On May 13, 2024 the Virginia General Assembly adopted a budget that was signed by the Governor that same day and will become law on July 1, 2024.
The final budget that passed:
• Retains all spending items from the Conference Report.
• Recognizes an additional $525 million in FY 2024 withholding revenues (no base adjustment).
• Adopts the Governor’s technical amendments related to vetoed and amended bills (frees up $116 million).
• Adjusts FY 2025 only for ABC profits forecast reduction.
• Swaps cash for debt for $516 million of capital projects.
• Reduces Medicaid reserve fund in FY 2024 from $150 million to $95 million and recognizes $40 million additional in Health Care Fund.
• Captures VPI non-participation savings.
• Provides $56 million for 2% annual salary increases for personal care providers.
• Recognizes additional $25 million in FY 2024 lottery revenues (will be distributed in FY 2025 as lottery per pupil payments).1
These actions leave an unappropriated balance of $17.6 million.
OUTCOME OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS TRACKED
This report offers an overview of the outcomes for legislation that the Prince William Chamber of Commerce was actively tracking during the session in major focus areas, including:
• Economic Growth and Development
• Data Centers
• Housing
• Cocktails To-Go
• Recycling
• Gaming
• Labor and Employment
• Business Regulations
• Education and Workforce
• Transportation
• Healthcare
Please see below for more detailed information.
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber supported that passed.
HB 233 (Campbell)/SB 135 (Head) Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority; eligible site for site development grant; minimum acreage requirement.
This legislation provides that the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority may determine a site of at least 50 contiguous acres to be an eligible site if such site meets certain criteria provided in the bills to receive a site development grant from the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program Fund. Outcome: Approved by Governor (effective 7/1/24)
HB 237 (Austin) Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board.
This bill modifies aspects of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board by adding a fourth Secretary to the Board’s membership, to be appointed by the Governor, and providing that the Secretary of Labor may be one of the Secretaries appointed to the Board. The bill also reduces the amount of matching funds required for any grant awarded from the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Fund by requiring such funds to be equal to at least half of the grant awarded until July 1, 2028. Outcome: Approved by Governor (effective 7/1/24)
HB 960 (Lopez)/SB 556 (Williams Graves) Historic rehabilitation tax credit; maximum amount of tax credit.
This legislation increases from $5 million to $7.5 million, beginning in taxable year 2025, the maximum amount of the historic rehabilitation tax credit, including amounts carried over from prior taxable years, that may be claimed by a taxpayer in any taxable year. Outcome: Approved by Governor (effective 7/1/24)
HB 1125 (Carr)/SB 217 (Locke) Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program established; report.
This legislation establishes the Virginia Business Ready Expedited Permitting Program and directs the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority to designate up to two sites and four projects for participation in the Program. Sites and projects eligible for the Program shall include only (i) sites eligible for a site development grant under the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program or (ii) projects with significant local, regional, or statewide economic impact that the governing body of the locality in which the project is located has either (a) approved following a public meeting or hearing or (b) submitted, by resolution, for consideration to be included in the Program. No more than two eligible sites or projects shall be designated as part of the Program within any locality annually. The Authority shall complete a review process within 45 days of designating a site to reduce permitting conflicts and provide relevant guidance to applicants. The legislation also provides that no project shall be considered eligible to enter the Program after December 31, 2027, and requires annual reporting from the Authority. The bills have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, and expire on June 30, 2028. Outcome: Approved by Governor (effective 1/1/25)
HB 1361 (Feggans) Virginia Public Procurement Act; Virginia resident preference.
This bill provides preference as it relates to procurement for a bidder who is a resident of Virginia and then a bidder whose goods are produced in the United States. For the procurement of goods by manufacturers, when the lowest responsive and responsible bidder is not a resident of Virginia and the bid of any Virginia resident is within 10 percent of such bid, the bill gives the lowest responsive and responsible bidder that is a Virginia resident the option to match the price of the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Furthermore, if the lowest responsive and responsible bidder is a resident of another state and such state allows a resident a percentage preference or price-matching preference for the procurement of goods, the bill grants a like preference to responsive and responsible bidders who are residents of Virginia. Under the bill, an eligible bidder that is a Virginia resident shall be granted the greater of either preference. The bill exempts a public body from the provisions of the bill if such public body is rendered ineligible to receive federal funding due to the provisions of the bill. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027. Finally, the bill also directs the Department of General Services to report to the General Assembly regarding the bill’s efficacy, including any retaliatory action taken by other states, no later than the first day of the 2025 Regular Session. Outcome: Approved by Governor (effective 7/1/24)
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber monitored that passed.
