Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That §58.1-608.3 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows: §58.1-608.3. Entitlement to certain sales tax revenues. A. As used in this section, the following words and terms have the following meanings, unless some other meaning is plainly intended: "Bonds" means any obligations of a municipality for the payment of money. "Cost," as applied to any public facility or to extensions or additions to any public facility, includes: (i) the purchase price of any public facility acquired by the municipality or the cost of acquiring all of the capital stock of the corporation owning the public facility and the amount to be paid to discharge any obligations in order to vest title to the public facility or any part of it in the municipality; (ii) expenses incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of the public facility; (iii) the cost of plans and specifications, surveys and estimates of costs and of revenues; (iv) the cost of all land, property, rights, easements and franchises acquired; (v) the cost of improvements, property or equipment; (vi) the cost of engineering, legal and other professional services; (vii) the cost of construction or reconstruction; (viii) the cost of all labor, materials, machinery and equipment; (ix) financing charges; (x) interest before and during construction and for up to one year after completion of construction; (xi) start-up costs and operating capital; (xii) payments by a municipality of its share of the cost of any multijurisdictional public facility; (xiii) administrative expense; (xiv) any amounts to be deposited to reserve or replacement funds; and (xv) other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the financing of the public facility. Any obligation or expense incurred by the public facility in connection with any of the foregoing items of cost may be regarded as a part of the cost. "Municipality" means any county, city, town, authority, commission, or other public entity. "Public facility" means (i) any auditorium,
coliseum, convention center, sports facility that is designed for use primarily
as a baseball stadium for a minor league professional baseball affiliated team
or structures attached thereto, or conference center, which is owned by a
Virginia county, city, town, authority, or other public entity and where
exhibits, meetings, conferences, conventions, seminars, or similar public
events may be conducted; (ii) any hotel which is owned by a foundation whose
sole purpose is to benefit a state-supported university and which is attached
to and is an integral part of such facility, together with any lands reasonably
necessary for the conduct of the operation of such events; (iii) any hotel
which is attached to and is an integral part of such facility; or (iv) any
hotel that is adjacent to a convention center owned by a public entity and
where the hotel owner enters into a public-private partnership whereby the
locality contributes infrastructure, real property, or conference space. However,
such public facility must be located in the City of Hampton, City of Lynchburg,
City of Newport News, City of Norfolk, City of Portsmouth, City of Richmond,
City of Roanoke, City of Salem, City of Staunton, City of Suffolk, City of
Virginia Beach, "Sales tax revenues" means such tax collections
realized under the Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax Act (§58.1-600 et seq.) B. Notwithstanding the definition of "public facility" in subsection A, a development project that meets the requirements for a "development of regional impact" set forth herein shall be deemed to be a public facility under the provisions of this section. The locality in which the public facility is located shall be entitled to all sales tax revenues generated by transactions taking place at such public facility solely to pay the cost of any bonds issued to pay the cost, or portion thereof, of such public facility pursuant to subsection C. For purposes of this subsection, the development of regional impact must be located in the City of Bristol. For purposes of this subsection, a "development of regional impact" means a development project (i) towards which the locality contributes infrastructure or real property as part of a public-private partnership with the developer that is equal to at least 20 percent of the aggregate cost of development, (ii) that is reasonably expected to require a capital investment of at least $50 million, (iii) that is reasonably expected to generate at least $5 million annually in state sales and use tax revenue from sales within the development, (iv) that is reasonably expected to attract at least one million visitors annually, (v) that is reasonably expected to create at least 2,000 permanent jobs, (vi) that is located in a locality that had a rate of unemployment at least three percentage points higher than the statewide average in November 2011, and (vii) that is located in a locality that is adjacent to a state that has adopted a Border Region Retail Tourism Development District Act. Within 30 days from the date of notification by a locality that it intends to contribute infrastructure or real property as part of a public-private partnership with the developer of a development of regional impact, the Department of Taxation shall review the findings of the locality with respect to clauses (i) through (vi) and shall file a written report with the Chairmen of the House Committee on Finance, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance. C. Any municipality which has issued bonds (i) after December
31, 1991, but before January 1, 1996, (ii) on or after January 1, 1998, but
before July 1, 1999, (iii) on or after January 1, 1999, but before July 1,
2001, (iv) on or after July 1, 2000, but before July 1, 2003, (v) on or after
July 1, 2001, but before July 1, 2005, (vi) on or after July 1, 2004, but
before July 1, 2007, (vii) on or after July 1, 2009, but before July 1, 2012, D. Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the pledging of the faith and credit of the Commonwealth of Virginia, or any of its revenues, for the payment of any bonds. Any appropriation made pursuant to this section shall be made only from sales tax revenues derived from the public facility for which bonds may have been issued to pay the cost, in whole or in part, of such public facility. |