Senate finance subcommittee advances dam-safety bill, defers several tax-credit measures and debates EV charging, film incentives and braille labeling

At a meeting of the Senate Finance subcommittee in Richmond, senators voted to advance a dam-safety bill and a handful of administrative measures, while deferring several proposed tax credits and incentive changes until later sessions or until further review.

The panel unanimously agreed to a dam-safety package from Senator David French that reduces the matching requirement for private dam owners seeking state assistance and clarifies cooperation between the Department of Conservation and Recreation and local governments to prevent dam failures. "This bill will make it easier for private dam owners to access the funds and assistance they need to maintain their dams and keep them safe," French said. DCR Director Matt Wills told the committee DCR supports the measure and stood ready to answer questions.

Lawmakers spent most of the morning considering a long list of bills that would create or expand tax credits and incentives. Because the committee follows a standing practice of not advancing new or expanded income tax credits in a nonbudget year, many of those measures were passed by for the day (deferred) rather than approved. Sponsors and supporters used the hearing to outline goals and raise concerns that the items would be considered when the budget is adopted in an even-numbered year.

Electric-vehicle infrastructure: Sponsor Senator Ayers described Senate Bill 1225 as an effort "to ensure that we can increase access to electric vehicles and the necessary infrastructure for our distressed communities as well as our rural communities." The bill would create a grant fund to cover up to 70% of the cost of installing EV charging stations in distressed and rural localities. Representatives of environmental and business groups — including Thomas Turner of the Conservancy for Clean Energy, Blair St. Lejerg Olsen of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, and Tommy Herbert of the Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association — testified in support. The committee moved to pass the bill by for the day under committee practice.

Motion-picture tax credit: Senator Hashmi presented Senate Bill 1179, a $5 million augmentation to the Commonwealth's motion-picture tax credit fund for the coming year. Hashmi said the funding is a "modest" emergency step to keep productions considering Virginia from going to other states and cited industry economic-impact figures. Beau Cribbs of IATSE Local 487, Matt Benedetti of the Virginia Production Alliance and other industry witnesses urged support. The subcommittee voted to pass the bill by for the day and asked staff to consider a JLARC study on incentives.

Braille labeling tax incentive: Senator Rhone offered a bill to create a tax incentive to reimburse businesses for eligible braille-labeling expenditures. An amendment adopted in committee set an initial $1,000,000 allocation to be issued by the Tax Commissioner on a first-come, first-served basis and clarified the $50,000 credit cap per eligible business. Jordan Tate, a blind student who testified in favor, said, "This labeling is essential for the independence of individuals in Virginia that are blind or visually impaired." The committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill by for the day.

Retiree tax subtraction: Senator DeStef (presenting SB 943) described a proposal to provide a 20% subtraction for federal retirees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to make their treatment more comparable to retirees in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The subcommittee passed the measure by for the day.

Local incentives for residential conversion: A substitute presented by Senator Williams Graves removed a proposed state tax credit and instead authorizes local incentives for converting underutilized commercial buildings to residential use, including streamlined permitting and reduced local permit fees. The subcommittee agreed to the substitute and passed the bill by for the day.

Second-chance hiring credit: Senator Rouse's bill to create a state credit to encourage employers to hire returning citizens — expanding on the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit by allowing credits in multiple years — drew support from advocates including Sean Juanita of Reform Alliance and Scott Riggleman of Americans for Prosperity. The committee passed the bill by for the week for further consideration.

Tax whistleblower proposal: Senator Servo presented a bill to create a whistleblower award for state tax recoveries. Senator McDougall criticized giving the Tax Commissioner broad discretion to grant awards and moved that the measure be passed by indefinitely; the motion carried. Senator Servo defended the concept as modeled on the federal tax whistleblower program established in 2006, saying it was "the exact same amount of discretion that President Bush gave the IRS in 2006." The committee's action effectively halted the proposal for now.

Other business: The committee agreed that the Virginia Recreation Facilities Authority may dissolve itself if the board chooses and advanced a youth and amateur sports tourism fund (reported as amended) that would create a statewide $5 million fund to help localities recruit sports events. The committee also passed by for the day a proposal to consider making the Virginia Museum of Transportation a state agency and heard a presentation on a proposed National Guard museum; committees asked for additional study and local stakeholder input.

Votes at a glance

- SB 1085 (Sen. Craig): Motion to strike the bill from the docket — adopted; bill stricken from the docket. - SB 1225 (Sen. Ayers) — EV charging infrastructure grants for distressed and rural communities: Motion to pass by for the day — adopted (deferred). - SB 1179 (Sen. Hashmi) — Motion-picture tax credit, +$5M: Motion to pass by for the day — adopted (deferred); committee asked staff to request a JLARC study on economic incentives. - SB (Rhone) — Braille-labeling tax incentive (amendment adopted; $1,000,000 allocation, $50,000 cap per business): Amendment adopted; motion to pass by for the day — adopted (deferred). - SB 943 (Sen. DeStef) — CSRS retiree subtraction (20%): Motion to pass by for the day — adopted (deferred). - SB 11/13 (Sen. Williams Graves) — Local incentives for converting commercial buildings to residential (substitute removed state credit): Substitute agreed to; motion to pass by for the day — adopted (deferred). - SB 971 (Sen. Rouse) — Second-chance hiring credit (employer incentive for hiring returning citizens): Motion to pass by for the week — adopted (deferred for further review). - SB 857 (Sen. French) — Dam safety improvements, DCR authority and reduced match for private owners: Motion to report/agreed to — adopted (reported out of committee). - SB (Servo) — Tax whistleblower reward program: Motion to pass by indefinitely — adopted (measure halted). - SB 795 (Sen. Head) — Virginia Museum of Transportation: Motion to pass by for the day and request a letter to the secretary to complete the study — adopted (deferred; letter requested). - SB 796 (Sen. Head) — Authority dissolution for Virginia Recreation Facilities Authority: Motion to report — adopted (reported out of committee). - SB 927 (Sen. Head/Hitt) — Youth and amateur sports tourism fund ($5M): Motion to report as amended — adopted (reported out of committee as amended). - Newborn-related tax credit (Sen. Hitt): Motion to pass by indefinitely (PBI) — adopted (deferred per committee policy). - Free individual income tax filing bill (staff-described substitute/reporting): Line amendments agreed and bill reported as amended.

What the committee did not decide here: several measures were deferred under the committee's practice of not creating or expanding income-tax credits in odd-numbered years; those sponsors and witnesses asked the subcommittee to revisit the measures during the budget process or in an even-numbered session.

Ending note: Committee members said they expect additional follow-up memos, a JLARC request for an incentives review related to the motion-picture credit, and interagency coordination on dam-safety implementation and the proposed youth-sports and museum projects.