Confederate heritage. Youngkin dodged a couple of Confederate-related issues — one related to tax exemptions and the other to license plates — sending both topics to next year for further action and study. One pair of identical bills — HB568 and SB517 — would strip away exemptions from state recordation taxes and real and personal property taxes for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society and the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Inc. A Virginia Beach high school student brought the issue to the General Assembly after her lawyer father discovered the obscure part of state law. The measures passed on largely party-line votes, with all Democrats in favor and most Republicans opposed.
Youngkin proposed amending the bills to require the state tax department to study local impact and the General Assembly to consider them again next year. Del. Alex Q. Askew (D-Virginia Beach), who sponsored the House version, called Youngkin’s action “unacceptable” on the site X. “This is about fairness & fiscal responsibility,” Askew wrote. “We shouldn’t delay aligning our code with our values & vision for the Commonwealth.”
Youngkin also proposed amending HB812, sponsored by Del. Candi Mundon King (D-Prince William), which would ban further issuance of state license plates commemorating the Sons of Confederate Veterans or Gen. Robert E. Lee. The governor wants the state to study whether to set a “sunset” or expiration period for all commemorative plates and for the General Assembly to revisit this bill next year. “I’m not surprised Governor Youngkin won’t stand up to Confederate sympathizers,” Mundon King posted on X.
darryll k. jones