The General Assembly met last week for Special Session and our constitutionally-mandated Reconvene Session. Both meetings were for specific purposes and, unlike the winter regular session, did not allow for the consideration of new legislation.
In this update, I’d like to give you a quick update on some of the highlights of the day’s activities.
Special Session was rather straightforward. The General Assembly elected judges for several jurisdictions across the state. This includes the election of Judge Junius Fulton, III to serve on the Supreme Court of Virginia. Judge Fulton currently serves on the Virginia Court of Appeals and will succeed retiring Chief Justice Bernard Goodwyn effective January 1, 2026. Unlike the US Supreme Court where the chief justice position is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the chief justice in Virginia is selected by the justices amongst themselves. No new judges were elected for our neck of the woods.
The majority of our legislative day was spent in Reconvene Session. In fact, we didn’t wrap up until about 8:30 in the evening. (I’m told that’s not even close to the record for the longest Reconvene Session.)
As a reminder, the Governor has three choices when the General Assembly passes a bill:
- Sign the bill into law (becomes effective July 1st unless otherwise noted in the bill)
- Veto the bill
- Offer amendments to the bill
Vetoed and amended bills come back to the General Assembly at the Reconvene Session. The House and Senate can, with a two-thirds majority, override the Governor’s veto. No vetoes were overridden at this session. Amendments to bills are accepted or rejected by a majority vote and then returned to the Governor for a final opportunity to sign or veto the bill.
This year’s Reconvene Session was unusual for the high number of amendments that did not receive a vote. Instead, the majority party simply put the bills in a block and voted to kill the amendments. Block votes are typically reserved for technical amendments, not substantive policy changes.
One such example is House Bill 2657. As passed, the bill provides that any person who knowingly provides fentanyl-laced drugs to another person where that person dies shall be guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The Governor proposed an amendment that would up the involuntary manslaughter charge to first-degree murder, an amendment that I strongly supported. Again, Democrats killed this amendment in block.
Democrats also sought to kill debate on three amendments that would have replaced the terms “birthing person” to “mother” and “pregnant person” to “pregnant woman.”
On a more positive and local note, the House and Senate accepted amendments from the Governor to House Bill 2157. As it passed the legislature, the bill would grant full independence to Richard Bland College in 2026. This date was chosen so that Governor Youngkin would not be able to appoint the board of visitors. The amendments restored the original 2025 independence date and is an important win for area students. I was proud to support the Governor’s amendments and, in this rare case, was glad to see good policy win over politics.
The Governor also proposed some 200 amendments to the budget bill. Many of those amendments strike funding for bills that the Governor vetoed. For example, legislation further increasing the state minimum wage from $12.41/hour to $15/hour was vetoed. Therefore, amendments were made to the state budget to align with the current minimum wage rather than the higher proposed minimum wage.
By not funding vetoed legislation, the Governor was able to use those funds to partially fund an amendment to add an additional $300 million to revenue reserve funds. Because Virginia’s economy is closely tied to the federal government, this was a prudent amendment to safeguard against the possibility of an economic downturn. Democrats continue to claim that the Trump administration will decimate our economy, so I was surprised to see that they did not wish to take any action to safeguard our state’s budget.
I hope you found this special update informative and useful. I am available to answer questions you may have. The best way to contact my legislative office is via email at DelMCherry@house.virginia.gov.
As always, it is an honor to represent our community in the House of Delegates. If I can assist you or your family with a state related issue, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Mike Cherry