In breaking news from Richmond, we appear well on our way to amending the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (Va. Code 8.01-216.1 et seq.) to incorporate the changes made by Congress.
Today, Del. Greg Habeeb re-amended SB 1262 to fix the slight problem that arose in the Senate; the Senate amendments arose through a misunderstanding.
Here is what happened: SB 1262 was amended in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee to add five words to line 63; at the same time, it removed those same words from another location in the statute. The amendments would have a very negative outcome for the Commonwealth and would more or less defeat the purpose of the VFATA.
Specifically, in the Senate committee Va. Code § 8.01-216.3(A)(1) was changed from “Any person who [engages in one of the seven prohibited acts]” to “Any person who, intending to defraud the Commonwealth [engages in one of the seven prohibited acts].”
So, after the cross-over day (which occurred last week) the House got SB 1262 in the amended form. Del. Habeeb’s change of the bill back to the original amendment was voted out of the Courts of Justice Committee by a 14-0 vote, and will now be headed to the full House.
So, we are headed in the right direction folks! Stay tuned…