The 2024 General Assembly Session finally wrapped up last week with the passage of the $188 billion 2025-2026 biennium budget compromise, as well as final actions by the Governor on bills that he amended but were rejected by the General Assembly during last month's Veto Session.
While unfortunately, the budget passed without important Hyde language, which would have brought Virginia in line with the majority of states limiting taxpayer funding for abortions to only the narrow cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother, there were some positive outcomes.
- No major tax increases.
- Excludes the requirement that Virginia rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) that threatens to raise energy costs for every Virginian.
- Contains no provisions to commercialize marijuana or legalize "neighborhood slot machines."
The General Assembly was able to increase spending in this budget in large part due to a "stealth tax" driven by high inflation. Virginia, along with 16 other states, does not adjust their brackets, deductions, and exemptions to account for the high costs of goods and services. Therefore, as inflation causes wages to be nominally higher to account for higher costs of goods and services, taxpayers are put into a higher tax bracket. This is a tax policy problem that will need to be addressed by the General Assembly.
We also commend the Governor for taking a bold stand and vetoing controversial bills that posed a major threat to families, public safety, religious liberty, and the sanctity of human life. The Governor VETOED the following bills last week:
- SB 212 (D-Rouse) would have allowed for neighborhood slot machines in thousands of convenience stores, truck stops, and restaurants, that lead to more crime and addictions.
- HB 781 (D-Herring) – would have included the phrase "birthing people" instead of "mothers" in a maternal health study bill, suggesting that even men can have babies.
- HB 536 (D-Cole) would have changed the current bullying definition by specifically creating special protection for students who are members of special groups (i.e., sexual orientation and gender identity).
- HB 224 (D-Henson) would have required teachers to receive mental health awareness training for youth populations that are at an elevated risk of experiencing mental health challenges and disorders, including those who "identify as LGBTQ+."
- SB 238 (D-Hashmi) and HB 819 (D-Mundon King) would have required all health insurance companies to cover the cost of contraceptive drugs and devices that include abortion-causing drugs without any religious conscience protections.
- HB 609 (D-Price) and SB 237 (D-Hashmi) would have created a presumed "affirmative" right to contraceptive drugs and devices that can result in an abortion, and to sterilization procedures, without any religious protections for doctors or prescribers.
To see a full listing of bills that the Governor vetoed or signed, visit our Governor's Veto Page.
This was a very challenging General Assembly Session, filled with its fair share of disappointments and victories. Now the policy team will begin to focus on next year's session and the battle of the abortion amendment that will be the biggest threat yet to the sanctity of life in Virginia.
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