Income tax credit; employer contributions toVirginia College Savings Plan accounts. Provides a nonrefundableincome tax credit for taxable years beginning on or after January1, 2020, but before January 1, 2025, for 35 percent of expenses incurredby a business during the taxable year for contributions into a VirginiaCollege Savings Plan account owned by an employee of the business.If the employee receiving the contribution is a qualified employee,as defined in the bill, the credit shall not exceed $500 annuallyfor each such employee. If the recipient receiving the contributionis a qualified employee who is not highly compensated, as definedin the bill, the credit shall not exceed $1,000 annually for eachsuch employee. The total amount of tax credits available for a calendaryear shall not exceed $5 million. Any unused tax credit may be carriedover for three years.
Sponsored bills
Virginia Public Procurement Act; professionaland information technology project services contracts; verificationof work. Requires state agencies contracting for professionaland information technology project services to include provisionsin such contracts that require contractors to install software thatallows for verification of the number of hours worked on a projectusing a computer. The bill requires such software to be procuredby the contractor and provides that data collected belongs to thecontractor; however, the contractor is required to provide accessto data to the contracting state agency under certain terms and fora period of seven years.
Virginia Board for Court Reporters. Createsthe Virginia Board for Court Reporters as an independent board toregulate court reporting services in the state. Beginning July 1,2021, no person may engage in or offer to engage in work as a courtreporter unless he has been licensed by the Board. The bill establishesstandards of conduct for court reporters and creates the Board for Court Reporters Fund to receive licensing and registration fees tofund the regulatory program.
Board of Housing and Community Development;Uniform Statewide Building Code; installation of key boxes on high-riskstructures. Directs the Board of Housing and Community Developmentto require that all high-risk structures, defined in the bill, have key boxes installed in strategic locations on the outside of suchstructures. The bill requires that such key box contain keys or othercredentials or access cards that may be necessary for law-enforcementofficials to gain access to such structure or an area within suchstructure during an emergency.
Public institutions of higher education; six-yearplans; pricing structure and tuition discounting strategies. Requires the governing board of each public institution of higher education to include in each six-year plan for the institution adetailed explanation of the institution's pricing structure and tuitiondiscounting strategies, including pricing by student income level and the use of tuition revenue for financial aid.
Income tax subtraction; public school teachersalaries. Establishes for taxable years beginning on and afterJanuary 1, 2020, an income tax subtraction for any income from full-time employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher at a publicschool in the Commonwealth.
Virginia Board for Court Reporters. Createsthe Virginia Board for Court Reporters as an independent board toestablish the qualification of applicants for licensure or registrationof court reporters in the state. Beginning July 1, 2021, no person may engage in or offer to engage in work as a court reporter unlesshe has been licensed by the Board. The bill establishes principlesof conduct for court reporters and creates the Board for Court ReportersFund to receive licensing and registration fees to fund the licensureand registration program.
Public elementary schools; instruction; successsequence. Requires each public elementary school principal to ensure that instruction on the importance of the success sequence,which the bill defines as the sequential act of graduating from highschool, securing full-time employment, and marrying before havingchildren and the impact that has on poverty in the United States,is provided at least annually to each student at the grade levelthat the principal deems appropriate. The bill permits such instructionto be incorporated into existing curricula and to be delivered incollaboration with any other entity or individual.
Health Enterprise Zone Program and Fund. Establishes the Health Enterprise Zone Program and Fund to target state resources to (i) reduce racial, ethnic, and geographic health disparities; (ii) improve access to health care in underserved communities; (iii) reduce hospital admission and readmission rates; and (iv) reduce health care costs in the Commonwealth. The bill establishes eligibility criteria for localities seeking designation as health enterprise zones and provides for the payment of funds from the Health Enterprise Zone Fund to designated localities for (a) implementation of strategies and interventions proposed in the application for designation as a health enterprise zone and (b) provision of education loan repayment assistance or financial assistance to defray the cost of capital improvements or equipment purchase by health care providers in the health enterprise zone, as described in the application for designation as a health enterprise zone. The bill requires the State Department of Health to report annually by December 1 to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Health, Welfare and Institutions and the Senate Committees on Finance and Education and Health on the status of the Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2025.
High deductible health plans; funding deductiblesthrough health savings accounts. Requires each employer sponsoringa high deductible health plan for its employees annually to fundthe health savings account associated with the plan in an amountthat is not less than the annual deductible amount under the plan.A similar requirement is imposed with regard to high deductible healthplans offered to state employees under the state employee healthinsurance program.