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2007 General Assembly Update

 Week Ending 02/09/07

Each body of the General Assembly completed its agenda prior to crossover on February 5th. There were a number of bills left in House committees, however none had significant impact to the Retail Industry. Click here for the list of Passed Bills and click here for the list of Failed Bills.

Smoke Free Act

Last week after crossover, the House General Laws heard Senator Bell’s bill which would prohibit smoking in most public buildings. The sub committee voted to “lay the bill on the table”, which means the bill is still alive in that sub committee and could be heard at a later date. It would appear the committee is waiting to see what action the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will take on Delegate Griffith’s smoking restriction bill. Delegate Griffith’s bill would require restaurants that allow smoking to place a sign, reading “Smoking Permitted”, at each entrance. The feeling is that the Senate will amend Del. Griffith's bill to conform with Senator Bell’s bill. If the Senate does amend Del. Griffith’s bill, it will be sent back to the House for approval. Del. Griffith’s bill will be heard before Senate Education and Health on Wednesday, February 14th.

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Minimum Wage

Senator Colgan’s Minimum Wage Bill will be heard this week in House Commerce and Labor’s sub committee. This is the sub committee that killed all House Minimum Wage Bills, which would have increased the hourly rate.

It is felt that the sub committee may amend Senator Colgan’s bill to mirror the Federal Bill, which is now being considered by Congress. Both houses of Congress have passed a minimum wage bill, with the difference being, that the Senate attached a number of tax credits to the bill and now it’s before the House of Representatives for their action. Both the Senate and House of Representatives version have the same increase in the minimum wage. They both increase the minimum wage in $.70 cent increments, beginning 60 days after enactment and each year thereafter until the minimum wage reaches $7.25 per hour. ($5.15 to $5.85 within 60 days of enactment, $5.85 to $6.55 one year after enactment and $6.55 to $7.25 the second year after enactment.)

There will probably be a July 1, 2008 enactment date, in order to provide ample time for Congress to pass their Minimum Wage bill. This will keep the Commonwealth from departing from the precedent that the Commonwealth’s minimum wage conform to the Federal minimum wage.

The Senate and House bills to repeal the exclusion from minimum wage requirements for those 65 years old or older has passed.

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Sales Tax Holiday

Delegate Cline’s bill that would exempt computers up to $1,500 and computer components up to $500 was heard in the Senate Finance Committee on February 13th and failed because of no motion to report.

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Hurricane Preparedness

This bill was heard by House Finance Monday, February 12th. This bill passed the Senate Finance with little opposition. This will enable consumers to prepare rather than react to hurricanes. The bill will create a 7-day tax holiday beginning May 25th through 31st each year beginning in 2008. The bill was amended in Senate Finance to establish a sunset of 2012, at that time the measure will have to be re-enacted.

The bill will exempt from the Sales and Use Tax, “portable generators used to provide light or communications or preserve food in the event of a power outage and (ii) certain other hurricane preparedness equipment, including, but not limited to, blue ice, carbon monoxide detectors, cell phone batteries, cell phone chargers, gas or diesel fuel tanks, nonelectric food storage coolers, portable self-powered light sources, portable self-powered radios, two-way radios, weather band radios, storm shutter devices, tarpaulins or other flexible waterproof sheeting, ground anchor systems or tie down kits, and packages of AAA cell, AA cell, C cell, D cell, 6 volt, or 9 volt batteries, excluding automobile and boat batteries. As used in this section, "storm shutter" means materials and products manufactured, rated, and marketed specifically for the purpose of preventing window damage from storms. The tax exemption shall apply to each portable generator with a selling price of $1,000 or less, and each article of other hurricane preparedness equipment with a selling price of $60 or less. Any discount, coupon, or other credit offered either by the retailer or by a vendor of the retailer to reduce the final price to the customer shall be taken into account in determining the selling price for purposes of this exemption.”

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Transportation

The House Transportation plan was presented on Monday February 12th in the Senate Transportation committee. With the Senate not passing a transportation plan, HB 3202 will be the legislation used for transportation funding. On Tuesday February 13th, the Senate rejected the House bill and passed a substitute, presented by Senator Watkins. Click here to view the changes to HB 3202.<< Back to top

Electric Re-Regulation

The Senate last week passed Senator Norment’s re-regulation bill and the House has passed Del. Hogan’s re-regulation bill. The two bills are considered to be “works in progress”. The RMA as a member of The Coalition for Fair Electric Rates (CFER), has monitored both bills closely and will continue to monitor them through the legislative process. There will need to be many amendments made to have a bill this session. Click here for a review of needed amendments.

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BPOL Tax

Exemption for Motor Fuel Taxes

The House bill, patroned by Del. Purkey, has now passed the full Senate. The Senate version, patroned by Senator Watkins, was heard before the House Finance Committee on Monday, February 12th and passed. Both bills will exempt the motor fuel tax from the gross receipts tax. This bill has met little resistance since most members of the General Assembly see that taxing a tax is simply wrong. Both bills also have a retroactive effective date.

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Sales and Use Tax Holiday for Energy Efficient Products

The House bill has now passed the Senate with minor amendments. The Senate version of the bill was heard on Monday February 12th. The bill provides a sales tax exemption for purchases of certain Energy Star qualified products with a sales price of $2,500 or less made during a four-day period each year in mid-October.  The bill also authorizes dealers to absorb the sales and use tax on all other items sold during the same time period and thereby relieve the purchasers of the obligation to pay such tax. Dealers who absorb such taxes are liable for payment of the same to the Tax Commissioner.  The sales tax holiday would expire in July of 2012.

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If you have any questions about this legislation, please contact George Peyton, VP, Government Relations at (804) 334-2932.