eNews Feb 28, 2017
Tuesday, February 28, 2017 - 02:15pm
General Assembly adopts budget; heads home
See VML’s 2017-2018 Budget Bill Final Look (.SLSX)
The House of Delegates and Senate adopted amendments to the state budget for 2016-2018 on the closing day of the 2017 session. As reported in the Feb. 24 eNews, the budget contained good news for local governments in terms of state funding for salary increases for teachers and state-supported local employees, as well as no additional cuts in state assistance to local police departments. The General Assembly returns to Richmond April 5 for the reconvened session to consider gubernatorial vetoes and amendments to legislation.
VML contacts: Janet Areson (jareson@vml.org, Neal Menkes (nmenkes@vml.org) and Mary Jo Fields (mfields@vml.org)
General Assembly puts cap on claims made for Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits
Among the last items to be decided this session were bills (SB 1034 and HB 2460) to prohibit a taxpayer from claiming more than $5.0 million in Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits for any taxable year.
Taxpayers with credit amounts in excess of the cap would be able to carry forward the excess and claim the credit in future taxable years within the credit’s ten-year carryover period or until the full credit is used, whichever occurs first.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe pushed for the cap as one component of his plan to bridge a $1.2 billion budget chasm. The gambit is expected to save $9.9 million in fiscal year 2018.
The issue between the House and Senate centered on the duration of the cap. The Senate bill limited the impact to projects begun on or after January 1, 2017 but before January 1, 2018. The House bill, in contrast, would be effective for an unrestricted period of time beginning on or after January 1 of this calendar year.
The compromise approved on Saturday extends the cap period to January 1, 2019.
VML contact: Neal Menkes, nmenkes@vml.org
Real estate tax exemption fails
A conference committee did not reach agreement on (SJR 284-Stuart), so the resolution died on the last day of the session. The resolution would have expanded the current real property tax exemption for surviving spouses of military personnel killed in action to the surviving spouses of those who died in a combat zone. VML opposed the bill in the Senate, as it had an unknown fiscal impact. The value of the existing exemptions for veterans and surviving spouses topped more than $36 million statewide in 2016.
VML contact: Mary Jo Fields, mfields@vml.org
No agreement reached on optional defined contribution retirement plan
A House and Senate conference committee failed to reach agreement on legislation that would have required the Virginia Retirement System to establish an optional defined contribution plan for state and local government employees. HB 2251 (Jones) died on the last day of the session.
VML contact: Mary Jo Fields, mfields@vml.org
