons that was scheduled to expire for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2026.

Human trafficking investigators; licensing by the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Authorizes the Department of Criminal Justice Services to register and issue licenses for human trafficking investigators. The bill provides that a human trafficking investigator is a private investigator who is GSA compliant and engages in the business of, or accepts employment to make, investigations to obtain information on sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking as defined in the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and in the federal Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.

Labor trafficking; forced labor or service; penalties. Provides that any person who knowingly provides or obtains the labor or services of a person by means of (i) force, threats of force, physical restraint, or threats of physical restraint to that person or another person; (ii) serious harm, as defined in the bill, or threats of serious harm to that person or another person; (iii) the abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process, as defined in the bill; or (iv) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that if that person did not perform such labor or services that person or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint is guilty of labor trafficking. The bill also provides that any person who knowingly benefits from participation in a venture that has engaged in labor trafficking is guilty of receiving money from labor trafficking. The bill provides that a violation of labor trafficking or receiving money from labor trafficking is punishable as a Class 4 felony; however, any adult who commits an act of labor trafficking or receiving money from labor trafficking with a person under the age of 18 is guilty of a Class 3 felony. The bill also creates a civil cause of action against individuals who engage in labor trafficking or who receive money from labor trafficking and adds labor trafficking and receiving money from labor trafficking to provisions of the Code defining racketeering and as a barrier crime from caring for children or the elderly or disabled, among other provisions listed in the bill. The bill extends the time to commence a civil action for trafficking in persons from seven years to 10 years.

Elections; candidates for office; conduct ofprimaries; declaration of candidacy. Requires a candidate fornomination by primary to file a written declaration of candidacyincluding a statement that his name shall not be printed on the ballotsfor that office in the succeeding general election if the candidatewithdraws from or is defeated in the primary. Under current law,only candidates who are defeated in a primary election are subjectto such restriction.

Active-duty status for any service member injured while in the line of duty. Provides that the Adjutant General may maintain state active-duty status for any service member injured while in the line of duty during the course of a state active-duty mission who is unable to return to civilian employment for a period of up to 90 days after the date of the service member's injury.

Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to SB 704.

Certain warning light units. Increases from two to four the number of flashing or steady-burning red or red and white combination warning light units with which a member of a fire department, volunteer fire company, or volunteer emergency medical services agency and any police chaplain may equip one vehicle owned by him. This bill is identical to SB 150.

Financial Services Expansion Grant Fund. Creates the Financial Services Expansion Grant Fund to make grant payments to an eligible financial services company that makes a capital investment of at least $87 million at a facility in Roanoke County and creates at least 1,100 new full-time jobs at the facility. The eligible financial services company would be eligible for an aggregate of $15 million in grants paid out over a 10-year period if it meets such performance parameters. This bill is identical to SB 156.