Please support HB 1299. This bill is a compassionate bill that recognizes the life lost in a stillbirth is a member of a family, It is a rational bill that will help families facing the tragic early death of one of their children face financial burdens after such an unexpected birth and death. Please support this simple step to assist grieving families in fairness. Please move to report.

I write to share our family's enthusiastic support of HB2199. We lost a full-term baby boy to stillbirth in October of 2011. Among the many aspects of grief over losing this dearly longed-for child, one that stood out was the lack of any acknowledgment of his existence and personhood. He never took a breath or opened his eyes as his cord was wrapped around his leg 9 times and hours before he was born, his little heart stopped beating. I delivered an 8 lb 1 ounce boy who was perfectly healthy otherwise. We dressed him in the little lion onesie we had planned to bring him home in. His 5 siblings held him and we passed him around so family and friends could share in our joy and devastating heartbreak. As we tried to heal, I recall how very much I longed for the world to know that this wonderful little person was, and though he was no more on this side of heaven, he changed our lives and hearts forever. The state required us by law to bury him (or at least to "take care" of his remains). We bought a teeny casket and, after a funeral where 200 people came to help us remember him, buried him in a cemetery off Arlington Blvd. in Falls Church. We would have, of course, done this anyway, but it struck me how handling our little boy's body was required by the state but when they wheeled me out of the delivery ward to our very empty car where the little car seat we wouldn't need sat all buckled in, I asked the nurse about the birth certificate. She explained kindly we would not receive any such paper for a fetal demise. Ok, I said, surely we could get a death certificate? Some sort of paper acknowledging the state that required us to make decisions about his body would at least give us that? No. She explained that in cases of fetal demise, no such paper would be given either. Moving on without the baby boy we desperately wanted to join our family was hard enough, but I assure you that a bill like HB2199 would have been such an act of compassionate comfort to our broken hearted band. It would have shown us that the state acknowledges our Robert's existence and worth. We still had to pay all the hospital bills associated with delivering a baby. We bought a casket. We bought a cemetery plot. We paid for a few sessions with a grief counselor so Mom could go on caring for her other children and feel like getting out of bed each day. Thank you Del. Head for bringing this forward for families like ours. I assure you we are not alone. Stillbirth deaths outnumber SIDS by almost 10 to 1. I urge all delegates to support this measure which would bring them more comfort than I can begin to express. Thank you all for your service to the people of our commonwealth and for considering my family's views on HB2199. Carie and Dennis Stephens & Robert's siblings: Charlie, Hazel, America, Lacy, DIxon, and Jasper

Please pass a tax break for parents who have suffered the loss of their child. These parents have spent a considerable amount of money preparing for and delivering their child and this seems the least we can provide for them.

People shouldn't have to pay for shoddy teaching. The money should go to where the student is. Competition is good for the kids, not for political party posturing.

Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. I am Rick Oertel and today I am primarily representing The American Legion Department of Virginia. HB2337 grants a tax subtraction of their retirement pay to the poorest of military retirees who became 100% and permanently disabled as a result of their service to this country in uniform. Most of these retirees served for 20 or more years and now are living at the poverty level. This bill has a history going back until at least 2016 and has been a Joint Leadership Council priority since 2018 (2018-04, 2019-02, 2020-03) and this year is our number 1 priority. Last year an identical bill patroned by Delegate Helmer sailed through House committees and passed unanimously but failed to clear the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. That Committee did however recognize the merits of this bill and its companion bill patroned by Senator Reeves as they were continued to 2021 for further study by a special subcommittee to look at and prioritize military and veteran tax policy bills. Mr. Chairman, as the representative of The American Legion Department of Virginia and as a member of the DAV, VFW, and MOAA I ask along with the other members of the Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations that you report Del Wiley’s bill. Thank you.

