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Virginia Senate committee backs bill to lift admissions‑tax ban for York and James City counties
Summary
The committee voted to report SB400, which would remove an existing prohibition preventing York County and James City County from enacting an admissions tax; sponsor said the levy would largely fall on out‑of‑state visitors and could create a new local revenue stream.
Sen. Diggs introduced SB400, saying the bill would “remove the prohibition of York County and James City County from being able to enact an admissions tax.” He told the committee the prohibition dated to 2020 and contrasted it with a five‑year waiting period that had governed Williamsburg’s meals tax, noting that waiting period has expired.
Diggs argued the admissions tax would be borne mainly by out‑of‑state tourists and could provide an additional local revenue stream that “hopefully, for them to lower their real estate tax with this additional revenue stream.” Committee members moved to accept the bill and voted electronically; the clerk recorded 11 yes, 0 no and 2 abstentions, after which the bill was reported out of committee.
The transcript did not include an explicit fiscal estimate for the bill in committee testimony, nor did it record a floor amendment or an implementation timeline in this session. The motion and recorded vote were taken as the committee’s recommendation to advance the measure.
