Status of My Bills: Governor Youngkin vetoed three of my bills: 1) my anti-extradition bill described below; 2) a bill to ensure that convicted domestic abusers actually turn over their firearms, as the law requires; and 3) a bill to help reform our probation process. But the governor did sign 20 of my bills. These new laws will—among other things: improve access to mental health services (SB 87), provide oversight over recovery homes (SB 19), require state psychiatric facilities to develop a plan for appropriate care of those with neurocognitive disorders (SB 176), reform special education services (SB 220), and help those with disabilities to better integrate into our communities (SB 51). You can read about all of my signed legislation here.
Reproductive Health: Bills on issues like universal access to contraceptive care without copayments and the right to sue if such access is denied, were gutted by the governor’s amendments. Although we defeated the amendments, I expect these bills will now be vetoed. Of course, my bill to protect Virginia healthcare professionals who provide abortion care and their out of state patients from extradition was also vetoed. This veto was particularly perplexing since the governor’s message focused on out-of-state healthcare providers but the bill only protected Virginia practitioners who were abiding by Virginia law, not out-of-state practitioners.
Governor Youngkin’s actions to put healthcare providers and women in Virginia at risk of being criminalized is unconscionable. Help me spread the word about his extreme views on contraceptive care and abortion. Any donation you can make to help me win this fight would be greatly appreciated.
Gun Safety: The commonsense gun safety bills that the Democratic majorities passed were nearly all vetoed by Governor Youngkin, even though 80% of Virginians support the restrictions that these bills contained, like banning assault weapons and requiring a cooling off period before an individual may purchase a firearm. The cooling off period ensures there is time to conduct background checks and is a best practice in the effort to prevent suicides by firearms.
According to the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, firearms are used in half of all suicide deaths. Suicides make up 3 out of every 5 gun deaths and suicide by firearm is almost always deadly — 9 out of 10 firearm suicide attempts result in death. Every day, 64 Americans die by firearm suicide — one every 22 minutes.
Other Topics: The governor also vetoed bills passed by the Democratic majorities to raise the minimum wage, protect tenant rights, and advance environmental policies. It was clear that Governor Youngkin was working to maintain the status quo. He exercised his veto pen 153 times and offered 233 budget amendments. He drew a stark contrast between his narrow-minded and ideologically driven policies and the more progressive policies aimed at helping real people that the Democrats offered.
Budget Amendments: The stark contrast was particularly bright in Governor Youngkin’s budget amendments. Two examples best illustrate this point: the removal of extra funding for the K-12 public education budget to be redirected to privately run laboratory schools, and language to remove Virginia from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
RGGI is a cap and trade program designed to limit carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector. The program yields approximately $200M a year, and these funds are used for flood prevention strategies, among other environmental initiatives. It is important to note that flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in Virginia, so it is mind-boggling why the governor would attempt to withdraw Virginia from a program that is a win-win. Virginians get cleaner air and more flood control.
Going Forward: I feel very strongly that some step forward on the tax modernization front must be part of the final budget. If some digital downloads are taxed, that money will enable us to more generously fund the public schools, add dollars to the schools with a high percentage (40% or more) of students on free or reduced lunch, fully fund Metro and increase the Medicaid reimbursement to our providers, among other important things.
We concluded the special session on a cordial note with the governor. He came to the General Assembly to meet with key lawmakers and made overtures about his willingness to entertain compromises in a newly crafted budget. I am hopeful that an agreement can be reached and a biennium budget adopted sooner rather than later. The governor has called a special session on May 13 in the hope that the General Assembly will be in a position to adopt a compromise budget. I will keep you posted.
Constituent Outreach: Immediately after the veto session, I joined workers from Dulles and Washington National airports who were rallying for paid sick leave and healthcare. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) does not require businesses providing services at the respective airports to grant their employees these important benefits. It is heartbreaking that workers serving the traveling public cannot take a sick day or go to the doctor without risking their job security or spending their meager wages on unexpected health expenses. Several union groups (32BJ SEIU, CASA, and SEIU Virginia 512) organized the rally to help workers deliver their request to MWAA. I was proud to stand with these workers.