SB 260 (DeSteph) Virginia Public Procurement Act; Virginia preference.
This bill provides first preference for goods produced in Virginia and then provides for preference to goods produced in the United States before a tie bid is decided by lot in determining the award for any contract for goods, services, or construction under the Virginia Public Procurement Act. Outcome: Approved by the Governor (effective 7/1/24)
DATA CENTERS
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber opposed that failed to advance.
HB 116 (Sullivan)/ SB 192 (Subramanyam) Sales and use tax exemption; data centers.
This legislation would have required data center operators to meet certain energy efficiency standards in order to be eligible for the sales and use tax exemption for data center purchases. Under the bills, a data center operator would have been eligible for the exemption only if such operator demonstrates that (i) its facilities either (a) have a power usage effectiveness score of no greater than 1.2 or (b) for data centers co-located in buildings with other commercial uses, achieve an energy efficiency level of no less than the most efficient 15 percent of similar buildings constructed in the previous five years and (ii) it will procure carbon-free renewable energy and associated renewable energy certificates from facilities equal to 90 percent of its electricity requirements or that its electricity will be otherwise derived from non-carbon-emitting, renewable sources. Outcome: Continued to 2025 in the House Finance and Appropriations Committee
HB 337 (Thomas)/SB 284 (Roem) Siting of data centers; impacts on resources and historically significant sites.
This legislation would have provided that any local government land use application required for the siting of a data center could only be approved in areas where the data center would (i) have a minimal impact on historic, agricultural, and cultural resources and (ii) not be within one-half mile of a national park, state park, or other historically significant site. Outcome: Continued to 2025 in the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee
SB 597 (McPike) Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority; comprehensive plan. This bill would have authorized any locality in the Commonwealth to provide for an affordable housing dwelling unit program by amending the zoning ordinance of such locality. Current law restricts such authorization to counties with an urban county executive form of government or county manager plan of government and certain other localities. This bill would have had a delayed effective date of July 1, 2025. Outcome: Vetoed by Governor
COCKTAILS TO-GO
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber supported that passed.
HB 688 (Leftwich)/SB 635 (Rouse) Alcoholic beverage control; sale and delivery of mixed beverages and pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption; third-party delivery license; sunset; repeal.
This legislation repeals the July 1, 2024, sunset on provisions that allow (i) distillers that have been appointed as agents of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, mixed beverage restaurant licensees, and limited mixed beverage restaurant licensees to sell mixed beverages for off-premises consumption and (ii) farm winery licensees to sell pre-mixed wine for off-premises consumption. The bill also repeals, effective July 1, 2026, third-party delivery licenses. The bills require the Authority to convene a work group to review third-party delivery licenses and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 15, 2024. Outcome: Approved by Governor
RECYCLING
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber supported that failed to advance.
HB 316 (Bulova) Virginia Recycling Development Center established; report.
This bill would have established the Virginia Recycling Development Center for the purposes of furthering the development of markets and processing for recycled commodities and products, to be run by a Director appointed and supervised by the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources. The bill would have also created the Virginia Recycling Development Center Advisory Committee, established reporting requirements, and created the Recycling Market Development Fund to be used to fund the Center. The bill would have required the Advisory Committee to make recommendations on the sources of potential funding for and detailed qualifying uses of the Fund and report its recommendations to the Secretary no later than October 1, 2024. The bill would have had an expiration date of July 1, 2038. Outcome: Failed to pass in the House.
HB 1227 (Willett) Recycling Infrastructure Improvement Fund; established; report.
This bill would have established the Virginia Recycling Infrastructure Improvement Fund for the purpose of supporting local government recycling programs. The bill would have required the Department of Environmental Quality to administer the Fund as a grant program to encourage the establishment of physical infrastructure and equipment necessary to start or improve local government recycling operations. The bill also would have prohibited local governments from discontinuing their recycling programs until after July 1, 2028. Outcome: Left in the House Appropriations Committee
GAMING
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber monitored that failed to advance.
SB 675 (Marsden) Casino gaming; eligible host localities.
