Dear Friend,
The General Assembly has adjourned, sine die, concluding the work of the 2025 Regular Legislative Session. Below is an update on the work the General Assembly completed as well as the road ahead, including an upcoming town hall.
Sine Die
The General Assembly adjourned sine die, Saturday, February 22. This session, nearly 2,000 bills, as well as hundreds of resolutions, were introduced, deliberated over, and acted on, resulting in just over 800 bills being sent to the Governor’s desk for action. The Governor now has 30 days to act on legislation once it has been communicated to him. He may sign the bill into law, veto the bill, send it back to the General Assembly with amendments, called “Governor’s recommendations,” or he may take no action which results in the bill becoming law. The General Assembly will meet April 2 for the Reconvened Session, where the legislature receives the Governor’s actions and then takes final action, to either override a veto (which takes a 2/3rds vote), accept a veto, or vote to accept or reject the Governor’s amendments. If amendments are rejected, the Governor takes final action to either sign the bill or veto it.
Following is an update on the state budget, my legislation and other notable bills from the 2025 legislative session.
Budget Bill
The House and Senate have sent their budget bill to the Governor. As a refresher, Virginia operates under a biennial budget, meaning we establish a brand new budget every two years. We are currently in the middle of the budget that was agreed to last summer. This session, as is the case in all sessions occurring on odd-numbered years, the Governor and the General Assembly considered amendments to the existing budget.
Our budget compromise from 2024 made historic investments in education, worked to shore up glaring weaknesses in our healthcare infrastructure, continued economic relief measures, and much more. This session, the Governor and Legislature discerned the best use of surplus revenues the state had accrued due to prudent spending and economic forecasting that warned of possible revenue contractions that did not fully materialize. Additionally, there has been much hand-wringing in anticipation of large scale impacts to state revenues and funding streams as a result of federal government restructuring, downsizing, and program termination. The House Speaker has created a bipartisan committee to study the potential effects and make recommendations. Additionally, the General Assembly is on standby to meet for a special session to respond to these changes as they are announced and enacted. Below are some highlights of how Virginia’s budget surplus was put to use.
Economic Relief & Tax Policy:
Increases the standard deduction by $250 for individual filers and $500 for joint filers.
One-time rebates of $200 and $400 for individual and joint filers respectively.
Increases the Earned Income Tax Credit to 20% of the federal tax credit.
Pauses Virginia from automatically conforming to Federal tax code for two years.
Education:
$782.4 million in additional support for public education.
$222.9 million to fully fund crucial support staff positions.
An additional $150 million for school construction.
A 10% increase in state support for special education support, a $52.8 million investment.
Adds 4,500 slots for state-supported early childhood care and education services.
$12 million to increase student outcomes in mathematics.
$55 million for higher education access support.
$26.8 million for various student financial aid programs.
Healthcare:
Appropriates an additional $869 million to health and human resources expenditures, of which 89% is accounted for by increased enrollments and utilizations of current services.
Strengthens internal and external financial oversight of medicaid.
$10 million in operating support for nursing homes.
Expands coverage and/or increases support for weight loss drugs, substance use disorder, and brain injury services.
$6 million to support MARCUS alert sites.
$8.7 million to hire additional support coordinators at Community Service Boards to facilitate access to care for DD waiver recipients, a necessary investment from the recent large increase in DD waiver slots.
Support for pilot programs that serve patients with dementia including a program to divert and discharge patients from state hospitals to community placements as well as a program for Richmond and Roanoke to develop interdisciplinary plans of care and case management for dementia patients.
$25 million for drinking water improvement grants for localities.
Compensation:
Funding for a $1,000 bonus for teacher and support staff bonuses, with no local match required.
A 1.5% pay bonus for state employees.
Extends the workers compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder to two years for law enforcement personnel and firefighters.
Commerce and Natural Resources:
$20 million for rental assistance pilot programs.
$15 million for a home ownership down-payment assistance pilot grant program.
$50 million for Hurricane Helene disaster relief.
$14.5 million to retain bioscience research in Virginia and support research to lower the cost of insulin.
$50 million to support the Richmond Combined Sewer Overflow project.
$50 million for the Community Flood Preparedness Program.
$20 million for deferred maintenance at state parks.
Public Safety & Transportation:
$5.9 million for community violence intervention programs.
$3.5 million to support sexual assault and domestic violence victim agencies and victim witness programs.
Removes language that would have withheld funding for local law enforcement agencies that do not comply with new requirements for federal immigration enforcement.
Makes preparations and grants permission for the Virginia Port Authority to amend its lease with the Virginia International Gateway Terminal with the intent of the Port Authority purchasing the terminal at the end of its current lease in 2065.
General Government & Capital Outlay:
Funding to complete the rehabilitation of the Byrd Park World War I Memorial Carillon.
Language that directs the VCU Health System to stop payments to the City associated with the now-defunct East Clay Street real estate deal. This language does not nullify the original contract. Additionally, the City did not lose money on this deal; Richmond has net $6.1 million through VCU paying for the demolition of the site as well as through PILOT payments associated with the project. The City now has ownership of the ready-to-be-developed parcel. Should VCU Health continue making payments, they would be paying what is essentially a payment in lieu of taxes on City property used entirely for non-tax-generating City purposes. Finally, VCU Health is the largest employer in Richmond and serves as a major source of support for vulnerable Virginians. The ongoing payments interfered with their mission. You can read more about this development in this article from The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the budget’s provisions. You can find a more detailed summary produced by the House Appropriations Committee here as well as the full conference report here in pdf form and in an interactive webpage format here.
