The Home Stretch


As we approach the conclusion of the 2025 legislative session, I am working to bring a number of my bills over the finish line. This week I wanted to discuss a few pieces of legislation that many of you have written to me about. 


Our Green Priorities 
Energy and a green economy for Virginia’s future is a hot topic that comes up in the General Assembly. My bill on solar interconnection fees, SB 1058, deals with the costs of connecting new solar facilities to the electric grid. Recently, Alexandria Public High School’s new Minnie Howard Campus and the new Douglas MacArthur Elementary School faced unexpected costs of $1.3 million and $105,000 respectively to integrate their new solar installations with the electrical grid due to associated infrastructure upgrade costs assessed by Dominion Energy.


My bill would require the State Corporation Commission to establish a cost sharing program for required system upgrades to interconnect new solar facilities. By spreading interconnection upgrade costs among all new solar installations connected to a particular substation, smaller projects, like those being built by Alexandria City Public Schools, can proceed while still contributing to maintain and upgrade the system. Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Fairfax) has worked hard on the House version of the bill, HB 2266. 


Delegate Rip Sullivan (D-Fairfax) brought us HB 1791, another bill that would help our green economy. This bill creates the Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund, which would allow developers who install electric vehicle charging stations in rural areas to apply for a state grant. We have a growing number of electric vehicles, and easier drives to our state parks and other rural attractions help promote access and protect our environment. 


Tobacco Confiscation From Minors Legislation 
One of the bills requiring the most legwork this session has been my bill, SB 1060, which aims to reduce underage vaping and tobacco use. Delegate Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) is sponsoring the House counterpart, HB 1946. Both bills would allow the confiscation of tobacco and vape products from underage persons and would increase random inspections to prevent sales to minors.


My office has worked with stakeholders from the Department of Taxation, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, and representatives from convenience stores to come to a solution. Inspections are an important tool in deterring sales, but can end up costing as much as $174 per location between ABC agent overtime pay, youth working with law enforcement on these buys, and transportation costs.  


Proposed Casino Legislation
The bill I received the most email on this session was Senator Scott Surovell’s (D-Fairfax) SB 982, which would have allowed the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to hold a referendum regarding the proposed Tyson’s Corner Casino. More than four hundred of my constituents emailed me sharing concerns with this piece of legislation. 


I spoke against and voted against SB 982. It was not requested by Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors, and further, the licensing fee and tax revenue split was not favorable to the county. SB 982 also would not have allowed the county to conduct an independent assessment of where the most appropriate site for the casino and accompanying conference center, entertainment center, and hotel would be located. 


Expanding Fair Elections with Ranked Choice Voting
As we continue working to improve our democracy, I am happy to support SB 1009, sponsored by Senator Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax), a bill that allows elections for any local governing body to be conducted by Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), ensuring that our electoral system more accurately reflects the will of the voters.


Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, rather than being forced to choose just one. If no candidate secures a majority outright, the system eliminates the lowest-performing candidate, reallocating votes based on next-ranked preferences until a winner emerges. This ensures that the winning candidate has broad support and reduces the risk of "spoiler" candidates splitting the vote.


Supporting Affordable Housing
I was happy to support HB 2153 introduced by Delegate Betsy Carr (D-Richmond), a bill that empowers nonprofit organizations to expand access to affordable housing. 
This bill would allow localities to waive certain zoning restrictions, reduce administrative fees, and expedite site plan approvals for nonprofit-led housing projects. By cutting through bureaucratic red tape, we are helping to create a pathway for trusted nonprofit organizations to provide quality, affordable housing for families in need. To ensure long-term affordability, the bill also requires that housing developed under these provisions remains affordable for at least 15 years.


By empowering nonprofits and local governments to work together, we can create real solutions to Virginia’s housing crisis—ensuring that families and individuals have access to safe and stable housing for years to come.


