Del. Joe McNamara

Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.

Income tax exclusion for Paycheck ProtectionPlan loan forgiveness. Establishes an income tax exclusion forforgiveness of indebtedness on a loan received under the CoronavirusAid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act through the PaycheckProtection Plan. The exclusion would be available starting in taxableyear 2020.

Department of Education; pilot program; feasibility ofeducational placement transition of certain students with disabilities.Requires the Department of Education and relevant local school boards todevelop and implement a pilot program for the transition of students who areeducated in private school settings pursuant to Individualized EducationPrograms to the appropriate public school setting in the relevant local schooldivision for up to four years in two to eight local school divisions in theCommonwealth. In developing the pilot, the Department is required to partnerwith the appropriate school board employees in each such local school divisionto (i) identify the resources, services, and supports required by each studentwho resides in each such local school division and who is educated in a privateschool setting pursuant to his Individualized Education Program; (ii) study thefeasibility of transitioning each such student from his private school settingto an appropriate public school setting in the local school division andproviding the identified resources, services, and supports in such publicschool setting; and (iii) recommend a process for redirecting federal, state,and local funds, including funds provided pursuant to the Children's ServicesAct, provided for the education of each such student to the local schooldivision for the purpose of providing the identified resources, services, andsupports in the appropriate public school setting. The bill requires theDepartment of Education to make a report to the Governor, the Senate Committeeson Education and Health and Finance, and the House Committees on Education andAppropriations on the findings of the pilot program after two and four years.

Income tax; rolling conformity with the Internal Revenue Code; nonconformance with certain amendments. Provides that Virginia shall generally conform to federal tax laws on a rolling basis, meaning that Virginia tax laws incorporate changes to the Internal Revenue Code as soon as Congress enacts them. The bill provides that Virginia will not conform to the reduction in the medical expense deduction floor in the federal Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. However, the bill also provides that unless subsequently adopted by the General Assembly, Virginia shall not conform to any amendments to the Internal Revenue Code that have an impact of $10 million or more on Virginia tax revenues in the fiscal year in which the amendment was enacted or any of the next four years. The Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committees on Appropriations and Finance, shall be responsible for determining when an amendment meets these criteria. The Secretary of Finance shall also provide an annual report to such Chairmen on the fiscal impact of amendments to the Internal Revenue Code. The bill applies to taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2019.

Expungement of police and court records; pardons. Allows a person to petition for the expungement of the police andcourt records relating to such person's conviction if he has beengranted a simple pardon for the crime. Under current law, policeand court records relating to convictions are only expunged if aperson received an absolute pardon for a crime he did not commit.

Local governing body meetings; public comment.Requires a governing body to provide members of the general public with the opportunity for public comment during at least half of the regular meetings held each fiscal year.

Sexual assault nurse examiners; place of practice. Requires every hospital to report quarterly to the Department ofHealth information regarding the number of certified sexual assaultnurse examiners employed by the hospital and the location, includingstreet address, and contact information for the location at whicheach certified sexual assault nurse examiner provides services. Thebill also requires the Department of Health to make information regardingthe availability of certified sexual assault nurse examiners in theCommonwealth, including the name of each hospital at which a certifiedsexual assault nurse examiner is employed, the location, includingstreet address, of such hospital, and the contact information forsuch hospital, available on the Department's website.

Virginia Tourism Authority; Governor's New Airline Service Incentive Fund. Creates the Governor's New Airline Service Incentive Fund to be administered by the Virginia Tourism Authority to support the local, regional, national, and international airports in Virginia by providing the means for attracting new passenger air service routes by advertising and promoting new air service routes that would commence in Virginia. The bill provides that expenditures must be consistent with the commercial air service plan adopted by the Virginia Aviation Board. The bill requires that a grant from the Fund shall not be awarded if it can be reasonably anticipated to result in the reduction of existing commercial air service at another airport located within the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to SB 990.

Provisional voting; persons voting in splitprecincts. Provides that any voter who is assigned to a precinctthat is split between two or more election districts and who believeshe was given a ballot for the district of which he is not a qualifiedvoter may request, prior to casting the ballot, and shall be permittedto cast a provisional ballot for the district of which he believeshe is a qualified voter and for the district in which the pollbookindicates he is registered. The bill requires the ballots to besealed in envelopes labeled with the corresponding district numberand then sealed in the green envelope provided for all provisionalballots. At the meeting to determine the validity of all provisionalballots offered in the election, the electoral board shall verifyin which district the voter is qualified and count that ballot.

Specialty dockets; veterans docket. Providesthat any veterans docket authorized and established as a local specialtydocket in accordance with the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginiashall be deemed a "Veterans Treatment Court Program," as that termis used under federal law or by any other entity, for the purposesof applying for, qualifying for, or receiving any federal grants,other federal money, or money from any other entity designated toassist or fund such state programs. The bill contains an emergencyclause.