Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) had a deadline of 11:59 p.m. April 13 to act upon the bills that passed the 2026 General Assembly session, which took place from Jan. 14 to March 14. After the session’s conclusion, she had 30 days to sign, veto or recommend amendments to legislation passed by both the House and Senate.
The standard date for bills to go into effect is July 1. Spanberger signed over 900 bills, vetoed some and made amendments to over 100 by the April 13 deadline.
Higher Education Legislation
House Bill 1263 would give public employees across the Commonwealth the right to collective bargaining, and it would require public employers to negotiate with public employees. Union groups urged Spanberger to amend the legislation leading up to the April 13 deadline to include all university employees in the definition of “service employee.” Spanberger approved the bill’s “general purpose,” but she sent back her own version of the bill for acceptance, which does not modify the legislation to include all higher education employees in the definition of “service employee.”
Another piece of legislation closely linked to university functioning is House Bill 1385, which is identical to Senate Bill 494. The legislation increases state oversight of public university governing boards, clarifies the responsibilities of board members and changes how university board members are approved. Spanberger sent this bill back Monday with a requested Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute, meaning she provided an entirely new text rather than suggesting particular edits to the existing bill.
The Budget Bill
House Bill 29 is the state’s budget bill, which Spanberger approved Feb. 20. The legislation updates and modifies the state’s two-year budget originally passed in 2025, allocating public funds until June 30 across areas including education, healthcare, public employee compensation and infrastructure.
Notably, the bill also contains Democrats’ proposed “10-1” congressional map, which legislators proactively passed and Spanberger signed into law Feb. 20. The map can only take effect, however, if voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday restoring the General Assembly’s authority over redistricting.
Affordable Virginia Plan 16-bill package
Spanberger’s Affordable Virginia Plan — a 16-bill package — aimed to lower costs for Virginians, particularly in the areas of healthcare, housing and energy.
Senate Bill 271, or the “Affordable Medicine Act,” would enable the Commonwealth to set upper payment limits on drugs and create a Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel to enhance price transparency, strengthen data collection and develop policy recommendations to improve drug affordability. SB 271 is the companion bill to HB 483, which Spanberger approved the “general purpose” of, but returned without her signature April 13 with the request that an attached amendment be accepted. The amendment delayed the bill’s implementation, requiring it to pass again in 2027.
In the same vein of healthcare affordability, House Bill 1182 — identical to Senate Bill 361 — requires health insurance plans to cover a wide range of contraceptive methods with little to no out-of-pocket costs. Spanberger sent HB 1182 back with an amendment Saturday to clarify details of the coverage.
House Bill 2 reduces energy costs through efficiency upgrades by requiring major utility companies, including Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power, to make “reasonable efforts” to provide or expand weatherization and energy efficiency programs. The legislation is specifically designed to lower energy bills for low-income Virginians, and Spanberger proposed her amended version of the legislation Monday to add minor flexibility around the bill’s requirements.
Closely linked to HB 2 is House Bill 3, which was approved by Spanberger Monday. HB 3 creates a task force to determine how to lower energy costs for low-income households. Specifically, the bill directs the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to create an Income-Qualified Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Task Force, which must meet at least six times between July 1, 2026 and Sept. 30, 2027 to reduce the energy burden and expand energy efficiency programs.
In conjunction with HB 3 and HB 2, House Bill 4 allows local governments to buy certain affordable housing properties before private investors to maintain affordability. Spanberger passed HB 4 April 8.
On the topic of housing, House Bill 1005 updates the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, and Spanberger approved the bill Monday. The bill bans landlords from charging tenants for routine maintenance or repairs unless the tenant caused the damage, requires landlords to allow for more than one way of paying rent and mandates transparency in payments. HB 1005 is identical to Senate Bill 313.
Additional legislation passed
House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 — companion bills — gradually raise Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2028, and the pieces of legislation also tie increases to the minimum wage to inflation for the long-term. Spanberger signed the bill into law.
Spanberger approved Senate Bill 794 — the Virginia Health Care Protection Act — Monday. The legislation protects access to certain health care services in the Commonwealth, and it states that Virginia officials cannot assist other states in investigating or punishing someone for care that is legal in Virginia but illegal in another state.
Spanberger proposed amendments to bills that would ban the sale and purchase of assault-style weapons — House Bill 217 and Senate Bill 749. The amendments asked for additional clarity to law enforcement and protected use of certain guns for the purpose of game hunting. She also proposed an amendment Saturday to House Bill 1525, which would restore universal background checks and raise the legal gun purchasing age to 21.
According to Virginia law, when the governor sends bills back with amendments, they are returned to the originating chamber for review at the reconvened session. Lawmakers may accept Spanberger’s amendments with a majority vote, override her amendments with a two-thirds vote or reject them and allow the bill to die.
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