Protecting Veterans from Exploitation
SB 1222 was introduced by Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Orange) and myself. Under this legislation, charges would be capped for veterans who use private application services in seeking to upgrade their VA benefits. The bill would also ensure transparency by requiring that veterans receive clear disclosures about their rights before agreeing to any services.


This piece of legislation would have introduced new protections against fraud and financial exploitation targeting veterans by prohibiting the use of overseas call centers and solicitation of vets during the benefits application process. 
This legislation was a bipartisan effort. Unfortunately the bill did not pass in the House Rules committee, which ended its consideration for this session. I look forward to continuing to work on these protections next year. 


Prescription Drug Affordability 
Finally, Delegate Karrie Delaney (D-Fairfax) has introduced HB 1724, which would establish the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to bring stakeholders together to lower the cost of prescription drugs here in the Commonwealth. This board would conduct a review of the affordability of these drugs and make recommendations to bring down costs by limiting drug payment amounts involving state-regulated programs, and would require nonprofit organizations contracted by the Department of Health to provide more transparency on prescription drug pricing to the board. I cosponsored this bill in previous years. Virginians at large agree the cost of prescription drugs are too high. ​

“Sine die” is the language that marks the end of the regular session of the Virginia General Assembly. The term, originating from Latin, means “without fixing a day for future action or meeting,” and it is the customary phrase uttered by the Clerks of the Senate, and House of Delegates at the conclusion of the annual legislative session.

The term Sine die refers to the fact that the General Assembly is not scheduled to meet again until next year. The exception being, of course, the single day next month — April 17th — that we will reconvene to act on vetoes and amendments from the governor on legislation that we passed during our 60-day session.

While the words Sine die represent a finish line for this year’s session, it marks the beginning of the final chapter of the legislative process. All told, Governor Youngkin received 1,046 bills from the General Assembly this year. As of this writing, he has vetoed eight bills, amended 12, and signed 52 bills into law. The governor must act on all legislation by midnight on April 8th, which is 30 days after adjournment of the General Assembly.

I was encouraged to see the governor’s signature of HB 174 carried by Delegate Rozia Henson, Jr., (D-Woodbridge), which codifies the legal right to marriage between two consenting adults in Virginia, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of the parties. I introduced SB 101, the identical Senate version of the legislation, which received bipartisan support in both the Senate and House of Delegates and which awaits gubernatorial action.

Much will be speculated in the coming weeks about Governor Youngkin’s potential actions on individual bills, and on the state budget. At a hastily-convened press conference outside the Capitol last week, the governor announced his displeasure with the budget passed by the General Assembly. The governor’s chief complaints include: (1) removal from the budget of the proposal to sell state-backed bonds to finance the relocation of two professional sports teams to Alexandria; (2) prohibiting the governor’s effort to repeal Virginia’s corporate polluter tax, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI); and (3) the blocking of the governor’s fiscally irresponsible tax-giveaways to the wealthiest Virginians.

The governor’s vetoes thus far present an unfortunate preview of the actions he could take on bills that await his consideration. In particular, I can only express concern and bewilderment with the governor’s veto of SB 47, carried by Senator Barbara Favola (D-Arlington), and HB 46, carried by Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria), which would better protect family members of individuals who are temporarily prohibited from possessing firearms because they are subject to a protective order or have been convicted of an assault and battery of a family or household member. I hope that the governor will heed the voices of the vast majority of Virginians and not stand in the way of additional state-level protections against gun violence in the coming weeks.

I look forward to updating you on the status of the budget and more than 1,000 bills, including 16 of mine, as we advance toward the April 8th deadline for the governor to act on legislation.

It is my continued honor to serve the residents of the 39th Senate District.

We’re in the final week of the 2024 General Assembly session and we still have much work to do. As of this writing, 785 bills have passed both chambers and are on their way to Governor Youngkin’s desk, while 306 bills await final action by the legislature.

