Anticipated Homestead Exemption Bill Moves to Full Senate
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A Virginia Senate committee voted yesterday for a tax-relief proposal that would allow local governments to give homeowners as much as a 20 percent break on real estate assessments.
By a vote of 11 to 4, the Privileges and Elections Committee sent the bill to the full Senate.
Lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate touted their support of the homestead exemption proposal during last year's legislative session and the fall campaign. But this year, several Republicans have expressed concerns after a lobbying blitz by the powerful business community, which says the tax burden would be shifted to the commercial sector.
The homestead exemption is expected to be popular in Northern Virginia, where tax bills have more than doubled for some residents in the past several years. It could save the owner of a typical home hundreds of dollars a year.
-- Anita Kumar
Sunday Limits on Liquor Stores
The Virginia Senate has passed legislation allowing more liquor stores to open on Sundays. The House has approved the bill, which now goes to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).
State-run liquor stores are allowed to open on Sundays in Northern Virginia, Virginia Beach and Norfolk. Legislation by Del. Thomas D. Gear (R-Hampton) would expand that authority to his home town as well as Portsmouth, Newport News, Chesapeake and Richmond.
-- Associated Press
