By Larry Hypes
Contributing Writer
BLACKSBURG – Little more than a week remains before Del. Lily Franklin (D-41) returns to Richmond for the General Assembly special session called by Gov. Abigail Spanberger to finalize the 2026-28 biennial budget.
Franklin, who just completed her first session as a delegate, is one of 140 state legislators – 100 delegates and 40 senators – and she represents a portion of Montgomery County and Roanoke County.
“It (the General Assembly) required a pretty high growth curve and to learn it quickly,” said Del. Franklin, “but I was pleased as the only Democrat in Southwest Virginia to change and direct some of the conversations about why we should be supporting all parts of the state, what the future of this region looks like. It was incredible to be part of those discussions. Being also one of the youngest members, I was able to bring a new perspective about what people are going through right now and lifting those voices, as well, and talking about what we can do to make sure our citizens want to stay here and make Virginia part of their future.”
Franklin, as a member of the majority party serving in the minority-party dominated end of the Old Dominion, is closely monitoring the upcoming voting on the proposed redistricting amendment to revise legislative lines as a response to similar national Republican moves in an attempt to retain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“A lot of people were making that point during the session,” observed Franklin, “that nobody was saying anything about all these other states, and now all of a sudden ‘this is an outrage that we (Virginia) are doing this’ is what we heard from some individuals.”
Franklin admits her initial term as a delegate was an extremely busy time, but says, “I was pleased to be able to advance some legislation to help our citizens. For example, support of the virtual power plant in the Appalachian region to help address our energy needs and bring down energy costs.”
Franklin also was successful in the effort to secure $6 million in funding for the Virginia Tech Patient Research Center, which will expand access to new healthcare research and treatments that are not currently widely available in Southwest Virginia. She worked on and passed House Bill 1469 to expand the background check requirements for rideshare providers in the Commonwealth and adds she “was proud to carry House Joint Resolution 1469 which directed the Department of Taxation to study how best to repeal Virginia’s dreaded car tax” and although this bill was supported by the
Franklin, a long-time supporter of education, said of her efforts on House Bill 1221, “I worked to assist with initiatives to promote our educational system, specifically to streamline higher education financial aid programs and to help with not only access but affordability for our students.”
She added that much consideration was given to protecting students and parents in public schools and working to make them feel an important part of the educational process and that a record amount of funding has been included to provide tools for children at all levels to succeed.
Franklin also supported a measure on paid family medical leave which she said, “would ensure that Virginians who get sick will actually get to go to the doctor and if their children or their parents or whomever they are caring for will actually be able to get that care.”
Another major issue that Franklin supported was the work to “backfill” or reinstate lost federal government revenue to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which provides food-purchasing help to low-income individuals, Medicaid programs, and to ensure that facilities exist where people can afford health care.
Of the upcoming budgetary session beginning on Thursday, April 23, Franklin says, “There was a major difference between the House and the Senate. The Senate version did not include tax incentives for the data centers while the House version did and that is a $1.6 billion difference. That really came down to a matter of time during the overall session, as we worked to figure out how we were going to spend that additional amount or either cut $1.6 billion in state services from the budget. Legislative committee members are currently reviewing this issue and we are hopeful we will have a budget ready when we go back into session later this month.”
She continues, “We also did bring up wages – minimum wage in Virginia will increase to $15 per hour by January 1, 2028; up from the current $12.77 – and will expand to include farm workers. Many workers are really struggling to make ends meet and we have to ensure that we are paying people living wages.”
Franklin says of her action on gun control measures, “I focused a lot on gun safety and making sure to have safe-storage laws, making sure we are protecting our children and our seniors. I did not believe that an assault weapons ban was where the conversation needed to go this year.”
Del. Franklin says of Gov. Spanberger’s first months in office, “She has hit the ground running, surrounded by a good cabinet, has presented a plan to help our farmers and also to ensure that our labor force has adequate support and work to help our citizens are working to ensure that we thrive in every zip code in Virginia.”