HB2337 - I represent the Fleet Reserve Association to the Joint Leadership Council which consist of 25 Veteran Service Organizations representing over 250,00 Veterans in the Commonwealth of Virginia. OBJECTIVE: To allow individual income tax subtraction for the amount of annual retirement compensation received for service as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, or the Virginia National Guard, for 100% service-connected disabled veterans with a federal adjusted gross income not exceeding 150% of the federal poverty level for a four-person household. BACKGROUND:  Virginia currently allows qualifying taxpayers to claim a subtraction for up to $20,000 of disability income;  As of September 30 2019, there were 3,200 retired service members (Regular & Reserve) in Virginia receiving taxable disability (Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments, or CRDP) in the average amount of $21,296;  As of September 30, 2019, there were 1,712 retired service members (Regular & Reserve) in Virginia receiving non-taxable disability (Combat-Related Special Compensation, or CRSC) in the average amount of $9,470;  As of September 30, 2019, there were a total of 150,146 Department of Defense (DoD) military retirees in Virginia with average annual compensation of $37,163;  In 2018, 12.88% of all disabled veterans in Virginia were rated at 100%;  The federal poverty level for a four-person household for 2020 is $26,200;  Median household income in Virginia for 2018 was $72,577;  9.3% of households in Virginia were below the poverty level in 2018-2019;  All neighboring states exempt some or all military retirement from taxation. DISCUSSION:  While CRSC is not subject to federal or Virginia taxation, CRDP is generally subject to both federal and Virginia taxation;  Available reports do not provide specific data how many of the 4,912 retired service members receiving disability that are 100% service-connected disabled and below the poverty level, but the number is expected to be a small;  Department of Taxation considers implementation of this bill as routine and does not require additional funding;  No subtraction would be permitted if another Virginia subtraction or deduction for such service has been claimed. RECOMMENDATION: That the Governor and General Assembly approve an individual income tax subtraction for 100% service-connected disabled veterans with a federal adjusted gross income, not exceeding 150% of the federal poverty level for a four-person household, who have not already claimed another exemption.

With over 150,000 retiree service members in the Commonwealth, it would be fiscally prudent to retain and encourage them to remain as Virginia residents. All neighboring states exempt some or all military retirement from taxation. This legislation is an effort to supplement those veterans who are service-connected 100% disabled and still below the poverty level. Though the numbers of affected veterans may be small, the message that Virginia values all veterans is significant. JLC supports this Bill.

VACo has historically supported looking to the state income tax as a mechanism to provide assistance to veterans with disabilities in an equitable way, since such tax relief would assist veterans who are not property owners as well as those veterans who do own real or personal property, and the revenue impact would be spread among all Virginia income taxpayers. We would encourage consideration of this approach rather than further expansions of property tax exemptions.

The American Legion Department of Virginia fully supports this bill which exempts military retirement pay of impoverished veterans who became 100% permently disabled as a result of their service from taxation. We believe the fiscal impact computed for this bill is high as our estimate show less that 650 veterans in Virginia who would potentially qualify without even applying the 150% policy level. Given that many of these veterans are over 65 and are collecting social security (which is taxable) it is likely that even fewer would meet the poverty level stipulated in this bill. This bill was passed unanimously by the House last year (Del Helmer - HB1619) and was continued to 2021 by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee along with the companion bill in the Senate (Sen Reeves - SB 456).

As a representative of the Fleet Reserve Association to the Joint Leadership Council, that consists of 25 Veteran Service Organizations representing 250,000 Veterans in the Commonwealth of Virginia, we support this bill. OBJECTIVE: To allow individual income tax subtraction for the amount of annual retirement compensation received for service as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, or the Virginia National Guard, for 100% service-connected disabled veterans with a federal adjusted gross income not exceeding 150% of the federal poverty level for a four-person household. BACKGROUND:  Virginia currently allows qualifying taxpayers to claim a subtraction for up to $20,000 of disability income;  As of September 30 2019, there were 3,200 retired service members (Regular & Reserve) in Virginia receiving taxable disability (Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments, or CRDP) in the average amount of $21,296;  As of September 30, 2019, there were 1,712 retired service members (Regular & Reserve) in Virginia receiving non-taxable disability (Combat-Related Special Compensation, or CRSC) in the average amount of $9,470;  As of September 30, 2019, there were a total of 150,146 Department of Defense (DoD) military retirees in Virginia with average annual compensation of $37,163;  In 2018, 12.88% of all disabled veterans in Virginia were rated at 100%;  The federal poverty level for a four-person household for 2020 is $26,200;  Median household income in Virginia for 2018 was $72,577;  9.3% of households in Virginia were below the poverty level in 2018-2019;  All neighboring states exempt some or all military retirement from taxation. DISCUSSION:  Available reports do not provide specific data how many of the 4,912 retired service members receiving disability that are 100% service-connected disabled and below the poverty level, but the number is expected to be a small;  Department of Taxation considers implementation of this bill as routine and does not require additional funding;  No subtraction would be permitted if another Virginia subtraction or deduction for such service has been claimed