Author: VFB Governmental Relations

2025 General Assembly Update: Week 5

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It’s Week Five of the General Assembly! Session’s “halftime” or Crossover occurred on Tuesday, where fewer than half of the introduced bills survived. The House and Senate chambers also approved their respective budgets this week. Next, each chamber will convene a committee of conference to work out any differences between the two bills. We expect budget conferees to be named by the middle of next week. Watch the video for key developments from this pivotal legislative week. 

2025 General Assembly Update: Week 3

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This week, much of our focus is on energy. We continue to stress to our legislators is that our lands are a finite resource. As the Commonwealth works up against the clock to meet the goals of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, Virginia Farm Bureau continues to advocate for the siting of solar facilities on existing infrastructure instead of farm- and forestland.

We are filming at the General Assembly today as things are really heating up with only one more week until Crossover. Legislators have until February 4 to get their bills passed through their home chamber, so everyone’s working overtime. A special shout-out to Delegate Webert for letting us use his conference room when there wasn’t enough time to get back to the office to film!

2025 General Assembly Update: Week 2

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Week Two of the General Assembly is in the books, and things are picking up steam. Committees and subcommittees are now meeting regularly to discuss bills, and several we had an eye on were heard this week. Looking ahead, we’ve got Legislative Day coming up on Monday, February 3. Next week, we will catch up on solar, data centers and water issues.

2025 General Assembly Update: Week 1

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The 2025 Virginia General Assembly session started on January 8 with an unexpected snag when a Richmond water treatment plant outage forced a brief recess until January 13. Despite this delay, the 45-day session remains on track for substantive legislative work, even if it means weekend sessions.

This session is particularly significant because it’s Governor Youngkin’s final one, with all 100 House seats and three statewide offices — Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General — up for election this fall. On December 18, Youngkin presented his budget amendments for 2024-2026. While we’re pleased to see several Farm Bureau priorities included, we’re still pursuing additional funding for key programs. Tune in for more updates.

Corporate Transparency Act Deadline is December 31, 2024

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*This is an evolving situation. Please visit the link at the bottom of this article for timely updates.

Last update on December 27, 2024:

On December 26, the merits panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the stay on the injunction that it had issued on December 23, 2024, when a motions panel granted the government’s request to reinstate the BOI filing deadline.

Based on the court’s latest action, there is no longer a filing deadline for the submission of Beneficial Ownership Information to the FinCEN (either the 12/31 original deadline or the 1/13/25 extended deadline offered by FinCEN after the original appellate decision.)

Given the last-minute back and forth of the legal rulings affecting the deadline, business owners subject to the filing deadline should continue to gather the necessary information and be prepared to file. However, for now, the original decision by the federal district court to place an injunction on the filing deadline has been reinstated, and there is no current requirement to file BOI by a date certain on the books. The appeal of the district court decision remains expedited, and the appeals court could reverse itself again in the coming days pending the outcomes of the arguments in the case.

If you are a small business owner who needs to file, head to the link below, follow the instructions on e-filing, and be patient. The portal will likely be overwhelmed with millions of businesses now trying to file in the final week of the year.

FinCEN – Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Website
Order Vacating the Stay

In light of a December 23, 2024, federal Court of Appeals decision, reporting companies, except as indicated below, are once again required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN. However, because the Department of the Treasury recognizes that reporting companies may need additional time to comply given the period when the preliminary injunction had been in effect, they have extended the reporting deadline as follows:

  • Reporting companies that were created or registered prior to January 1, 2024 have until January 13, 2025 to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN. (These companies would otherwise have been required to report by January 1, 2025.)
  • Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after September 4, 2024 that had a filing deadline between December 3, 2024 and December 23, 2024 have until January 13, 2025 to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN.
  • Reporting companies created or registered in the United States on or after December 3, 2024 and on or before December 23, 2024 have an additional 21 days from their original filing deadline to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN.
  • Reporting companies that qualify for disaster relief may have extended deadlines that fall beyond January 13, 2025. These companies should abide by whichever deadline falls later.
  • Reporting companies that are created or registered in the United States on or after January 1, 2025 have 30 days to file their initial beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN after receiving actual or public notice that their creation or registration is effective.
  • As indicated in the alert titled “Notice Regarding National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-01448 (N.D. Ala.)”, Plaintiffs in National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-01448 (N.D. Ala.)—namely, Isaac Winkles, reporting companies for which Isaac Winkles is the beneficial owner or applicant, the National Small Business Association, and members of the National Small Business Association (as of March 1, 2024)—are not currently required to report their beneficial ownership information to FinCEN at this time.
  • On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, in the case of Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al., No. 4:24-cv-00478 (E.D. Tex.), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, issued an order granting a nationwide preliminary injunction. On December 23, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a stay of the district court’s preliminary injunction enjoining the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) entered in the case of Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland, pending the outcome of the Department of the Treasury’s ongoing appeal of the district court’s order. Texas Top Cop Shop is only one of several cases that have challenged the CTA pending before courts around the country. Several district courts have denied requests to enjoin the CTA, ruling in favor of the Department of the Treasury. The government continues to believe—consistent with the conclusions of the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia and the District of Oregon—that the CTA is constitutional. For that reason, the Department of Justice, on behalf of the Department of the Treasury, filed a Notice of Appeal on December 5, 2024 and separately sought of stay of the injunction pending that appeal with the district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

FinCEN – Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Website