This legislation would have added Fairfax County to the list of localities eligible to host a casino in the Commonwealth and provided that any proposed site for a casino gaming establishment considered by Fairfax County would have been (i) located within one-quarter of a mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line, (ii) part of a coordinated mixed-use project development, (iii) outside of the Dulles airport flight path, (iv) within two miles of a major shopping destination containing not less than 1.5 million square feet of gross building area, and (v) outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway. The bill would have also required an eligible host locality, in selecting a preferred casino gaming operator, to consider and give substantial weight to the proposer’s history of or commitment to (a) paying or contracting for the payment of prevailing wages to those individuals providing construction labor during the initial construction of the casino gaming establishment and any hospitality facilities on the premises, and (b) entering into labor peace agreements with labor organizations that are actively engaged in representing or seeking to represent employees in the gaming or hospitality industries in the Commonwealth. The bill would have also required an eligible host locality to provide, with its submission of its preferred casino gaming operator to the Virginia Lottery, an executed agreement with its preferred casino gaming operator certifying that such casino gaming operator and any subcontractor or sublessee responsible for the performance of casino gaming or hospitality operations at the proposed casino gaming establishment would enter into a labor peace agreement with each labor organization actively engaged in representing or seeking to represent employees in the gaming or hospitality industries in the Commonwealth that requested such labor peace agreement, and evidence of all such signed labor peace agreements. Outcome: Continued to 2025 in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber monitored that failed to advance.
HB 1 (Ward)/SB 1 (Lucas) Minimum wage.
This legislation would have increased the minimum wage from the current rate of $12.00 per hour to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025, and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. The bill also would have satisfied a reenactment clause included in Chapters 1204 and 1242 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020. Outcome: Vetoed by the Governor
BUSINESS REGULATIONS
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber opposed that failed to advance.
HB 418 (Simon)/SB 259 (Surovell) Civil actions filed on behalf of multiple persons; class actions.
This legislation would have provided that one or more members of a class may, as representative parties on behalf of all members, bring a civil action or may be proceeded against in a civil action, provided that (i) the class was so numerous that joinder of all members or proceeding with such actions on an individual basis was impracticable or contrary to judicial economy; (ii) there were questions of law or fact common to the class; (iii) the claims or defenses of the representative parties were typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and (iv) the representative parties must fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. The bill further set out the procedure to certify a class action, the duties of counsel appointed in a class action, the various orders a court may issue during the course of a class action, and the process by which a settlement, voluntary dismissal, or compromise may occur. Outcome: Vetoed by the Governor
EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber supported that passed.
HB 419 (Bulova)/SB 54 (Locke) Early childhood care and education system; need-based and demand-based funding.
This legislation requires, for the purpose of addressing family demand and preferences for affordable, high-quality early childhood care and education services, state general funds to be provided to support the provision of services to families for early childhood care and education, as specified in the general appropriation act. The bills require the Department of Education to report each year by November 15 on the projected general funds needed for the upcoming two fiscal years based on cost of quality rate per child in order to (i) maintain the current number of slots at early childhood care and education programs, (ii) increase the number of slots using a projected growth report, and (iii) increase the number of slots to fully accommodate parent demand and eliminate waitlists. The bills require such projected general funds to be based on the annual per-child cost, determined as set forth in the bill, for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, the Mixed Delivery Program, and the Child Care Subsidy Program, the current eligibility criteria for such programs, and maximization of certain regularly recurring federal funds. The bills require each regional entity established by the Board of Education pursuant to applicable law, each local school division, and each locality to annually indicate the number of slots needed, respectively, in the region for the Mixed Delivery Program, the local school division for the Virginia Preschool Initiative, and the locality for the Childcare Subsidy Program. The bills require the Department of Education to (a) reallocate by July 1 any slots with available funding from the Childcare Subsidy Program and the Mixed Delivery Program, (b) make adjustments based on family preferences following the fall enrollment periods, and (c) first expend all current-year state general funds in providing funding for slots. Outcome: Approved by the Governor (effective 7/1/24)
HB 1345 (Anthony)/SB 199 (Diggs) High school graduation requirements; satisfaction of certain course credits with workforce credentials; development and maintenance of list of accepted credentials.
This legislation requires the Board of Education, in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System, Career and Technical Education directors, and industry partners, to develop and maintain a current, comprehensive, and uniform list of industry-recognized workforce credentials that students may take as a substitute for certain units of credit required for graduation, including such credentials that are accepted as substitutes for electives credits and credentials completed outside of regular school hours. The bills also require each school board to accept as a substitute for a required credit any credential listed as an accepted substitute for such required credit. The bills also require any College and Career Access Pathways Partnership entered into between a school board and a comprehensive community college to specify, consistent with the list, industry-recognized credentials that are accepted as substitutes for certain credits required for high school graduation. Finally, the bills require the Board, in establishing graduation requirements, to permit any student to substitute elective credits for completion of any industry-approved workforce credential that is included on the list as an accepted substitute for such credits. Outcome: Approved by Governor (effective 7/1/24)
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber supported that failed to advance.
