RICHMOND — A Virginia House panel on Wednesday advanced bills that would allocate about $40 million for grants that some of the state’s most powerful business, education and government interests are touting as a boon to regional economic growth.

The initiative, called GO Virginia, would set up a state board to establish regional councils that can apply for money for projects, such as job training centers. A second program would give cities and counties that work together up to half of the income tax revenue from new jobs they have a hand in creating.

Image: Governor Terry McAuliffe(D) (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post)