Now, Layne estimates the state will return about $390 million to 2.5 million taxpayers this year, including $110.2 million to more than 900,000 Virginians earning less than $50,000 a year.

The state will seek to begin issuing the refunds by mid-August, Jones said in response to questions by Del. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, one of five members of the Appropriations Committee who initially opposed the emergency legislation.

“To me, it’s not about the election,” Aird said later. “If you say our people need the relief right away, we should do everything in our power to do that right away.”

The tax legislation also will give future tax relief to nearly 2 million Virginia taxpayers by boosting the standard deduction by 50 percent — from $3,000 to $4,500 for individuals and from $6,000 to $9,000 for married couples — the first increase since 2005 for people who choose not to itemize deductions on their state returns.

The change is expected to save taxpayers an average of $107. For about 931,000 people making under $50,000 a year, the average savings would be $89. In comparison, refunding the unused portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, as Northam and progressive Democrats had urged, would save an average of $240, for about 385,000 people.