HB 1051 (Batten)/SB 563 (Hackworth) Public education; dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment; high school graduation.
This legislation would have made several changes relating to graduation from a public high school in the Commonwealth, including (i) eliminating the requirement for a student to complete one virtual course in order to graduate from high school and (ii) specifying that various options and requirements relating to earning career and technical education credentials for the purpose of satisfying high school graduation requirements are required to be high-demand career and technical education credentials. The bills also sought to define and thereby distinguish the concepts of dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment in the context of high school students’ participation in college-level coursework and would have required the agreements for postsecondary attainment between school boards and comprehensive community colleges to specify the credit available for dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment courses. Outcome: Continued to 2025 in the House Education Committee
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber monitored that failed to advance.
SB 27 (Stanley) Public School Trades Incentive Fund and Program; established.
This bill would have established the Public School Trades Incentive Fund (the Fund) and the Public School Trades Incentive Program (the Program) for the purpose of providing grants on a competitive basis from the Fund to any school board that sought to (i) restore high school programs that teach students skilled trades that lead to earning industry-recognized certifications or credentials or (ii) create or restore middle school programs that encourage and recruit students to participate in high school programs that teach students skilled trades that lead to earning industry-recognized certifications or credentials. The bill would have also required the Department of Education to administer the Program and to establish such rules and procedures relating to applications and awards as it deemed appropriate, provided that the Department consider and give appropriate weight to certain criteria for grantees. The bill also would have required any grantee to use Program funds only for equipment. Outcome: Tabled in the House Appropriations Committee
TRANSPORTATION
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber opposed that failed to advance.
HB 135 (Cole) High-occupancy toll lanes; disabled veteran license plates.
This bill would have provided that, on Interstate 95, vehicles displaying a disabled veteran license plate meet the high-occupancy requirement for high-occupancy toll lanes, regardless of the number of occupants in the vehicle. Outcome: Left in the House Transportation Committee
HB 424 (Green) Free use of toll facilities; certain disabled veterans.
This bill would have authorized the free use of all toll bridges, toll roads, and other toll facilities in the Commonwealth for drivers who have been rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as having a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability. The bill also sought to replace the current window sticker for certain persons exempted from tolls due to a disability with a specialized electronic toll collection device identifying such person as eligible for free passage. Outcome: Left in the House Transportation Committee
HB 811 (Mundon King) Toll relief; maximum charges.
This bill would have limited to $200 per month the tolls charged to residents of the Commonwealth via electronic toll collection devices for the use of toll bridges, toll ferries, toll tunnels, or toll roads in the Commonwealth. The bill would have prohibited misusing, sharing, or transferring an electronic toll collection device for the purpose of (i) generating tolls to reach the toll limit or (ii) obtaining toll-free use of toll facilities in the Commonwealth. The bill would have authorized the free use of all toll bridges, toll roads, and other toll facilities in the Commonwealth for drivers who are recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits. Outcome: Left in the House Transportation Committee
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber supported that failed to advance.
SB 282 (Roem) Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program; surplus funds.
This bill would have provided that, beginning in fiscal year 2025, in any fiscal year in which there is a surplus of general fund revenues, as that term was defined in the bill, the Governor must include in his proposed budget an appropriation of 10 percent of such surplus for the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program for the purpose of funding projects consistent with the objectives of the Program. Outcome: Passed by indefinitely in the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee
HEALTHCARE
The following provides highlights for legislation that the Chamber opposed that failed to advance.
SB 360 (VanValkenburg) Covenants not to compete; health care professionals; civil penalty.
This bill would have added health care professionals as a category of employee with whom no employer must enter into, enforce, or threaten to enforce a covenant not to compete. The bill would have defined “health care professional” as any physician, nurse, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, pharmacist, social worker, dietitian, physical and occupational therapist, professional counselor, behavior analyst, assistant behavior analyst, or medical technologist authorized to provide health care services in the Commonwealth. The bill would have also provided that any employer that violated the prohibition against covenants not to compete with a health care professional would be subject to the civil penalty in current law of $10,000 for each violation. Outcome: Defeated by the Senate
SB 493 (Stanley) Medical malpractice; limitations on recovery; certain actions.
This bill would have eliminated the cap on the recovery in actions against health care providers for medical malpractice where the act or acts of malpractice occurred on or after July 1, 2024, and occurred against a patient aged 10 or younger. Outcome: Defeated by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee
