As your delegate, I have focused on creating opportunities for all Virginians, and my commitment to our military men and women who bravely serve our country includes the following legislation that I co-patroned during the 2012 and 2013 General Assembly Sessions:

HB1638 Department of Military Affairs; providing of flag to next of kin. Adds the Virginia State Defense Force to the list of organizations that receive state appropriations for presentation of a flag of the Commonwealth to the next of kin of a person who, upon his death, was serving in, or honorably served for a period of 20 years in and retired from, the Virginia State Defense Force. Current law lists the National Guard and the naval militia and recognizes service in the National Guard only.

HB 2331 Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Fund; amount of financial assistance. Specifies that qualified survivors and dependents are eligible for financial assistance from the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Fund in an amount up to $2,000 or as provided in the appropriation act for board and room charges, books and supplies, and other expenses at any public institution of higher education or other public accredited postsecondary institution granting a degree, diploma, or certificate in the Commonwealth. The bill is contingent upon funding in the general appropriation act adopted by the 2013 Session of the General Assembly, which becomes law.

HJ 551 Constitutional amendment (first resolution); real property tax exemption for spouses of soldiers killed in action. Provides that the General Assembly may provide a real property tax exemption for the primary residence of surviving spouses of members of the military who are killed in action. Such tax exemption may not be claimed by a surviving spouse who has remarried.

HB 131 Individual income tax credit; disabled military veterans.  Establishes an individual income tax credit beginning with the 2012 taxable year for veterans with a military service-connected disability. The credit would be computed by multiplying the veteran’s disability rating for the taxable year by the amount of his Virginia individual income tax liability for the year. The veteran’s disability rating would be determined using the disability ratings of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

HB 194 Commercial driver’s licenses.  Requires DMV to consider, to the extent not inconsistent with federal law, applicants’ military training and experience in assessing their eligibility to receive a Virginia commercial driver’s license.

HB 253 Virginia Personnel Act; hiring preference for veterans; surviving spouses and children.  Adds the surviving spouse or child of a veteran killed in the line of duty to the preference in state employment for veterans. The bill defines child to mean a person under the age of 27 years. The bill contains technical amendments.

HB 548 Higher education; active duty military. Requires public institutions of higher education, in accordance with guidelines developed by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, to implement policies that recognize the scheduling difficulties and obligations of active duty military personnel.

HB 640 Public school enrollment; military children.  Clarifies language relating to enrollment of students pursuant to a special power of attorney to correspond to language in the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.

HB 730 Board of Veterans Services; voting by ex officio members.  Grants full voting privileges to the ex officio members of the Board of Veterans Services. Currently, only the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services has voting privileges. As a result of the provisions of the bill, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Veterans Services Foundation and the Chairman of the Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations, or their designees, will have full voting privileges on the Board of Veterans Services.

HB 922 Real property tax exemption for disabled veterans.  Provides that the tax exemption for the primary residence of a disabled veteran, a disabled veteran and his spouse, or a surviving spouse of a disabled veteran includes real property (i) held in a revocable inter vivos trust over which the veteran, the veteran and his spouse, or the surviving spouse hold the power of revocation; (ii) held in an irrevocable trust under which a veteran alone or in conjunction with his spouse possesses a life estate or an estate for joint lives, or enjoys a continuing right of use or support; or (iii) held by a veteran alone or in conjunction with his spouse as tenant or tenants for life or joint lives. The bill also provides that the exemption for the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran includes property held in any of these ways. Finally, the bill establishes a formula for pro rating the amount of the exemption in the event there are owners in addition to the disabled veteran

HB 1057 Elections; military and overseas voters. Improves registration and absentee voting procedures for military and overseas voters; includes authorization for pilot programs for secure electronic ballot delivery and other reforms.

HB 1121 Department of Veterans Services; personnel.  Provides that a ratio of claims agents with the Department of Veterans Services to the number of veterans in the Commonwealth shall be one agent for every 23,000 veterans. Current law requires sufficient staff to maintain a ratio of one claims agent for every 26,212 veterans.

HB 1236 Special license plates; U.S. Army Rangers.  Authorizes the issuance of special license plates to members and former members of the U.S. Army Rangers.

HJ 51 Study; options for accepting military training and experience as satisfying requirements for licensure, certification, or registration as a health care provider; report.  Requests the Department of Health Professions to study options for accepting military training and experience as satisfying requirements for licensure, certification, or registration as a health care provider. In conducting its study, the Department of Health Professions shall review existing state laws governing licensure, certification, and registration of health care providers, compare these requirements to similar Military Occupational Specialties in health care, and develop recommendations for statutory and regulatory changes to allow the Department of Health Professions to accept evidence of military training and experience as satisfying educational and experiential requirements for licensure, certification, or registration as a health care provider in cases in which such training and experience is not currently accepted as satisfying the educational and experiential requirement for licensure, certification, or registration. The Department of Health Professions shall also develop recommendations related to options for increasing awareness among veterans and citizens of the Commonwealth for submitting evidence of military training and experience to satisfy educational and experiential requirements for licensure or certification to practice the arts.

This sales tax holiday offers Virginia residents a chance to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season while getting a break on the sales tax. During this holiday, certain items including: batteries, flashlights, bottled water, and first aid kits will be tax exempt. Some bigger ticket items are also exempt, including generators priced at $1,000 dollars or less. This year, Delegate Villanueva sponsored a bill with Senator Frank Wagner to add gas powered chainsaws under $350 to the exemption list. Delegate Villanueva hope that his constituents will use this sales tax holiday to help support their hurricane preparedness efforts.

For more information about the Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday, visit: www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=HurricanePreparednessEquiptmentHoliday. Please contact Delegate Villanueva’s office (757) 216-3883, if you have any questions about the tax holiday.

As a businessman and an elected official who has a record of results in recruiting, retaining and sustaining jobs in Virginia, Ron understands what it takes to get results for his district and his community.  For his hard work, Virginia Free has recognized Delegate Villanueva along with a bipartisan group of legislators and Governor Bob McDonnell for their efforts in passing the landmark 2013 Transportation Bill, giving them a 100% rating.

“The 2013 Transportation package showcased tremendous leadership, set shining examples of cooperation and compromise…Enactment of the Governor’s signature initiative is a momentous vote that will have far reaching benefits for business growth, job creation, and economic prosperity, “ has stated in Virginia Free’s Report.”

In addition to the VA Free Report, Delegate Villanueva was awarded the “Champion of Free Enterprise” by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

To View the full VA Free Report Card, click HERE

Thank you to Julian Conza for your efforts, Thank you to St. Matthews’ Catholic School and Father John Abe, Principal Goldberg, and Asst. Principal Galvez, faculty and students for welcoming me to your school.

For more on Asthma Awareness Month, visit http://www.epa.gov/asthma/awareness.html

The City of Virginia Beach now offers VBAlert, an emergency alert system that will inform citizens of severe weather and public safety threats by voicemail, email, and text messaging.  According to the City of Virginia Beach’s website, VBAlert, “enables citizens to take immediate action to protect life and property.” VBAlert helps citizens stay safe both at home and on the road.

To learn more about VBAlerts and to begin receiving them, visit: https://vbalert.vbgov.com/index.php?CCheck=1