RICHMOND, VA -- Governor Glenn Youngkin on May 17th, acted on legislation that was returned to his desk after the General Assembly rejected his proposed recommendations.

“During my State of the Commonwealth address in January, I made clear my intention to work in a bipartisan manner with the General Assembly to accomplish policies that move Virginia forward, and we have a lot to be proud of this session,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “I sent 115 bills back to the General Assembly with amendments which improved the legislation and sought compromise on collective priorities. I’m glad the majority of those recommendations were accepted. While I look forward to working with the General Assembly to see if we can reach agreement on language in the future, today I must act on the language before me, and there are several bills which are not ready to become law.”

“This includes legislation related to contraception. Let me be crystal clear: I support access to contraception. However, we cannot trample on the religious freedoms of Virginians. And that is the issue the recommendations I sent back to the General Assembly addressed. I will continue to uphold the oath that I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Youngkin said.

The Governor signed seven bills, which included:

• SB 498 - School-connected overdose policies; guidelines, parental notification and response- the Virginia Senate accepted the Governor’s recommendation, which returned the bill to its stronger original version. The House of Delegates unfortunately rejected the recommendation. While the current language does not go far enough to ensure parental notification of school-connected overdoses, it allows the Board of Education to establish guidelines. The Board of Education will begin this important work immediately. In addition, Executive Order 28, which establishes a 24-hour parental notification standard for all school-connected overdoses, remains in effect.

• HB 707 & SB 361- Consumer Data Protection Act; protections for children- the Governor’s recommendation would have expanded protections for children from harmful social media practices online. In its current form, the bill does not go as far as it should, particularly by excluding minors over the age of 13 from protection, but the bill can be signed as the Administration works with the legislature and stakeholders to further strengthen these protections next session.

• HB 1055- Eastern VA Health Sciences Center at Old Dominion University, board of directors of; membership- The Governor’s recommendation strengthened the ability of the General Assembly and the executive branch to oversee the new board established by the forthcoming merger of Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University. The bill in its current form can be signed, allowing the merger process to continue while pursuing future governance changes.  

• SB 142- Public school teachers; licensure requirements, issuance of a one-year local eligibility license- the Governor offered recommendations that would have improved the functionality of the bill. While legislative changes will be necessary next session to make it more effective, the bill as it currently stands will improve the ability to hire teachers.

• HB 214- Common interest communities; residents providing certain services exemption- this bill was sent to the Governor’s desk in the “7-day” bill window during the 2024 Regular Session. Additional review was needed. The relevant agencies have been consulted and the bill is ready to be signed into law.

• HB 1071- Reduction of speed limits; local authority- while additional work will need to be done on this policy in the future to continue to improve its implementation while continuing to guarantee road safety, the bill can move forward at this time.

The full list of signed bills for the 2024 Regular Session is available here. 

The Governor vetoed 48 bills, which included:  

HB 187, SB 104, HB 624, SB 105, HB 536, HB 224, HB 609, SB 237, HB 819, SB 238, HB 781, HB 1130, SB 35, HB 904, SB 300, SB 196, HB 962, HB 812, HB 568, SB 517, SB 119, HB 416, SB 189, SB 188, HB 246, HB 824, HB 653, HB 993, SB 422, HB 597, SB 479, HB 955, HB 740, HB 950, HB 588, HB 996, HB 861, SB 515, HB 173, SB 100, HB 498, SB 225, HB 576, SB 313, SB 729, HB 992, SB 212, HB 1504

The governor’s full veto statements are available here.