RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — A minimum wage increase, the retail cannabis market and abortion debates headlined the halfway point for the Virginia legislature on Tuesday.
Tuesday marked crossover day at Virginia's General Assembly, where the House of Delegates and State Senate must complete voting on all non-budget related bills originating from their respective chambers. Bills must pass both chambers before final approval from Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Unlike in recent sessions, where there has been gridlock caused by Republicans' control of the House and Democrats' control of the Senate, this session, Democrats control both chambers, allowing a plethora of liberal legislation to advance.
Democrats passed bills in both chambers along party lines that would increase the minimum wage from $12 an hour to $13.50 before ultimately climbing to $15 in 2026. Republicans voted against the bills at every stage, claiming that an increase could harm small businesses.
"I know we want to take care of workers, we want to care of people. That's why I don't pay minimum wage," Republican State Senator Chris Head said on the Senate floor. "But it's a dangerous proposition to do this much this fast."
Senator Danica Roem, a Democrat, told the floor the Virginians are struggling to pay rent on a $12-an-hour salary. Roem recalled the difficulty finding work as a journalist after transitioning from male to female, causing her to work long hours as a delivery driver to get by.
"This is not just teenagers working a summer job," Roem said. "This is real life."
Virginia has been in a marijuana limbo since 2021 when former Democrat Governor Ralph Northam legalized recreational cannabis use without creating a retail market. With their new majority, Democrats have passed bills in both chambers to establish a retail market, though not without plenty of Republican opposition. Republicans pointed to studies showing regular use of cannabis products for people under 25 can lead to mental health problems.
"What we are telling our youth is that this is ok, it will not harm them, it will not impact their future," Republican Delegate James "Jay" Leftwich Jr. told the House Monday. "It does."
Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner — who is noted for her bi-partisanship — spoke about how, as a mom, she believes a regulated marketplace is the safest path forward with cannabis but that at this point in the process, the bill lacks the protections she seeks.
"I want our kids to be safe as possible, and I do believe having a safe retail market is the best way to do that," Coyner told the floor. "I believe improving this bill as it works its way through the system to increase education, to increase safety, to ensure that we know that the products that are in our stores are safe is very, very important."
Reproductive rights continue to be a point of contention after political pundits blamed Republican candidates' ambition to restrict abortion access as a reason conservatives lost control of the House in November. In a move Republicans have called a "stunt," House Democrats use procedural maneuvers Monday to force a floor vote for a bill submitted by a freshman conservative.
The original intent of the bill was to prohibit public funding for facilities that provide abortion services in all cases. Republicans claim if the bill had gone through the regular amendment process, it would not have been put to a vote without exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the mother's life.
"We came into committee hearing ready to present the bill with the intent I had for it, and we were denied that opportunity, we were denied the opportunity to add amendments, we were denied the opportunity to have a life of the mother exception, which is something I wanted clearly laid out in this bill," patron Timothy Griffin said of the bill he submitted. "It's unfortunately become a circus."
Democrats pounced on Griffin, asking why he would submit a bill that says one thing but has other intentions. It failed to advance on a vote of 95-1, with two abstentions.
"This bill will kill women," Democrat Candi King told the chamber. "If the patron didn't know what he was doing, maybe he should have stayed out of women's business."
One key piece of legislation that Democrats don't seem to be on the same page about is a bill to finance a new arena in Alexandria that would host NBA and NHL franchises, the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals. Going into the session, Democrats warned Youngkin that if he wanted the arena passed, he would need to agree not to veto Democrats' efforts to establish a retail cannabis market, increase the minimum wage and other priorities.
While the House passed their bill Tuesday with bipartisan support, the Senate Democrats killed their chambers bill, concerned that Youngkin won't keep his end of the bargain. Youngkin remains hopeful that the legislation will ultimately pass with bipartisan support.
"I'm encouraged by the continued bipartisan support for the one-of-a-kind economic development opportunity in Virginia that represents 30,000 jobs and $12 billion in new economic activity for the Commonwealth," Youngkin said in a statement.
The Senate narrowly passed legislation to legalize medical aid in dying, giving terminally ill patients the option to end their lives, moving Virginia one step closer to becoming the twelfth jurisdiction to legalize the practice. Another legislative priority for Democrats in this session is retaining and attracting more teachers. Bills raising teacher pay to the national average and requiring at least 30-minute lunch breaks for elementary teachers passed their respective chambers.
In addition to voting on the other chamber's bills, the legislators have until March 9, the end of the session, to craft the next two-year state budget. Youngkin has not clarified which legislation he will veto should it come to his desk.
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