Glenn Youngkin’s first days in office made it clear that the new governor is hoping to make big changes in the Commonwealth. Day one saw him sign 11 executive actions. While those are a tool every recent Virginia governor has used, Republican Governor Youngkin’s included a number of controversial actions like rescinding the mask mandate for state employees and withdrawing Virginia from a regional greenhouse gas initiative.
He also banned the teaching of “critical race theory,” despite the fact it’s not taught in public elementary, middle, or high schools. Then there’s the order that takes away the right of individual localities to enforce a school mask mandate while making masks optional in schools. That executive action is now the focus of a lawsuit from a number of counties, including five Northern Virginia localities. While all of these actions are opposed by most Virginia Democrats, these were issues that Youngkin campaigned on that won him the governor’s mansion.
Less contentious actions include a commitment to fighting human trafficking and antisemitism.
Executive actions are not laws, since those actions haven’t been voted on by the General Assembly, but have “the force and effect of law,” according to Virginia code.
Within a few days of his spate of executive orders, Youngkin outlined a formal list of legislative priorities which includes more than 80 pieces of legislation and budget amendments.
Several will likely have bipartisan support and should pass fairly easily. That includes eliminating the state’s grocery tax, which is also a cut that former Democratic Governor Ralph Northam supported. Youngkin is also supporting several bills to help small businesses, like waiving certain permit fees for veteran-owned businesses. That should meet little resistance in the Virginia General Assembly.
While not listed as a formal legislative priority, lawmakers are saying that the Governor has pledged support for a potentially bipartisan bill that would ban Dominion Energy and other public utilities from making campaign contributions.
Additionally, he voiced support for pushing through legislation that would smooth the path for the Washington Football Team to build a stadium in the Commonwealth. In 2017, then-governor Terry McAuliffe (and Youngkin’s Democratic opponent in the past election) also advocated for the team to move to Virginia.
Of course, many of Youngkin’s laid-out priorities do not have bipartisan support and will have a much rougher road to getting passed.
One is banning the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts” in public schools, which is once again an extension of his campaign against the teaching of critical race theory. Just this week, Youngkin set up an email tip line to report such teachings.
There are also pushes to create more charter schools, stop affirmative action in school admissions, and remove the word “equity” from the title of a cabinet-level role.
In terms of economic measures, Youngkin is supporting a series of sweeping tax cuts that experts have previously said could leave schools and essential services in Virginia severely underfunded. Cuts that Youngkin is supporting could cost the Commonwealth nearly $3 billion in annual revenue, according to some.
Youngkin is also looking to repeal and reinstate laws that were just recently passed by a Democratically controlled General Assembly and governor’s mansion. This includes taking away public-sector employees’ right to engage in collective bargaining and again making residents present a state-issued ID to vote.
What’s notably missing from the new governor’s legislative priorities is anything to do with abortion rights, a matter that’s currently being debated on the national stage.
As governor, Youngkin does have the ability to sign and veto bills once they pass the General Assembly. But, at the moment, the odds of many of the bills he supports actually passing are relatively low due to the divided General Assembly. The Republicans hold a slim margin in the House of Delegates, while the Democrats hold a narrow edge in the Senate–meaning, only those bills with bipartisan support have much chance at becoming law.
That could change, of course, if the Senate flips to the Republicans in November.
Feature image by Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo
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