Governor Youngkin vetoes 157 bills including one to allow localities to hold referendum on sales tax for school construction

For the final time, Governor Glenn Youngkin has completed action on legislation sent to him by the General Assembly. Under Virginia’s Constitution, governors can only serve one consecutive term.

Next year, a new governor will wield the pen.

In 2025, Youngkin approved 605 bills, vetoed 157 bills, and made recommendations on 160 of them.

“Among the bills I have signed are proposals that will keep school lunches free from artificial dyes, cement Virginia as home of the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion facility, expand rural electric co-ops ability to drive economic development, modernize school transportation to reverse chronic absenteeism, and give more students opportunities to take advanced math classes,” Youngkin said in an information release that went out on March 24.

Youngkin said he vetoed the 160 bills because they would take the Commonwealth of Virginia backward. For the full list, visit the Virginia Legislative Information System.

Here is some of what failed to make it through.

Youngkin denies local choice on sales tax for school construction

Perhaps the most anticipated action was for SB1307 which would have allowed all localities in the Commonwealth to hold a referendum to let local voters decide for themselves if there should be a one cent levy added to the sales tax for the purpose of school construction.

The bill passed with some support from Republicans with 62 ayes and 33 nays in the House of Delegates and 27 ayes and 12 nays in the Senate.

Youngkin said no but his veto statement did not mention that a referendum would have been required first.

“This proposal could result in a nearly $1.5 billion a year tax increase on Virginians,” reads the first line of the statement. “My budget amendments include an additional $50 million for school construction grants and loans above the current biennial budget in Chapter 2, bringing the total to $610 million if my amendments to the budget are adopted.”

We’ll get to the budget amendments in another story.

In late February, Albemarle County Executive Jeffrey Richardson addressed the impact a local sales tax for school construction would have on Albemarle’s budget.

“That $0.01 for the county equates to $25 million a year,” Richardson said. “And that $25 million is captured off of a dedicated $0.01 sales tax that’s captured from economic sales activity in this community.”

The next bill deals with chronic absenteeism.

On March 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order making severe changes to the U.S. Department. Section 2-A reads:

“The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely,” reads the order.

The same day, Governor Youngkin said Virginia was ready to take on full responsibility for education.

“We welcome the federal government’s shift of responsibility to the states—and we are grateful that President Trump’s executive order does just that,” Youngkin said in an information release.

Yet, at least one veto statement is based on a claim that the federal government continues to have authority.

HB1769 would have directed the Chronic Absenteeism Task Force in the Department of Education to identify ways to reclassify some absences from the calculation of chronic absenteeism.

“This bill places Virginia out of alignment with federal education standards and changes the metrics related to absenteeism rather than working to address barriers to school attendance,” reads the veto statement.

Land use and housing bills

There is a concept called “social determinants of health” that can be used to describe the complexity of being alive in a complex society.

“The Social Determinants of Health are the underlying community-wide social and economic and physical conditions in which people are born, live, work, and age,” said Charlottesville Deputy City Manager Ashley Marshall last summer in a briefing to City Council.

HB1827 would have encouraged localities to use this data in its Comprehensive Plan in order to increase overall public health. This passed the House of Delegates 58 to 39 and the Senate 22 to 16.

Youngkin’s veto statement was brief.

“Localities have more than sufficient powers to regulate their communities through the comprehensive planning process under existing law,” reads the veto statement.

Several bills related to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act were vetoed. One of them, HB1718, would have authorized localities to take action if a landlord does not maintain a dwelling unit. Youngkin said this was redundant.

“Existing laws, including the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) and Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA), already grant localities enforcement authority over both landlords and tenants, ensuring safe and sanitary housing,” reads the veto statement.

SB1313 would have allowed any locality in the Commonwealth to create a program requiring a percentage of units to be reserved to households below certain income limits. Youngin said the bill is unnecessary.

“In general, local governments should take the price of housing into account when considering their zoning policies,” Youngkin wrote in his statement. “Current law allows certain local governments with well-documented housing affordability issues the ability to enact such ordinances.”

Firearm vetoes

Younkin files several bills related to firearms and gun violence. HB1736 would have created the Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention inside of the Department of Criminal Justice Services. Youngkin said the creation would decrease efficiency through duplication.

“The creation of this center would duplicate efforts that are currently funded and operating as designed within the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Virginia Department of Health, and Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services,” Youngkin wrote in his statement. “The Commonwealth has made great strides in addressing crimes committed with firearms by establishing programs such as the existing Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund, as well as the Operation Ceasefire Grant Fund and Safer Communities Fund.”

• HB1607 would have prevented the sale of assault firearms and ammunition feeding devices
• HB1608 would have created standards of conduct for people in the firearm industry
• HB1797 relates to reciprocity with other states for concealed handgun permits
• HB2241 would have prevented people convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime from owning a firearm

Energy and environment related vetoes

HB1791 would have created the Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund, but Youngkin’s veto statement said the private sector can handle the issue.

“Many programs currently exist to support the development of charging infrastructure from federal programs administered through the Virginia Department of Energy, to the misguided attempts to allow Virginia’s electric utilities to develop charging networks to support the adoption of electric vehicles and its infrastructure,” Youngkin wrote.

HB1616 would have created a program to boost workforce development in the offshore wind industry. Youngkin said that would be redundant as the Department of Workforce Development and Advacement exists. He also said that the offshore wind industry is dying.

“The offshore wind industry has been hit with project contract cost increases and project cancellations running rampant across the east coast and declining interest even for projects in Europe,” Youngkin said.

Under HB1894, the Department of Corrections would have been required to keep cells between 65 degrees and 80 degrees. Youngkin said this would be too costly.

“Furthermore, existing Department of Corrections data does not substantiate the claims of extreme temperatures or health risks used to justify this legislation,” Youngkin said.

Under current law, cities and counties can impose a tax on plastic bags. HB1764 would have opened that up to towns.

“Plastic bag taxes fail to achieve their intended goals and burden Virginians with higher prices at the grocery store,” Youngkin wrote in this veto statement. “Redirecting tax revenues to towns may further encourage governments to rely on these taxes, exacerbating the issue.”

HB2037 would have allowed localities to require developers to build solar canopies over a portion of parking alleys.

“Parking lot solar is an expensive form of electricity generation, and if it were economically viable, developers would already be incorporating it into their projects,” Youngkin wrote in his veto statement.

Employment issues

HB1928 would have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 1, 2027. Youngkin said wages should be left to the free market.

“This proposal is an arbitrary, mandatory increase in the starting wages of all employees,” Youngkin wrote in his veto statement. “Such a substantial increase will raise business operational costs. In response, businesses will raise prices, creating more inflation, and implement hiring freezes and layoffs, ultimately hurting the workers the proposal seeks to assist.”

HB1625 would have eliminated a provision in Virginia’s Minimum Wage Act that exempted foreign farmworkers.

“A minimum wage requirement unnecessarily strains farmers financially, leading to farm closures, job losses, and increased consumer food prices,” Youngkin wrote in his veto explanation.

Next time – the recommendations.

Before you go: This was originally published in the March 26, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. The newsletter and this website seek to explain how local, state, federal, and global politics are connected. If you think it’s worthwhile, please share it with people so the audience can continue to grow.