Between now and the legislature’s scheduled adjournment, Sine Die, on Saturday March 9th, the General Assembly must also complete work on the budget that will set Virginia state expenditures for the remainder of this year and the next two fiscal years.

My priorities for Virginia’s budget remain steadfast, including reversing the $300 million cut to public education that was contained in Governor Youngkin’s introduced budget, and increasing our investments in K-12 public education. New funding for Metro is also at the top of my priority list; I encourage the Senate and House budget conferees to provide Metro with needed funding to prevent it from entering a death spiral.

Another issue related to ongoing deliberations over the state budget is Governor Youngkin’s proposal for Potomac Yard. As I have said before, I believe that the Commonwealth’s budget is not the appropriate legislative vehicle to consider the creation of a state authority that would issue bonds to pay for a proposed sports arena for the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals.

I will continue to advocate these and other priorities to the budget conferees and I look forward to seeing them embraced in the final compromise agreement when it is released later this week. Under rules adopted by both the Senate and the House of Delegates, the budget must be finalized in time to provide legislators with at least 48 hours to review the compromise prior to their voting on it.

​Once the General Assembly votes on the budget, it will be transmitted to the governor. In addition to the ability to sign, amend, or veto individual bills, Virginia governors may take similar action on the state budget bills after they are passed by the General Assembly. In fact, past governors have in some instances proposed extensive amendments to the budget after it reaches his desk – actions that are either approved or rejected by the General Assembly when we return to Richmond for Reconvened Session scheduled for April 17, 2024.

​It is my continued honor to serve the residents of the 39th Senate District.

With the last two weeks of session finally upon us in Richmond, the Senate and House are hard at work. More than 400 bills have passed through both chambers, and more than 700 are still under consideration. In the waning days of the session, the bills passed by the Senate and House will be transmitted to Governor Youngkin. 

The governor has provided little in the way of a preview of what legislative actions he may take, including whether he will sign, amend, or veto bills that would increase the minimum wage, and better protect communities from gun violence. Like most Virginians, I hope Governor Youngkin will allow these important bills to become law this year. 

As part of the legislative process, the Governor of Virginia can take four actions on bills that reach their desk: 

• Sign: Legislation that is signed into law by the governor will go into effect on the next July 1st, unless otherwise provided for in the bill. 

• Veto: When a governor vetoes a bill, it is transmitted back to the legislative chamber in which it was introduced. That chamber, whether the Senate or the House, may vote to approve, or reject, a veto from the governor by a simple majority vote in both chambers. At least two-thirds of the members elected to a given chamber can vote to enact a bill notwithstanding a veto from a governor (a.k.a., an override of the veto). In the Senate, this requires at least 27 Senators; in the House, at least 67 votes are required. Because of the high threshold voting requirement, and the near evenly-divided General Assembly, overrides of gubernatorial vetoes are rare in recent Virginia history. 

• Amend: If a governor wants to change legislation that has reached his desk, they can propose an amendment to that bill. If they so choose, the bill is then transmitted back to the legislative chamber in which it was introduced. That chamber, whether the Senate or the House, may vote to approve or reject the proposed amendment from the governor by a simple majority vote. If the amendment is rejected, the House and Senate can also vote to pass the underlying legislation notwithstanding the objection, or amendment, of the governor. Such an action requires approval of at least two-thirds of the members elected to each legislative chamber, akin to a veto override. 

• Take No Action: Though historically rare, the Governor of Virginia need not sign a bill in order for it to become law. As a matter of fact, any bill sent to the governor’s desk will become law if it is not acted on. 

As the work of the 2024 session continues towards its end point, please keep in mind that the final step in the process is the governor, who must take action — or take no action — on all bills within 30 days of adjournment of the General Assembly. The General Assembly will then reconvene on April 17th to vote on any vetoes and amendments proposed by Governor Youngkin. I look forward to updating you further on these and other bills as we move toward the end of the legislative session. 

It is my continued honor to serve the residents of the 39th Senate District.