Virginia Education Tax Credit
View the Virginia Senate Hearing on HB 399 (courtesy of the Family Foundation).Delegate Massie Presentation, HB559 Part 1
Supporting Statements Continue, HB559, Part 2
Opposition Begins, HB599, Part 3
Opposition Continues, HB 599 Part 4 Virginia Education Tax Credit defeated in Senate committee,
but future looks promising. March 1, 2010 Legislation (HB 599) to establish income tax credits for businesses and individuals who contribute to scholarship foundations passed the House of Delegates by the widest margin in recent years (55-44). Although it subsequently failed in the Senate Committee on Finance in a 9-6 party line vote, this margin is the strongest support ever shown by the Virginia Senate for this type of measure, with all six Republicans voting in favor of HB 599 and also in favor of a very similar Senate bill considered earlier in the session. Recent polls have demonstrated overwhelming support for expanding Virginia's educational options, and legislators appear to be noting their constituents' opinions.
The individuals and education organizations who testified on behalf of the legislation represented the largest and strongest coalition of supporters to date. Those testifying in favor of the initiative included Rabbi Hal Klestzick (principal of Rudlin Torah Academy in Richmond), Alberta Wilson (founder and CEO of Faith First), and representatives of the Virginia Catholic Conference, the Family Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Institute, the Virginia Council for Private Education, and the Old Dominion Association of Church Schools. The bill’s sponsor, Delegate James P. Massie, III, worked extremely hard to cultivate as much support for the bill as possible and presented compelling arguments about the financial savings his proposal would provide the state.
The Consortium will continue to work with the Virginia Catholic Conference and its partners to advocate on behalf of Catholic and nonpublic school students and families.
Virginia education tax credit off to a good start in the Virginia General Assembly.January 31, 2010. From the Virginia Catholic Conference: Virginia's Catholic school community provides an invaluable public service to the Commonwealth. Virginia’s 75 Catholic schools currently educate over 27,000 students and save Virginia taxpayers nearly $250 million. Please join thousands of Catholic-school families in urging support for our school community by supporting bills to establish income tax credits for businesses and individuals who make contributions to either public-school foundations or scholarship foundations that assist low-income youth.
Virginia HB 599 and SB 133 would establish income tax credits for contributions to either public-school foundations or scholarship foundations that assist low-income youth. These bills would benefit both public- and nonpublic-school communities and, at the same time, would ensure that nonpublic schools are affordable for more children whose parents need financial assistance – providing significant assistance to parents and school communities at a minimal cost to the state.
A slightly modified version Delegate Massie’s HB 599 was approved by a House Finance subcommittee on January 29 by a 4-0 vote. The bill now heads to the full House Finance committee to be approved and then sent to the House Appropriations committee.
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