Additionally, you may enjoy this article from The Richmond Times-Dispatch as well as this one from The Virginia Mercury. The Commonwealth Institute published this statement on the budget as well as their analysis on the budget compromise now before the Governor.
Notable Legislation of the 2025 Session
The General Assembly concluded work on a wide variety of issues of importance to Virginia and its residents. Below are some of the bills that passed that constituents and groups expressed interest in during the legislative session. This is by no means a comprehensive recap of what was accomplished this session. If you have questions or concerns on specific legislation or topics, please don’t hesitate to contact my office at delegate.carr@betsycarr.org or by phone at 804-698-1078.
HB1928 to increase the minimum wage incrementally to $15/hour by 2027. Should the Governor sign the bill, then the minimum wage will rise to $13.50/hour in January 2026.
Three constitutional amendments: HJ1 enshrining the right to reproductive healthcare in our constitution; HJ2 establishing the automatic restoration of voting rights for formerly incarcerated individuals; and HJ9 which repeals language in our current constitution that prohibits same sex marriage.
HB1829 and HB2686 which seek to improve mathematics learning outcomes for K-12 students.
HB2165 to prohibit campaign funds from being spent on personal use.
HB1607 banning the sale, purchase or transfer of assault firearms as already defined in code.
SB1233 permitting the use of pedestrian safety and stop sign violation cameras. This bill also makes tweaks to the photo speed ticketing devices currently in use in school and highway work zones.
HB2036 expands reckless driving to include “exhibition driving.”
HB2724 permitting and also establishing guardrails for automatic license plate readers, which are currently in use with no guardrails. While there are still some stakeholder concerns over privacy implications and potential abuse, this bill will require regular reporting so further legislative action can be taken.
HB2485 creating a regulated, legal market for recreational cannabis.
Two widely discussed measures to improve prescription drug access and affordability: HB2610 which directs the state to contract with a single pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) and HB1724 to establish a prescription drug affordability board.
HB1941 requires retail establishments who are selling invasive plant species for outdoor use to have signage disclosing as much and encouraging alternatives.
SB1307 allowing localities the authority to call a referendum to pass an additional tax for the purpose of generating revenues for school construction.
Several articles were published that provide helpful and interesting further reading on the happenings of this past legislative session. This article from The Richmond Times-Dispatch highlights the big issues considered in a short session. The Speaker is quoted in this article from The RTD about his expectation that we will have a Special Session to address federal actions. Additionally, The Virginia Mercury published this review of legislation that was passed.
You may enjoy this article highlighting the growth and development of second year legislators.
My Introduced Legislation
This session, the House had a bill limit of 15 bills per legislator. I introduced 15 bills, had 13 pass the House, and 11 ultimately passed. Below is information on the 11 bills that are on their way to the Governor.
HB2150 prohibits technology contracts from having terms that are in conflict with Virginia law. This provision should streamline the procurement and use of some technology contracts.
HB2151 amends the code for Community Land Trusts, such as Richmond’s Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, to reflect how CLTs operate and ensure they are in compliance.
HB2152 requires attorneys who are serving as FOIA officers to receive training on the Freedom of Information Act, from which at present, attorneys are exempted from but all other FOIA officers are required to complete.
HB2153 also known as Faith in Housing for the Commonwealth, allows localities to adopt ordinances for a special permitting process for all tax-exempt non-profits to develop their land for affordable housing.
HB2154 creates an alternative path to licensure for architects by way of apprenticeships.
HB2156 makes technical amendments to Virginia code governing exchange student tuition and fees collection. This will ensure the code reflects how these programs are administered.
HB2157 establishes a Board of Visitors to govern Richard Bland College, which is currently under the authority of the College of William & Mary’s Board.
HB2158 initiates a process to create a standard model of education for inmates in Virginia Department of Corrections facilities. It creates a task force to facilitate deep collaboration between various government agencies with a 5 year goal of having an implementable and standardized educational model at all DOC facilities. Additionally, this bill requires several data sharing responsibilities for DOC and requires they use evidence based functional literacy screening and instructional services.
HB2161 makes several changes to VCU Health System’s governance structure. The legislation implements recommendations from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s study on VCU Health’s governance. The bill is designed to enhance the board’s expertise and it’s ability to act with independence and objectivity, while maintaining a necessary level of coordination and collaboration between the health system and the university.
HB2162 adjusts the code to reflect the budget’s increased compensation rates for substitute judges.
HB2163 makes minor changes to the Enterprise Zone Grant Program, administered by the Department of Housing & Community Development, and creates a workgroup to assess further changes to the program as well as review the process of establishing and removing enterprise zone designation.
First Meeting of the Emergency Committee on Impacts of the Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions
On the last day of session, the House’s Emergency Committee that the Speaker established, met to begin responding to the Trump Administration’s major federal changes. You can watch a recording of the meeting here. Additionally, you can find links to the meeting’s resources at this link, which includes a presentation of the federal dollars in Virginia, a presentation from the Virginia Employment Commission on Federal workforce, a presentation on federal dollars that support our localities, and other resources.
Thank You
It is an honor to serve in the House of Delegates. Please never hesitate to contact me at delegate.carr@betsycarr.org or 804-698-1078 if I can be helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Betsy