New speaker makes history as Virginia Legislature opens; Youngkin calls for bipartisan progress

A remade Virginia General Assembly convened its 2024 session Wednesday with a Democratic majority newly in charge of both chambers after a consequential election cycle that followed two years of divided control of the Legislature.

Guns, gambling, abortion, public safety and other issues will be on the agenda as Democrats seek to hold their razor-thin majorities together over the course of the 60-day session. They will need to win Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's support for most of their priorities, though in a few areas they will be able to move without him.

“I think there are some things we’re going to be able to agree on,” Democratic House Speaker Don Scott said of the governor, ticking off spots of typical bipartisan cooperation, like education, mental health and workforce development.

On other legislative items — like gun control and Youngkin's push for a new sports arena — it remains to be seen where or whether compromise can be found, Scott said in an interview ahead of the session's start.

Scott, a trial lawyer and Navy veteran, was sworn in as one of the House's first acts. Scott, whom Democrats nominated for the role in November, made history, becoming the first Black person to serve in the role. His election was without opposition and greeted with rousing cheers and standing ovations.

“I'm very grateful. I know this is God’s favor," said Scott, who referenced being incarcerated decades ago for a drug-related conviction, adding: “There are those who will tell you that you should be defined forever by a mistake. I am here to tell you — do not believe them.”

Scott will help guide an increasingly diverse Capitol as part of a new generation of leadership that in the Senate includes Democratic Leader Scott Surovell, an attorney from northern Virginia.

Last year's election cycle — when every legislative seat was on the ballot and candidates ran under newly drawn maps — led to tremendous turnover. About a third of the current Assembly members are new to their respective chambers.

The Assembly also convened with a record-high percentage of female legislators, according to data maintained by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers.

Wednesday’s kick-off effectively marked the halfway point of Youngkin’s term. The governor, who ultimately did not mount a presidential bid after heaps of speculation in 2023 that he might, is prohibited from seeking a second consecutive four years in office.

“If we want Virginia to unleash opportunity, the second half starts now. It’s time to lead. And it’s time to lead together,” he said in his annual State of the Commonwealth address to lawmakers, delivered Wednesday afternoon in the House chamber.

In the two months since the GOP fell short of Youngkin's stated electoral expectations — losing its House majority and failing to flip the Senate — the governor has begun to roll out his policy roadmap, including his proposed budget. Crafting the next two-year state spending plan will be one of the session's biggest tasks, something lawmakers in recent years have failed to do on time.

In the his address, Youngkin reiterated a previous call to lower income tax rates while raising the state's sales tax, a proposal that's been greeted by skepticism from members of both parties. Youngkin, who has also said he wants to find a way to eliminate the state's car tax, argued that further reductions to the tax burden would help reduce the number of Virginians leaving the state.

The governor told lawmakers that if they approved the framework of a deal he unveiled in December to move the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals across the Potomac to Alexandria, “it will be a huge win” for the state, region and local small businesses.

Legislation that would create a government entity that could issue around $1.5 billion in bonds to help finance the deal will be among the session's most closely watched.

The governor called for lawmakers to continue working with him to transform the state's mental health care system, and he vowed to veto any bill that would impact the state's so-called “Right to Work” law, which says employers cannot require workers to be union members.

While Wednesday saw mostly procedural tasks, introductions and prepared remarks, the weeks ahead will be filled with long days as lawmakers take up hundreds of proposals.

Republicans, who have said they plan to hold Democrats accountable for any rush to the left, want to try again to pass a bill that would allow prosecutors to charge drug dealers with felony homicide if a user dies of an overdose. They're also promising a renewed effort to repeal an electric vehicle mandate Democrats enacted in 2021.

Democrats have filed a wide range of bills to tighten penalties for gun-related convictions and limit access to certain types of firearms.

Those measures will face the prospect of a Youngkin veto, though the governor has been quiet enough on the issue that leading gun rights advocates have said they are uncertain of how he might act. In his address, he asked lawmakers to send him measures to toughen penalties for people convicted of gun-related crimes.

Democrats have filed measures that will put Youngkin on the record on other topics where he's hedged, like same-sex marriage, as well as recreational marijuana retail sales, something he told reporters Wednesday “I really don't have any interest in.”

Democrats will also be able to elect judges and fill other appointments.