As a reminder, Governor Northam has called a Special Session of the General Assembly to begin on August 2nd. There is not currently an end date sate for the Session. The General Assembly will be taking up the Governor’s proposed budget amendments regarding the spending of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funding that Virginia received. They will also be voting on Judges during the Special Session.
VRF will keep you informed as things progress during the Special Session. Please be on the lookout for potential Action Alerts on important issues that could impact the Retail Industry.
VRF’s priority issues will be requesting that the General Assembly use ARPA funds to shore up the Unemployment Trust Fund. If this is done, it will prevent a huge payroll tax increase for all employers across the Commonwealth. Virginia Employment Commission recently reported Virginia businesses’ payroll taxes will quadruple in January 2022. Payroll taxes are expected to soar next year from an average of $90 per employee to $360 per employee. It is critical that the General Assembly invest significant ARPA funds to the Unemployment Trust Fund to prevent this from happening.
The Governor has announced that he would like the General Assembly to invest $862 million of ARPA funds into the Unemployment Trust Fund. See his press release here (Virginia Governor Ralph Northam – July). VRF will work hard to make sure members of the General Assembly understand how important it is to maintain this funding for Virginia’s retailers.
