Legislative Support

Latest Legislative Updates: June 12, 2018

2018 Legislative Session
With the override of Governor Roy Cooper's veto of the budget, surveyors have wording  included that offers them the same qualified immunity as engineers when they are operating in a state of emergency.  Representative Dean Arp amended the budget to include the wording found on page 15 of S99.

Letter of Opposition to Virginia's RFP for Unmanned Aerial Systems Projects
The NCSS Board of Directors has written to the Virginia Government Procurement Dept. to support Virginia in their opposition to a recent RFP which encourages unlicensed surveyors to bid on jobs with their UAS.  It also does not take into account The Brooks Act or other states' Mini-Brooks Acts. Click here to read letter.
 

 

2017 Legislative Session
House Bill 454, sponsored by Rep. Dean Arp and Senate Bill 372, sponsored by Senator Wesley Meredith have been filed as companion bills for our GS 47-30 technical corrections rewrite. This proposed legislation also eliminates the antiquated Control Corner laws found in GS 39.32 5(a). We are pleased that, after 3 years of work by the Standards of Practice Committee, the process of becoming law has begun .  
 
 
House Bill 501, sponsored by Rep. Mark Brody has also been filed which will codify the new DOT policy that benefits surveyors by requiring the Department of Transportation to include surveying information in any plans used for acquiring property rights. Charlie Brown, Chad Howard and NCBELS have worked on this wording for a year and believe this will help surveyors by improving their ability to read and interpret DOT maps. 

2016 Legislative Session
Sales Tax Changes
Within the latest state budget, several tax changes were made, including lowering income tax rates for both individuals and businesses and expansion of the sales tax to repair, maintenance and installation services.

Installation, Repairs, and Maintenance

  • Effective March 1, 2016
  • Removes the sales tax exemption for installation charges
  • Expands the sales tax base to include gross receipts from installation, repair, and maintenance services of tangible personal property. Repair, maintenance, and installation services are defined as: 
    • “To keep or attempt to keep tangible personal property or a motor vehicle in working order to avoid breakdown and prevent repairs.breakdown and prevent repairs.
    • To calibrate, restore, or attempt to calibrate or restore tangible personal property or a motor vehicle to proper working order or good condition. This activity may include replacing or putting together what is torn or broken.
    • To troubleshoot, identify, or attempt to identify the source of a problem for the purpose of determining what is needed to restore tangible personal property or a motor vehicle to proper working order or good condition.
    • To install or apply tangible personal property except tangible personal property installed or applied by a real property contractor pursuant to a real property contract.”

Retail Sales/Use Tax & Surveyors
Aside from the recent budgetary tax changes, the existing exemption for the surveying industry as it relates to retail sales and use tax remains intact.

§ 105-164.13. Retail sales and use tax.
The sale at retail and the use, storage, or consumption in this State of the following tangible personal property, digital property, and services are specifically exempted from the tax imposed by this Article:

  • Sales to a professional land surveyor of tangible personal property on which custom aerial survey data is stored in digital form or is depicted in graphic form. Data is custom if it was created to the specifications of the professional land surveyor purchasing the property. A professional land surveyor is a person licensed as a surveyor under Chapter 89C of the General Statutes.

                                                                                                                                                                                              Kerri Burke, VP McGuireWoods Consulting

       *This information is not intended nor should be construed as tax advice. For specific tax questions, please contact the Department of Revenue.                                                                                                                                                                                 

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