We’ve
got a slow beginning to this year’s legislative session. Usually by this time – only one day out –
we’re reviewing thousands of proposals to see if they impact our members and/or
industry. At this point only a couple
hundred bills in total have been made public and for a long session, we know
that this simply is too good to be true.
It’s possible but not probable that a long session will NOT generate a
lot of proposals.
Having
said that I’ve attached our legislative table with a couple of pieces of legislation that we’re tracking at the
moment. We’ve noted a couple of company
sponsored bills and one from the Bureau of Insurance although we’re aware of
much more to come. We’ve noted a
drafting error on IIAV’s Bill – SB 47 – Certificates of Insurance that needs to
be corrected. Once the session starts we
can get this cleared up in the nature of a substitute. We STILL don’t have a bill number for our
certificate legislation in the House which will be introduced by Delegate Tom
Rust.
Of
course, what good would a legislative session be without some odd strange bills
– that clearly reflect the urgent needs of today. So far my nomination is bi-partisan – one
from a Republican and another from a Democrat.
HB19 – Introduced by Delegate Terry Kilgore provides for an income tax
deduction that shall not exceed $8,000 if you contract to have your cremated remains
sent into space on a commercial space flight.
The bill is effective for taxable years beginning January 1, 2013 but
before January 1. 2021. – This leave so very many questions……
Then
there’s
HB124 – Introduced by Delegate Joe Morrissey which imposes a tax of 20 cents
on plastic bags used in stores. There
are exemptions in the bill for bags used for ice cream, meat, fish, poultry,
leftover restaurant food….and retailers are allowed to retain some of these
fees if they have a “customer bag credit program.” Oh yes, there are fines for retailers who
fail to collect and remit the tax. I’m just
wondering what I’m going to use for my dog walks if this passes.
So
we’ll follow up with future reports to keep you informed and this is our first
ever legislative “blog” which will allow you to comment on some of the
information we report. We hope you like
this blog effort.
Finally….don’t
forget to register for the Insurance Day on the Hill. We very much need
your attendance and support this year both on the health side and the property
casualty side. I look forward to seeing
you in Richmond…..
With
that said…Let the “games” begin. The
2012 Legislative Session begins on Wednesday, January 11.
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