by Danielle Finley, Associate Director of Political Engagement
Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of Public Policy Issues and Headlines. In this Issue: 1. Opportunity Zones could get a big makeover under tax proposal 2. House Republicans move closer to SALT deal, Johnson says 3. ‘I love my job’: Miyares fighting for second term as Virginia attorney general 4. Republicans prioritize data centers in attempt to flip House seat in Prince William County 5. Dominion proposes cuts to credit for homes’ solar panels
By ANDY MEDICI, Washington Business Journal
The Opportunity Zone program introduced during President Donald Trump's first term would, under a new proposal, get a substantial extension and a new focus on rural areas. The much-awaited Republican tax plan was released Monday in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation, which some estimates peg at having a cost of around $4.9 trillion over the next 10 years, is the opening gambit in what is likely to be a push-and-pull of competing priorities, as Republicans attempt to marshal the votes they need to pass the bill in both the House and the Senate before sending it to the White House.
By MEREDITH LEE HILL, Politico
Speaker Mike Johnson says he’s closer to ending a politically charged standoff over a key tax provision that is one of the major hang-ups standing in the way of the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill.” House GOP leaders and the so-called SALT Republicans from high-tax blue states are discussing ways to further boost the limitation on the state and local tax deduction. They’re discussing using the additional fiscal space from the GOP’s tax bill coming in underneath a $4 trillion cost target, according to two Republicans with direct knowledge of the matter.
By KATE NUECHTERLEIN, WVIR-TV
Now fewer than six months from election day, Attorney General Jason Miyares is fighting to keep the position he has held for the past three and a half years for another four. As the sole Republican vying for the position, Miyares says he wants to keep Virginia on track. That’s why, he told 29News, instead of chasing the Governor’s office, he’s hoping to stay on as the Commonwealth’s top lawyer. “For me, candidly, it was an easy decision, because I love serving in this role,” Miyares said. “I love my job. I love what I do every day.”
By CHRISTIAN FLORES, WJLA-TV
With just a little more than a month left in their primary election campaigns, Sahar Smith and Gregory Lee Gorham are focusing their campaigns on data centers and taxes in an attempt to represent Republicans come November and flip Prince William County-based House District 21, one of the few Virginia House of Delegates swing districts in the region. ... State Del. Joshua Thomas currently represents this district and is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for his second term.
By DAVE RESS, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Dominion Energy wants to cut the credit that customers with solar panels on their rooftops can get on their monthly power bills, a move that could make installing them less attractive to homeowners and businesses. Dominion currently values electricity flowing from residential rooftop solar panels at about 14 cents per kilowatt hour. The company proposes dropping this credit to 9.553 cents per kilowatt hour, the rate the utility pays for solar power from large-scale facilities. ... The proposal also is likely to spark one of the biggest clashes at the State Corporation Commission this year because it makes the economics of installing solar panels a lot more challenging, said Josephus Allmond, a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit that aims to protect ratepayers and the environment.