Virginia Law

The Joint Subcommittee to Evaluate Tax Preferences (the Joint Subcommittee) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Joint Subcommittee is to oversee the evaluation of Virginia's tax preferences, including but not limited to tax credits, deductions, subtractions, exemptions, and exclusions.

2012, c. 777.

The Joint Subcommittee shall have a total membership of 14 legislative members that shall consist of eight members of the House of Delegates and six members of the Senate. Members shall be appointed as follows: eight members of the House of Delegates, of which six shall be members of the House Committee on Finance and two shall be members of the House Committee on Appropriations to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, upon the recommendation of the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, respectively; and six members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, upon the recommendation of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

Members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Members may be reappointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

The Joint Subcommittee shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership.

A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The meetings of the Joint Subcommittee shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.

No recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the Joint Subcommittee (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Joint Subcommittee.

Members of the Joint Subcommittee shall receive such compensation and shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses as provided in the general appropriation act.

2012, c. 777.

The Joint Subcommittee shall have the following powers and duties:

1. Undertake a systematic review of Virginia's tax preferences;

2. Adopt a schedule for reviewing tax preferences based upon program areas to which the preferences relate;

3. Establish procedures and performance measures to evaluate the effectiveness of tax preferences;

4. Request that the Governor direct Department of Taxation staff conduct independent evaluations of tax preferences in promoting economic activity, generating revenue, or otherwise achieving their intended policy purpose and report the findings to the Joint Subcommittee;

5. Recommend a process and guidelines for establishing expiration dates for tax preferences; and

6. Submit an annual report to the General Assembly and the Governor of its recommendations, including which tax preferences should be continued, expanded, modified, or eliminated.

The Joint Subcommittee is authorized to establish a technical advisory group to assist the work of the Joint Subcommittee and Department of Taxation staff by providing additional guidance and reviewing evaluations conducted by the Department. The technical advisory group shall include individuals with tax policy or economic expertise and legislative staff.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates. Legal, research, policy analysis, and other services requested by the Joint Subcommittee shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. Technical assistance shall be provided by the staffs of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

The chairman shall submit to the General Assembly and the Governor an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Joint Subcommittee no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.

2012, c. 777.