Sen. Bill DeSteph

Income tax; military benefits subtraction;emergency. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000of military benefits in taxable year 2021, up to $30,000 in taxable year 2022, and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2023 and each year thereafter.The bill defines military benefits to include military retirementincome and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of a veteran. Thebill contains an emergency clause.

Sales tax; exemption for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. Provides a state sales and use tax exemption beginning January 1, 2023, for food purchased for human consumption and essential personal hygiene products. The bill also provides, beginning February 1, 2023, an allocation of state revenues to fund the distribution to localities for educational funding that would have been distributed to them absent the exemption created by the bill. Under current law, such products are taxed at a reduced state sales and use tax rate of 1.5 percent and the standard local rate of one percent. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.

Income tax; military benefits subtraction; emergency. Establishes an income tax subtraction for up to $20,000 of military benefits in taxable year 2022, up to $30,000 in taxable year 2023, and up to $40,000 in taxable year 2024 and each year thereafter. The bill defines military benefits to include military retirement income and benefits paid to the surviving spouse of a veteran. The bill contains an emergency clause.

School principals; incident reports. Requires that school principals report to law enforcement certain enumerated acts that may constitute a misdemeanor offense and report to the parents of any minor student who is the specific object of such act that the incident has been reported to law enforcement. Under current law, principals are required to make such reports only for such acts that may constitute a felony offense. The bill provides, as an exception to the requirement to report any written threats against school personnel while on a school bus, on school property, or at a school-sponsored activity, that a principal is not required but may report to the local law-enforcement agency any such incident committed by a student who has an individualized education plan. This bill incorporates SB 2, SB 287, and SB 613 and is identical to HB 4.

Virginia Public Procurement Act; purchase of personal protective equipment. Requires a state agency, whenever purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) for public use, to ensure such PPE comply with all applicable federal and international certifications. The bill provides that if a state agency receives three or more bids (i) from a Virginia-based company or manufacturer or a manufacturer that uses materials or components made in Virginia or the United States or (ii) from a United States-based manufacturer that uses materials or components made in the United States, the agency may only select among those bids. The bill also provides that if a state agency is unable to purchase PPE from such company or manufacturer, it may purchase from another company or manufacturer, pending the results of independent laboratory testing of the PPE. The bill directs the Secretary of Commerce and Trade to establish a work group to make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding products other than PPE that may be necessary if a state of emergency is declared in Virginia and that state agencies should purchase with the same requirements and to report the recommendations of the work group to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology by September 1, 2022.

Virginia National Guard; institutions of higher education; tuition grants. Adds parameters around grants distributed by the Department of Military Affairs (the Department) to members of the Virginia National Guard who are enrolled in any course or program at any public institution of higher education or accredited nonprofit private institution of higher education. The bill provides that an application for a grant shall be made to the Department no later than 30 days prior to the beginning of an academic semester. The bill provides that the Department shall determine whether an applicant is eligible for the grant and communicate acceptance and any additional requirements determined by the Department in writing no later than 30 days after receipt of an application. The bill requires individuals who are eligible for such grants to satisfy all financial obligations with the institution and provide written proof of acceptable academic performance and good standing for the current term no later than 30 days following the end of a term or semester. The bill provides that individuals receiving grants pursuant to the bill incur a single two-year service obligation to the Virginia National Guard and that this two-year obligation commences on the last day of the last term or semester for which tuition assistance was awarded. The bill provides that grants shall be subject to limitation based on the amount of funds appropriated for such purpose and that if applications for grants exceed the amount of funding appropriated, the Department shall issue grants to eligible recipients based on the order in which applications were received.