Author: Markus Schmidt / Virginia Mercury

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Virginia Senate panel advances gun safety bills once vetoed by Youngkin

By Markus Schmidt / Virginia Mercury
Virginia Senate Courts of Justice Committee hears testimony on State Sen. Jennifer Boysko's firearms storage bill (via Virginia Senate/YouTube)

Democratic lawmakers on Monday advanced a sweeping slate of gun safety proposals — many of them previously vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin — as they test whether Virginia’s new Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, will take a more favorable view of firearm restrictions.

Over nearly four hours, the Democratic-led Senate Courts of Justice Committee approved more than half a dozen bills tightening rules on assault-style firearms, gun storage, concealed carry reciprocity, ghost guns and weapons in public spaces, while rejecting the lone Republican proposal that would have increased mandatory minimum sentences for repeat firearm offenses.

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Youngkin pitches final budget, touts strong revenues as he prepares to leave office

By Markus Schmidt / Virginia Mercury
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin at the 495 NEXT ribbon-cutting on Nov. 21, 2025 in Tysons (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday rolled out his final two-year budget proposal before a joint meeting of the General Assembly’s money committees, pitching a plan built on what he called Virginia’s strong fiscal footing while using the moment to cement his administration’s legacy as he prepares to leave office next month.

The $72 billion general fund proposal — part of a $212 billion total spending plan — covers the biennium running from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. It includes pay raises for teachers, state employees and local public workers, tax relief for individuals and businesses, major increases in Medicaid spending, and a $50 million investment to overhaul Virginia’s child welfare system, one of Youngkin’s final policy priorities.

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After months of hearings, Virginia panel set to roll out blueprint for legal cannabis market

By Markus Schmidt / Virginia Mercury
Person weighs marijuana (via Add Weed/Unsplash)

After months of hearings and study, the legislature’s Joint Commission on the Future of Cannabis Sales is poised to roll out a final proposal Tuesday that would launch a legal, regulated adult-use cannabis retail market in Virginia — potentially ending five years of economic and legal uncertainty since the commonwealth legalized possession and cultivation in 2021.

The latest version — sponsored by Commission Chair Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, in the House of Delegates and Sens. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, in the Senate — scraps the controversial local-opt-out clause, increases local taxing authority and builds a licensing regime designed to privilege small, independent, Virginia-based businesses over large medical-marijuana operators.

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Virginia Senate approves mid-decade redistricting amendment in party-line vote

By Markus Schmidt / Virginia Mercury
The Virginia State Capitol building (file photo)

The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 21-16 party-line vote approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would give the Virginia General Assembly the authority to redraw the commonwealth’s congressional districts mid-decade. The move follows the measure’s 51-42 party-line passage earlier this week in the House of Delegates.

If lawmakers approve House Joint Resolution 6007 again during the next legislative session in early 2026 and if voters back it in a statewide referendum, the General Assembly would gain the power — in narrowly defined circumstances — to alter the state’s 11 U.S. House districts between the 2025 and 2030 census cycles.

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Virginia moves to protect economy from federal workforce crisis

By Markus Schmidt / Virginia Mercury
The Virginia State Capitol building (file photo)

With the federal government slashing its workforce and attempting to freeze billions in funding, Virginia lawmakers are bracing for impact. House Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) on Tuesday evening announced the formation of an Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions, a bipartisan panel tasked with assessing the economic fallout and crafting solutions to protect the commonwealth.

“This is not about politics — it’s about protecting Virginia’s workforce, economy, and essential services,” Scott said in a statement. “With nearly 145,000 federal civilian employees and even more federal contractors calling Virginia home, we depend on a strong partnership with the federal government to provide critical services. The federal administration’s announced plans to ‘drain’ the federal workforce and the pause in federal funding raise serious concerns for Virginia’s economy and the ability to maintain essential services.”

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Virginia’s top elections official warns of possible delays in mail-in voting this year

By Markus Schmidt / Virginia Mercury
An absentee ballot drop box (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals on Wednesday expressed concerns with the operational performance of the U.S. Postal Service ahead of the 2024 presidential election in Virginia, warning that mail-in ballots may not be processed in time to be counted.

“Election officials depend on the U.S. mail service to deliver ballots to voters and to return ballots to election officials,” Beals told members of the Virginia House of Delegates Privileges and Elections Committee at a meeting in Richmond. “What I am hoping to change is the expectation of voters, that if I put my ballot in the mail five days before election day that it is going to get there. You need to plan further out than that.”

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