The 2022 Virginia General Assembly ended in mid-March without a budget agreement. VFN held its Post-General Assembly Legislative Update on March 30, 2022, featuring Ashley Kenneth, President and CEO of the Commonwealth Institute and Erik Rison, Vice President of Public Policy and Research at the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. These knowledgeable panelists explained what happened during the regular session and what might be expected in the upcoming weeks and months. 

On April 4, General Assembly members were called back for a Special Session to finish work on the state budget and to consider legislation tied to the budget that was not acted upon during the regular session. The General Assembly met while party leaders continued negotiations. The legislators left without a final vote on the budget, which will come in the next few weeks. Governor Youngkin responded to the legislation passed during the regular General Assembly Session by vetoing 26 bills, amending over 100 bills, and approving 700 other measures to become law.

On April 27, the General Assembly will again meet for a reconvened session, that is scheduled every year to address the governor’s recommendations on legislation. If budget negotiators reach an agreement before this date, the General Assembly could act on the budget at this time. The governor’s proposed changes must pass both the House and Senate with a majority of votes to amend the bill. If the amendment fails, the underlying bill without the amendment would go into effect by July 1, 2022. Any vetoed legislation must receive approval from two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate to override the veto. After the reconvened session, Governor Youngkin will have another opportunity to amend or veto any of the 30 potential pieces of legislation or make any line-item vetoes to the budget.

Here are a few resources from Virginia policy and advocacy organizations, about the 2022 Virginia General Assembly outcomes.

• Voices for Virginia’s Children: https://vakids.org/take-action/bill-highlights-for-2022-special-session-reconvened-session
• Virginia Municipal League: https://www.vml.org/enews-april-15-2022/
• Virginia Public Access Project’s data visualization: https://www.vpap.org/visuals/visual/closer-look-at-youngkins-vetoes-2022/ and https://www.vpap.org/visuals/visual/first-year-vetoes/
• Virginia Poverty Law Center: https://vplc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Leg-Wrap-Up.pdf
• Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia (HOME): https://homeofva.org/research-policy/advocacy/2022-regular-session/