In last week’s reconvened General Assembly session, lawmakers returned to Richmond to consider Governor Glenn Youngkin’s amendments and vetoes to several hundred pieces of legislation, to include the Commonwealth’s budget. The governor amended 159 pieces of legislation from 2025 regular Legislative Session, while vetoing 157. We in the General Assembly also considered 205 amendments and eight item vetoes of the Commonwealth’s budget.
The reconvened session was successful in that the Democrat-led House and Senate failed to override the Governor’s vetoes on the left-leaning pieces of legislation. This is because Democrats lack the two-thirds majority necessary to do so. Some of the governor’s vetoes that were upheld include legislation I wrote about in last week’s column, to include an attempt to ban so-called “assault weapons” and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition (HB 1607), a bill that would hold firearms manufacturers civilly liable if someone uses their firearm illegally (HB 1608), legislation that would create a five-day waiting period before purchase of a firearm (HB 2631), a bill that would have forced real estate appraisers to take an “appraisal bias course” before receiving licensure (HB 1693), the creation of a taxpayer funded program to expand electric vehicle infrastructure in rural localities (HB 1791), extending the deadline for receipt of absentee ballots to 5 p.m. three days after an election (SB 760), and other leftist priorities that are more in line with California than the wishes of everyday Virginians.
Democrats refused to agree to a vast majority of the governor’s amendments to the Commonwealth’s budget, signing off on only 41 out of his proposed 205. Governor Youngkin now has 30 days to take final action on the bills and budget amendments that have been sent back to his desk, and among the positives in the current budget document are $50 million in increased support for school construction, $200 tax rebates for single filers and $400 for joint filers, and $50 million in expanded relief for disaster victims – including those affected by Hurricane Helene. The governor has the choice on whether to sign the budget, offer line-item vetoes to specific budget amendments still before him, or reject the budget in its entirety. I look forward to updating you further once that decision has been made.
If anything, this reconvened session demonstrated how important it is for Virginians to send back a Republican-led House of Delegates and a Republican Governor to Richmond this November. If we do not, you can expect to see many of the vetoed legislation that I mentioned be signed into law, possibly as soon as next year.
As the Delegate representing the 42nd House District in the Virginia General Assembly, your concerns are my greatest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at DelJBallard@House.Virginia.Gov. You can also follow me on Twitter @JasonBallardVA or like my Facebook page, Jason Ballard for Delegate, to keep up to date with what I am doing in Richmond and in our community on your behalf.
