Virginia Democrats lay out legislative priorities on historic first day of the 2024 General Assembly

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — Virginia legislators flocked to the state Capitol on Wednesday to kick off the 2024 General Assembly session, the 405th since the legislature's founding in 1619. 

This year's 60-day session comes with plenty of intrigue as Democrats won the House of Delegates and Senate majorities in November's election, bringing 54 new legislators. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin will have to work with a liberal-controlled House of Delegates for the first time since he took office two years ago. 

Delegate Don Scott, a Democrat, made history, becoming the first Black speaker in the legislature's history. Democrats chose state Senator Scott Surovell from Fairfax County as the majority leader. 

"It is my hope that all of us as Virginians will have an appreciation for history," Delegate Luke E. Torian said while presenting Scott's nomination. "Over 400 years ago, people who looked like Delegate Scott gave their sweat, blood and tears to help build this Capitol." 

One of six children born to a single mother, Scott has led a colorful life, from serving as an officer in the Navy to serving eight years in federal prison on drug charges stemming from his time in law school, before beginning his career as an attorney. 

"There are those who will tell you that you should be defined forever by a mistake," Scott told the chamber. "I'm here to tell you do not believe them."  

Democrats laid out five pillars of priority in a crammed morning presser, including raising funding for education, combatting gun violence, building an economy that works for Virginia's working class, protecting citizens' rights to access health care, including abortion and voting rights, and funding infrastructure projects. 

Surovell took to the mic first to advocate for raising funding for public education. Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission released a report in the summer of 2023 that found that Commonwealth school divisions receive less K–12 funding per student than the 50-state average, the regional average and three of Virginia's five bordering states, including West Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland. 

"This is critical," Surovell said about increasing funding. "And it's one critical reason that underscores why any of these discussions about tax cuts are completely unrealistic." 

During Wednesday's annual State of the Commonwealth speech, Youngkin directly addressed education funding. 

"Heading into this next fiscal year, annual state funding will have increased $2.1 billion over 2021 levels, a 27% increase, including 17% increase for teacher raises, record funding for facilities and even more support for student services," Youngkin said. "I would caution us from drawing strong opinions from out-of-date facts that precede this great work."

Delegate Nadarius Clark, a Democrat, and the legislature's youngest member, is introducing a bill to raise public teachers' pay to at or above the national salary average. Delegate Jackie Glass, a Democrat, aims to combat Virginia's teacher shortage by entering the Interstate Teaching Mobility Compact, which allows teachers to move from state to state with less trouble. 

Republican lawmakers proposed education bills focused less on spending and more on the student's experiences. Republican Delegate Lee Ware hopes to require high school students to pass an exam containing portions from the U.S. naturalization test. State Senator Mark Peake, a fellow Republican, proposes legislation requiring schools only to allow students to compete in sports based on their biological sex. 

In the wake of a Virginia elementary school shooting last year in which a first grader shot his teacher with his mother's gun, Clark and Delegate Laura Jane Cohen seek to require any person who purchases a firearm to purchase a locking device for the weapon if they reside in the same household as a minor. 

Democrats hope to lower the cost of living in Virginia by establishing a prescription drug affordability board, as Virginians pay $400 more than the national average on medication. Liberal Delegate Jeion Ward filed a bill that increases the state's minimum hourly wage from $12 to $13.50 in 2025 before jumping to $15 in 2026. After jumping from $9.25 to $12.00 an hour in 2020 and 2021, the minimum wage stagnated under Republican leadership. 

One point of severe contention cited by Democrats as a reason for their victories in November is their promise to protect abortion access. 

"We are seeing women in other states having to beg the courts to receive access to care," Democrat Senate Caucus head Mamie E. Locke said. "We do not want that to happen here." 

State Senator Ghazala Hashmi plans to solidify protection with her bill that entitles Virginians to provide, receive, and help others provide or receive abortion care and gender-affirming health care services. 

Rookie Republican Delegate Tim Griffin meanwhile proposed a pair of anti-abortion bills. House Bill 404 prohibits the use of public funds for any entity that provides abortion. Currently, Virginia foots the bill for women who cannot pay to terminate pregnancies that stem from rape or incest. House Resolution 5 would designate January 22, the day in 1973 Roe v. Wade was decided, as the Day of Tears. 

Youngkin has a less-than-stellar reputation for working across the aisle, giving Democrats reason to be skeptical of his promises to work with them to pass legislation this session. He vetoed 26 bills by Democrats in 2022, the second most for a first-year governor in the state's history. Scott delivered a message of bipartisan aspirations during his speech. 

"If we want to get anything done, we are going to have to get it done together," Scott said. "News flash: every great idea isn't on the Democrat side, and every great idea isn't on the Republican side." 

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