Del. Karen Hamilton

Income tax; real property tax relief credit. Provides a refundable income tax credit in taxable years 2026 through 2030 to eligible taxpayers, defined in the bill, who incur real property taxes in an amount equal to or greater than four percent of their federal adjusted gross income for up to $500 for single individuals and $1000 for married persons filing jointly.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 24.2 a chapter numbered 6.1, consisting of sections numbered 24.2-684.1 through 24.2-684.17, relating to statewide referendum ballot questions; fairness and transparency requirements; Ballot question fairness Commission; readability standards; language accessibility; public comment; judicial review.

Tangible personal property tax relief; rate of taxation. Requires, for tax year 2027 and all tax years thereafter, each county, city, or town to reduce its local tax rate on qualifying vehicles to no greater than $0.000001 per $100 of the eligible assessed value of the qualifying vehicle. The bill defines "eligible assessed value" as $5,000 of the assessed value of a qualifying vehicle. For tax year 2028 and all tax years thereafter, for any year in which the revenues of a county, city, or town grow by five percent or more, the bill provides that the eligible assessed value applied in such county, city, or town shall increase by an additional $5,000 until such time that the eligible assessed value equals $20,000.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 5 of Title 18.2 a section numbered 18.2-138.1, relating to approaching a first responder with specified intent after a warning; penalty.

Prospective school board employees and contractors; disqualification based on conviction for certain crimes. Prohibits any school board from employing or contracting for the services of any individual who has been convicted of any violent felony or crime of moral turpitude set forth in a certain statutory definition of barrier crime. Under current law, school boards are permitted to employ or contract for the services of any such individual if certain enumerated conditions are met.

Local license taxes; authority to exempt; businesses regulated by boards within the Department of Health Professions. Authorizes localities to exempt any businesses, trades, professions, and occupations regulated by boards within the Department of Health Professions from the license tax.

Motor vehicles; insurance; highway use fee; tangible personal property tax relief for certain vehicles. Removes the highway use fee for fuel-efficient vehicles, and maintains the same highway use fee for electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles. The bill removes the prohibition on motor vehicle insurers establishing a repair facility network. Under current law, insurers are prohibited from requiring an insured or claimant to utilize designated replacement or repair facilities or services as a prerequisite to settling or paying any claim arising under a policy or policies of insurance. The bill also directs each county, city, or town that receives annual reimbursements from the Commonwealth for providing tangible personal property tax relief on qualifying vehicles to, beginning in tax year 2027, ensure that after first reimbursing certain tax attributable to qualifying vehicles leased by active duty members of the United States military, as is currently required by law, (i) no qualifying vehicle owned by an individual with an annual household income in excess of $200,000 receives any reimbursement for such vehicle and (ii) the remainder of the reimbursement provided to such locality is distributed based on a sliding scale for household incomes of residents of such locality, adopted by an ordinance of the governing body of such locality, as described in the bill.

Aggravated murder; admission to bail; rebuttable presumption against bail; magistrates. Creates a rebuttable presumption against bail for certain criminal offenses enumerated in the bill. The bill requires the court to consider certain factors when determining whether the presumption against bail has been rebutted and whether there are appropriate conditions of release. The bill also expands the information a judicial officer can consider for determining bail, including any involuntary admission or commitment order within the previous three years, and provides that any person arrested for a felony who (i) has never been convicted of a violent offense, as defined in § 19.2-297.1, but his current arrest is for a violent felony, or (ii) has been convicted within the previous 10 years of three or more offenses, provided that each such offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor or felony and that the defendant has been at liberty between such convictions, may be released only upon a secure bond. The bill requires the judicial officer to file written findings if he grants bail in certain instances. Additionally, the bill requires the chief magistrate to file a written order with the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court if a magistrate is suspended that states the reasons for such suspension, including a failure to issue such written findings. Lastly, the bill also provides that the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person while such person is on or within a vehicle operated by a public transportation service, as defined in relevant law, is guilty of aggravated murder.

Income tax; standard deduction. Removes the sunset from and makes permanent the enhanced standard deduction amounts of $8,750 for single individuals and $17,500 for married individuals filing jointly. Under current law, the standard deduction is scheduled to revert to $3,000 for single individuals and $6,000 for married individuals filing jointly after taxable year 2026.

Virginia National Guard; deployment to active duty combat. Prohibits the Virginia National Guard from being deployed into active duty combat, defined in the bill, unless Congress has made an official declaration of war, defined in the bill, or has taken an official action as authorized by the Constitution of the United States for the purposes of expressly executing the laws of the United States, repelling invasion, or suppressing an insurrection.