Virginia Code 58.1-2289: Disposition of tax revenue generally.
A. Unless otherwise provided in this section, all taxes and fees, including civil penalties, collected by the Commissioner pursuant to this chapter, less a reasonable amount to be allocated for refunds, shall be promptly paid into the state treasury and shall constitute special funds within the Commonwealth Transportation Fund. Any balances remaining in these funds at the end of the year shall be available for use in subsequent years for the purposes set forth in this chapter, and any interest income on such funds shall accrue to these funds.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 58.1-2289
- Alternative fuel: means a combustible gas, liquid or other energy source that can be used to generate power to operate a highway vehicle and that is neither a motor fuel nor electricity used to recharge an electric motor vehicle or a hybrid electric motor vehicle. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Blended fuel: means a mixture composed of gasoline or diesel fuel and another liquid, other than a de minimis amount of a product such as carburetor detergent or oxidation inhibitor, that can be used as a fuel in a highway vehicle. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Commercial watercraft: means a watercraft employed in the business of commercial fishing, transporting persons or property for compensation or hire, or any other trade or business unless the watercraft is used in an activity of a type generally considered entertainment, amusement, or recreation. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles, acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Diesel fuel: means any liquid that is suitable for use as a fuel in a diesel-powered highway vehicle or watercraft. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Fuel: includes motor fuel and alternative fuel. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Gasohol: means a blended fuel composed of gasoline and fuel grade ethanol. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Gasoline: means (i) all products that are commonly or commercially known or sold as gasoline and are suitable for use as a fuel in a highway vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft, other than products that have an American Society for Testing Materials octane number of less than 75 as determined by the motor method; (ii) a petroleum product component of gasoline, such as naphtha, reformate, or toluene; (iii) gasohol; and (iv) fuel grade ethanol. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Use: means the actual consumption or receipt of motor fuel by any person into a highway vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
- Watercraft: means any vehicle used on waterways. See Virginia Code 58.1-2201
The Governor is hereby authorized to transfer out of such fund an amount necessary for the inspection of gasoline and motor grease measuring and distributing equipment, and for the inspection and analysis of gasoline for purity.
B. The tax collected on each gallon of aviation fuel sold and delivered or used in this Commonwealth, less refunds, shall be paid into a special fund of the state treasury. Proceeds of this special fund within the Commonwealth Transportation Fund shall be disbursed upon order of the Department of Aviation, on warrants of the Comptroller, to defray the cost of the administration of the laws of this Commonwealth relating to aviation, for the construction, maintenance and improvement of airports and landing fields to which the public now has or which it is proposed shall have access, and for the promotion of aviation in the interest of operators and the public generally.
C. One-half cent of the tax collected on each gallon of fuel on which a refund has been paid for gasoline, gasohol, diesel fuel, blended fuel, or alternative fuel, for fuel consumed in tractors and unlicensed equipment used for agricultural purposes shall be paid into a special fund of the state treasury, known as the Virginia Agricultural Foundation Fund, to be disbursed to make certain refunds and defray the costs of the research and educational phases of the agricultural program, including supplemental salary payments to certain employees at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Virginia Truck and Ornamentals Research Station, including reasonable expenses of the Virginia Agricultural Council.
D. One and one-half cents of the tax collected on each gallon of fuel used to propel a commercial watercraft upon which a refund has been paid shall be paid to the credit of the Game Protection Fund of the state treasury to be made available to the Board of Wildlife Resources until expended for the purposes provided generally in subsection C of § 29.1-701, including acquisition, construction, improvement and maintenance of public boating access areas on the public waters of this Commonwealth and for other activities and purposes of direct benefit and interest to the boating public and for no other purpose. However, one and one-half cents per gallon on fuel used by commercial fishing, oystering, clamming, and crabbing boats shall be paid to the Department of Transportation to be used for the construction, repair, improvement and maintenance of the public docks of this Commonwealth used by said commercial watercraft. Any expenditures for the acquisition, construction, improvement and maintenance of the public docks shall be made according to a plan developed by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
From the tax collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter from the sales of gasoline used for the propelling of watercraft, after deduction for lawful refunds, there shall be paid into the state treasury for use by the Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, the State Water Control Board, and the Commonwealth Transportation Board to (i) improve the public docks as specified in this section, (ii) improve commercial and sports fisheries in Virginia’s tidal waters, (iii) make environmental improvements including, without limitation, fisheries management and habitat enhancement in the Chesapeake and its tributaries, and (iv) further the purposes set forth in § 33.2-1510, a sum as established by the General Assembly.
E. All remaining revenue shall be deposited into the Commonwealth Transportation Fund established pursuant to § 33.2-1524.
2000, cc. 729, 758; 2007, c. 896; 2013, c. 766; 2015, c. 684; 2018, cc. 854, 856; 2020, cc. 958, 1230, 1275.