RICHMOND, Va. — Along with the proposed changes to the state's budget, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced he had vetoed 158 bills Virginia lawmakers passed during the 2025 General Assembly session.
"I have vetoed bills that I think will take the Commonwealth backward by raising the cost of living, hurting our strong job growth, stifling innovation, undermining our All-American All-of-the-Above Power and Energy Plan or making our communities less safe," Youngkin said in a statement Monday night.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) called the governor's vetoes disappointing.
"There's been a lot of talk amongst conservatives lately about focusing on affordability and that's exactly what we did this session," said Surovell. "And the governor basically stuck a finger in eye of every working Virginian with the vetoes...that he put out yesterday."
While he did not veto as many bills as last year, according to data from the Virginia Public Access Project, Youngkin has vetoed around 400 bills during his term—more than any governor before him. The closest governor was Democrat Terry McAuliffe with 120 vetoes.
Lawmakers will return on April 2 to take up Youngkin's actions.
Jobs
Governor Youngkin vetoed increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, paid family medical leave, and a bill that would have allowed all public sector employees to collectively bargain.
In his veto explanation, Youngkin said the latter would threaten funding and delivery of state and local services and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year without a funding mechanism to account for this.
Surovell was that bill's sponsor in the Senate.
"These are just common sense policies that allow our workforce to remain competitive, especially in an environment right now where the governor's allies are slamming the Virginia economy over the head with a sledgehammer," Surovell said.
Among the other work-related vetoes from Youngkin were:
- HB1625 Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees; temporary foreign workers.
- HB1919 Workplace violence policy; required for certain employers, civil penalty.
- HB1921 Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties, effective date.
- HB2469 Overtime for certain employees; domestic service workers and live-in domestic workers.
- HB2561 Employee protections; minimum wage and overtime wages, civil actions, misclassification of workers.
- SB1132 Prospective employees; prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history.
Guns
Regarding fiearms, Youngkin vetoed bills that barred people convicted of a hate crime from owning a gun, a five-day waiting period to buy a firearm, and a ban on the sale of assault weapons.
On the last one, Youngkin said while he was troubled by mass shootings, Virginia already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, and the focus should be on strengthening penalties and increasing behavioral health funding.
Surovell said that's not enough.
"These are weapons that are used in war," he said. "They're not needed for home defense."
Among the other firearm-related vetoes from Youngkin were:
- HB1608/SB1450 Firearm industry members; standards of responsible conduct, civil liability.
- HB1660 Trigger activator; definition does not include semi-automatic replacement trigger, etc., penalty.
- HB1736 Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention, Va. Center for; created, etc.
- HB1797 Concealed handgun permits; reciprocity with other states.
- HB1869 Firearms; purchase, etc., assault and battery of family member or intimate partner, penalties.
- HB1876 Capitol Sq. or building owned/leased by the Commonwealth, carrying firearm/explosive material, etc.
- HB1960 Firearm transfers to another person from a prohibited person.
- HB2064 Firearm locking device; required for sale or transfer of firearm.
- SB1450 Firearm industry members; standards of responsible conduct, civil liability.
- SB848 Firearms, certain; age requirement for purchase, penalty.
- SB880 Assault firearms; carrying in public areas prohibited, penalty.
- SB1134 Firearms; storage in residence where minor or person prohibited from possessing is present, penalty.
- SB1329 Carrying concealed weapons; secured storage of firearms in unattended vehicles, penalty.
Elections
Youngkin vetoed several bills related to elections, including one that aimed to stop changes to the voter rolls within 90 days of an election— an issue that went all the way to the Supreme Court ahead of last year's elections.
Among the other election-related vetoes were:
- HB1794 Elections; primary dates, presidential year primaries.
- HB2002 Voter registration; cancellation of registration, sources of data.
- HB2056 Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices, days and hours of operation.
- HB2276 Voter registration; list maintenance activities, cancellation procedures, required record matches.
- HB2277 Elections administration; duties of local electoral board, certification of election, civil penalty.
- HB2668 Elections; procedures for removal of electoral board members and general registrars.
- HB2479 Political campaign advertisements; synthetic media, penalty.
- SB760 Elections; deadline for receipt of absentee ballots and certain other information, etc.
- SB1009 Elections; conduct of election, ranked choice voting, report.
Other Vetoes
Youngkin vetoed legislation to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, a retail marijuana market, and a bill that would have allowed cities and counties to havea sales tax to help with school construction if approved by a referendum. Those were all bills he vetoed last year as well.
Some other bills that Youngkin vetoed are:
- HB1830 School board policies; unpaid educational leave for certain employee association officers.
- HB1769 Chronic student absenteeism; task force to examine its effects on local school divisions, etc.
- HB2037 Land development; solar canopies in surface parking areas.
- HB2094 High-risk artificial intelligence; definitions, development, deployment, and use, civil penalties.
- HB2264 Taxation, Department of; repealing Virginia Free File Tax program.
- HB2555 Marijuana-related offenses; modification of sentence, sunset.
- SB1350 Restaurants; food allergy awareness notice required.
- HB1894 State correctional facilities; cell and facility conditions, temperature monitoring.
- HB2039 Encrypted telecommunications; DCJS, et al., to establish a model policy on use.
- HB2647 Restorative housing and isolated confinement; restrictions on use, effective date.
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