(The Center Square) — Tuesday was crossover in Virginia’s legislature, the last day the chambers can consider their own legislation.
From Wednesday on, the House of Delegates can only consider Senate bills and vice versa.
Democratic Majority
The session has progressed much like last session. Democrats have used their majorities in both the House and Senate to push through partisan legislation. But Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has shown that he isn’t afraid to use his veto pen.
The Washington Post reported in 2017 that former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe had “vetoed more bills than any governor in Virginia history.” But in 2024, the first General Assembly session during Youngkin’s term in which Democrats had control of both the House and Senate, Youngkin racked up a historic 201 vetoes, vetoing more bills in one year than McAuliffe did during his entire time as governor.
While Democratic partisan legislation has survived crossover and will likely make it – once again – to the governor’s desk if Youngkin is even half as aggressive with his vetoes as he was last year, much of it ultimately won’t survive.
Nonetheless, here are some key Democratic pieces of legislation that passed mostly along party lines.
Constitutional amendments
The Democrat-sponsored amendments to the Virginia Constitution have already passed the House and Senate, clearing the crossover deadline weeks ago. They would make abortion a constitutionally protected right, restore voting rights to convicted felons once they’ve served their time, and ensure two persons, regardless of “sex, gender, or race,” can marry in the commonwealth if the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision were to be overturned.
The abortion amendment won no outright support from Republicans, but the other amendments were able to garner some Republican votes.
Amendments don’t require the governor’s signature, but they must pass the next General Assembly and win the majority vote in a referendum.
Cannabis retail market
Though marijuana was decriminalized in Virginia in 2021, many things are still off-limits for Virginians when it comes to cannabis – including selling it.
Virginians can legally cultivate and consume small amounts of marijuana, but the law legalizing consumption did not authorize the development of a retail market.
Companion bills from Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, and Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, also running for lieutenant governor, will now be considered in the opposite chambers. Krizek’s just passed the House Tuesday with some Republican support. Rouse’s passed the Senate Friday.
Gun legislation
Democrats have passed a plethora of gun bills this session, even though Youngkin vetoed at least 30 Democrat-supported gun bills last session. They include legislation requiring a minimum five-day waiting period for firearm purchases; adding more restrictions to who can accept a gun from a “dangerous” family member; creating “standards of responsible conduct” for the gun industry; facilitating fines up to $500 for anyone who leaves a gun in plain sight in their car; and broadening prohibitions on carrying semi-automatic center-fire rifles and shotguns in public places, to name a few.
Most of them crossed over in advance of the deadline.
Green energy
Democrats were able to pass just a handful of solar energy and renewables bills, mostly met with bipartisan support. Bills passed solely on Democratic support were House bills 2438 and 1821, patroned by Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William, and Del. David Reid, D-Loudoun.
Mundon King’s bill would allow solar panels to be installed on property otherwise zoned for agricultural, commercial, industrial or institutional purposes, provided they meet certain aesthetic criteria.
Reid’s bill would allow commercial or industrial entities using a significant amount of power to purchase renewable energy credits while continuing to use non-renewable energy sources if needed. Renewable energy credits allow companies to contribute to renewable efforts, theoretically offsetting their energy usage.
