RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers addressed scores of legislative vetoes and amendments from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday, including the governor's 205 revisions to the state's budget bill that were decisively nixed by the Democratic-led General Assembly.
The one-day session in Richmond comes after Youngkin vetoed 158 bills that blocked Democrats’ attempts to reintroduce legislation nearly identical to what they proposed unsuccessfully last year. He also amended about 160 others.
Many of the governor's 205 amendments to the Virginia House budget bill would have trimmed the proposed state spending provisions approved in February in favor of adding $300 million in additional funds to Virginia’s coffers on top of nearly $295 million already slated to be set aside over the biennium.
Youngkin's edits, however, were largely rejected by Democrats wielding power in both chambers, who accepted just 33 of Youngkin's proposed budget revisions and scrapped the remaining amendments.
Youngkin also submitted eight line-item budget vetoes, six of which were sustained by lawmakers. Democratic House Speaker Don Scott ruled out of order Youngkin’s other two vetos, which would have upended funding for a manufactured home acquisition program and a mortgage assistance program.
In ignoring most of Youngkin's budget amendments, Democrats cemented their budget plans to lift a spending cap for public schools’ support services. They also staved off Youngkin's attempts to eliminate a $15 million amendment establishing a first-time homebuyer program.
Youngkin added a budget amendment authorizing the consideration of establishing Oak Hill, the home of former President James Monroe, as a state park. A House bill to that effect failed in the Senate during the session. But the House of Delegates nixed the governor's revision, effectively killing the project this budget cycle.
“We’re not going to allow the governor to basically shift money away from the priorities that Democrats had demonstrated when we passed the budget back in February,” Democratic Sen. Mamie Locke said late Wednesday to a group of reporters about the bill at large.
Senate Democrat Adam Ebbin added: “He may say it with a smile, but he’s got the same spirit as President Trump. Those were needless amendments.”
Lawmakers also addressed the governor's other legislative actions, though they did not override any of Youngkin's vetoes. Democrats, who have a thin majority in both chambers, needed a two-thirds supermajority to override Youngkin’s vetoes.
Lawmakers instead mainly spent Wednesday addressing the budget bill and amendments to other legislation, which they only needed a simple majority to act on. Now, Youngkin has about a month to review all remaining bills.
“Over the next 30 days I will review and take final action on the bills and budget amendments that have been sent back to my desk,” Youngkin said in a statement Wednesday. “Thank you again to the General Assembly members for their work throughout this legislative session.”
Lawmakers rejected Youngkin's amendment to a bill requiring the state to increase oversight on pharmacy benefits managers, which set the costs for prescription drugs. Youngkin proposed the issue be studied.
They also rejected his suggestion that a bill banning personal property taxes for the United Daughters of the Confederacy be taken up next year following a tax review.
Still, the governor gets the final say on any legislation that arrives at his desk for a signature after Wednesday.
Except in one instance: lawmakers can preemptively block Youngkin's say if they pass the bill in its original form with two-thirds support after rejecting the governor's amendments.
After rejecting Youngkin's amendments, House lawmakers took up this rare move for bills creating a women's menstrual health program, implementing a study on whether infertility treatments should be supported by health insurance and seeking equal pay for midwives' services. But the Senate did not seek such action, making the House's passage moot.
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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Olivia Diaz, The Associated Press
