NORFOLK, Va. — Governor Glenn Youngkin halted a bill that would stop tax exemptions for a series of organizations that have ties to the Confederacy.
Since the 1950's organizations such as the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the General Organization of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Confederate Memorial Literary Society have been exempt from paying real estate and property taxes.
Two identical bills in both the Senate and House filed by Sen. Angelia Williams Graves (D-Norfolk) and Del. Alex Askew (D-Virginia Beach) sought to change that. The measure later passed both the House and Senate.
In a scathing reply, Jinny Widowski called the measure 'discriminatory' and that it selectively targeted the historical entities that support Virginia tourism.
Widowski said in a statement: "The continued harassment of our ladies and our mission will not deter us from the charitable work that we do. The General Assembly of Virginia is the entity that required us to exist when they asked our ancestors to go to war and defend their borders."
But others are pushing back.
"I would say that they have twisted what is discriminatory," said Reverent Cozy Bailey, President of the Virginia NAACP. "This is about a service to all people and that the celebration of Confederacy does not serve me or the people that I represent at all."
When the bill ended up on the Governor's desk, he sent it back with several amendments. This includes a study by the Department of Taxation and a request that legislators wait until 2025 to implement any changes.
In a statement from the Governor's Office, Christian Martinez said "The Governor believes a consistent policy should be created so all organizations are granted or denied tax exemption based on the same guidelines."
As it stands these organizations could lose a lot of money, if the original measure is adopted. According to online records, the headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Richmond has a total value of more than 4 million dollars.
Under tax law, the organization could pay well over $50,000 in property taxes alone.
Angelia Williams Graves called the Governor's amendments 'disappointing," and said in a statement quote: "I will continue my mission to make Virginia a more inclusive Commonwealth and that includes not allowing tax exemptions for organizations rooted hatred."
Legislators are set to return to Richmond on April 17 to take up the Governor's amendments and make a decision.