Del. Kelly Fowler

Constitutional amendment (second reference);marriage; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative rightto marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriageas only a union between one man and one woman as well as the relatedprovisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United StatesSupreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and requires the Commonwealthand its political subdivisions and agents to issue marriage licenses,recognize marriages, and treat all marriages equally under the law,regardless of the sex or gender of the parties to the marriage. Religiousorganizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity havethe right to refuse to perform any marriage.

Constitutional officers; appointed deputies;dual office holding. Subjects any person appointed by a constitutionalofficer to serve as deputy as provided by law to the same dual office holding requirements and prohibitions applicable to the constitutional officer.

Retail Small Business Grant Program and Fund.Establishes the Retail Small Business Grant Program and Fund to supportexisting Virginia small businesses, attract new businesses, increasethe Commonwealth's tax base, create new job opportunities for Virginiaresidents, and enhance commercial activity in Virginia. The billprovides that an eligible Virginia small business, defined in thebill, is eligible for grants of up to $50,000. The total amount ofgrants awarded in a fiscal year is capped at $10 million.

Conservation of trees during land developmentprocess; authorized localities. Allows any locality to adoptan ordinance providing for the conservation of trees during the landdevelopment process. Under current law, only a locality within PlanningDistrict 8 that meets certain population density and nonattainmentclassification criteria is authorized to adopt such an ordinance.

Study; Albemarle-Pamlico Watershed; report.Requests the Department of Environmental Quality to study the Albemarle-PamlicoWatershed in Virginia, including land use, stormwater, groundwater,storm information, and flora and fauna there.

Family caregiver tax credit. Creates a nonrefundableincome tax credit for taxable years 2022 through 2026 for expensesincurred by an individual in caring for an eligible family member,defined in the bill, who requires assistance with one or more activitiesof daily living, also defined in the bill. The credit equals 50 percentof eligible expenditures incurred by the caregiver up to $1,000. Inorder to qualify for the credit, the family caregiver must (i) notreceive any compensation or reimbursement for the eligible expendituresand (ii) have federal adjusted gross income that is no greater than$100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for married persons. The billrequires the Tax Commissioner to establish guidelines for claimingthe credit and provides that any unused credit may be carried forwardby the taxpayer for five taxable years following the taxable yearfor which the credit was issued. The bill is a recommendation ofthe Joint Commission on Health Care.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement. Increasesfrom five days to 14 days the mandatory waiting period after a landlordserves written notice on a tenant notifying the tenant of his nonpaymentof rent and of the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreementif rent is not paid before the landlord may pursue remedies for terminationof the rental agreement.

Fines, costs, forfeitures, penalties, and restitution; collection fees; assessment against incarcerated individuals. Providesthat notwithstanding any other provision of law, no collection fees,including the fees of any private attorneys or collection agencies,administrative fees, or any other fees related to collection activities,shall be assessed for the collection of any fines, costs, forfeitures,penalties, or restitution imposed in a criminal case or in a caseinvolving a traffic infraction (i) for any period during which thedefendant is incarcerated and (ii) for a period of 90 days followingthe date of the defendant's release from incarceration if the sentenceincludes an active term of incarceration.

Income tax credit; employers of G3 Program orcybersecurity graduates. Creates a nonrefundable individual andcorporate income tax credit for employers that hire eligible employeeswho are (i) graduates of the Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back Program(G3 Program) or (ii) graduates with a degree in cybersecurity froma Virginia four-year institution of higher education. The creditis available for taxable years 2022 through 2026, is equal to $1,000per eligible employee hired during the taxable year who works ina full-time position, and includes an aggregate annual cap of $5million.

Commending Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University.