Public school funding; composite index of local ability-to-pay; calculation.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details about how excluding certain properties will impact overall school funding or if other types of property might be excluded in the future.

Public School Funding; Excluding Certain Property from Local Ability-to-Pay Calculation

This bill changes how Virginia calculates the funding for public schools by excluding certain exempt property when determining each school division's ability to pay.

What This Bill Does

• Changes the way Virginia calculates how much money each school district can contribute to its own education budget.
• Excludes from this calculation any real estate that is tax-exempt because it belongs to veterans with severe service-related disabilities or surviving spouses of military members who died in duty, starting on July 1, 2026.

Who It Names or Affects

• School districts across Virginia
• Veterans and their families whose property is tax-exempt

Terms To Know

Composite index of local ability-to-pay

A measure used to determine how much money a school district can contribute towards its education budget.

Excludable exempt real property

Real estate that is not taxed because it belongs to veterans with severe service-related disabilities or surviving spouses of military members who died in duty.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how excluding certain properties will affect overall school funding.
• It's unclear if there are other types of property that might be excluded in the future.

Official Summary Text

Public school funding; composite index of local ability-to-pay; calculation; exclusion of certain exempt property.
Provides that on and after July 1, 2026, the calculation for the composite index of local ability-to-pay for each school division, after determining and weighting the true value of real property, adjusted gross income, and taxable retail sales in such school division, shall exclude the value of any real property within the school division that is exempt from real property tax due to its ownership by either (i) a veteran who has a 100 percent service-connected, permanent, and total disability or (ii) a surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces who died in the line of duty, before adjusting each school division's share to maintain an overall statewide local share of 45 percent and an overall state share of 55 percent.

Current Bill Text

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
22.1-98.3
, relating to public school funding; composite index of local ability-to-pay; calculation; exclusion of certain exempt property.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
22.1-98.3
as follows:

§
22.1-98.3
. Composite index of local ability-to-pay; calculation
; exclusion of certain
exempt property
.

A.
As used in this section:

"Exclud
able
exempt
real
property" means
the true value of all
real property
that
was exempt from
taxation
in
the most recent
tax year

pursuant to §
58.1-3219.5
or
58.1-3219.9
.

"Tax year" means the 12-month period beginning in the calendar year for which real property taxes are imposed.

B.
On and after July 1, 2026, t
o calculate the composite index of local ability-to-pay for each school division, a
fter
determining and weighting the true value of
real property, adjusted gross income, and taxable retail sales
in such school division, the Department shall exclude the value
s
of
any
excludable exempt real property
within the school division
,

before adjusting each school division's
share
to maintain an overall statewide local share of 45 percent and an overall state share of 55 percent.