Senate committee adopts amendments to Senate Bill 800, including nearly $1 billion tax rebate and Medicaid funding

Senate committee leaders in Richmond on Thursday adopted a package of subcommittee amendments to Senate Bill 800 that would send roughly $1 billion in one-time tax rebates to Virginians, expand state tax relief policies and fully fund the recent Medicaid forecast increases, the committee reported.

The committee’s action followed reports from seven subcommittees that recommended changes to the governor’s introduced budget and culminated in an electronic roll-call on the amended bill that recorded 15 ayes and 0 noes.

The committee chair (unnamed) opened the meeting saying she was “eager to share the details of the budget that the committee will present today,” and asked that Senate Bill 800 be amended in accordance with the subcommittee reports and reported out of committee.

Why it matters: The amendments rework the state’s tax and spending picture for the upcoming biennium by sending one-time rebates, extending and increasing standard deductions, making the state earned income tax credit more generous and refundable, and covering a large Medicaid cost forecast. The changes affect state aid to schools, health and human services programs, public safety grants, capital projects and targeted one-time investments across agencies.

Major provisions and committee findings

Tax relief: The committee’s package includes an appropriation described in committee remarks as “almost a $1,000,000,000 for a tax rebate,” with checks or direct deposits to be sent around Oct. 15. The plan described individual filer rebates of $200 and married (joint) filer rebates of $400. The package also extends a prior, temporary increase in the state standard deduction for two years and proposes a further increase of $250 for individual filers (to a total standard deduction described as $8,750) and $500 for married filers (to a total of $17,500). The committee also recommended making the state earned income tax credit (EITC) fully refundable at 20% of the federal credit.

Education: The education subcommittee, reported by Senator Locke, recommended $208,800,000 in additional…