housing, minimum wage, taxes, and attracting business to the state

Background:

Our economy connects us to each other in innumerable ways. It’s difficult to conceptualize, but one person’s success can positively impact the economy as a whole, and thus its other participants. Why is it so important to have a thriving economy? A productive economy with productive citizens stimulates innovation, creates stability, and reduces crime. While the economy exists independent of our government, the government is constantly deciding how to involve itself in a way to create more positive outcomes. Some important issues the Virginia state government is currently dealing with are housing, the minimum wage, taxes, and attracting business to the state.

 

Looking Back at 2019:

Despite the fact that it was an odd-numbered year in which the state’s budget was not to be discussed, several extenuating circumstances made the economy a focal point of 2019. After recent changes to the federal tax code, which led to an excess of tax funds, Virginia had to decide whether to use the extra tax money for statewide projects or return the money to citizens. The General Assembly came to a mostly bipartisan agreement, with HB2529 and SB1372, to conform the state tax code to the federal code and give the money back to Virginians.


In addition to its tax conformity, Virginia signed bipartisan legislation to carry out its promises to Amazon. The company, which chose to locate one of its newest $2.5 billion facilities in the Crystal City area of Arlington County, was promised $750 million in cash incentives four years after their creation of 37,850 new jobs. The deal was generally heralded as a major success for the Virginian economy.


The General Assembly also took serious action this year to address issues in Virginia’s hous­ing policies. A Princeton University study, released in 2018, showed that Richmond had the nation’s second-highest eviction rate, followed closely by Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. The report, which was greeted with alarm all across Virginia, led to calls by the Governor and local mayors to remedy the situation. In response, the General Assembly passed seven bills - all based on recommendations from the Virginia Housing Commission - to address the issue. These measures, which passed nearly unanimously, will give tenants more time to pay all amounts owed before eviction, limit the actions a landlord can take to remove a tenant, and require landlords to provide tenants with a lease agreement.


Despite successes in several other economic areas, the General Assembly dodged efforts to increase the minimum wage in this year’s session. Virginia’s current minimum wage stands at $7.25 per hour, which amounts to an annual salary of $15,080 for a person working 40 hours each week for 52 weeks of the year. To remedy this situation and ensure that all working Virginians can support a family, several bills were proposed to increase the minimum wage. All were rejected.


What to Expect in 2020: 

With the outright failure of any efforts to increase the minimum wage, incrementally or otherwise, the 2020 session is sure to see numerous proposals. The proposals vary from gradual to immediate increases and from $10.10 per hour all the way up to $15.00 per hour. Some proposals include a stipulation to index the minimum wage, which means automatically adjusting it to keep pace with the rising cost of living so that minimum wage workers do not lose purchasing power each year. Thirty other states have now raised the minimum wage beyond the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour. Virginia is falling behind and should seriously consider the passage of minimum wage reform during the 2020 General Assembly Session. 


Additionally, affordable housing will continue to be at the top of the docket in 2020. Despite the passage of landlord-tenant reforms, Virginia still has an inadequate supply of affordable housing. Especially as costs rise and wages stagnate, affordable housing is incredibly important for the stability of families and their ability to spend money on other necessities like healthcare and food. Virginia took a step in the right direction addressing issues in rental housing but needs to take a look at other issues in housing in this upcoming session.

[Virginia Public Media] Data: Virginia’s Early Childhood Education Providers Are Succeeding

By VOW Ops • January 21, 2026
The second year of results from Virginia’s recently established Quality Establishment and Improvement System (VQB5) for early childhood education found that 99% of childcare providers receiving state funding meet or exceed quality expectations. As of early December 2025, over 154,000 views have been recorded on the system’s website since its October 2024 debut, revealing the many parents and families who appreciate the information that VQB5 offers them. None of these wonderful results would even be available to admire without the support and success we had in passing HB 1012 and SB 578 back in 2020! The data focuses on classroom interactions between children and caregivers and notes how said interactions encourage kids to express themselves at a young age. The state has also enacted categories of excellence for providers who score in the top 10%, exceed quality expectations, or even show significant improvement from an evaluation the year before. On top of that, a new data system called VAConnects helps integrate information on students over the years to track their learning progress. The Department of Education wishes to sustain the program and has requested $735,000 to do so. Overall, Virginia is serving as a model for other states to use in establishing best practices for their early childhood programs. Read more here .

[Richmond Times Dispatch] Virginians want General Assembly Action on Housing, Survey Finds

By VOW Ops • January 21, 2026
An August survey reveals that large majorities of Virginians want state lawmakers to address the rising cost of housing. The survey was conducted by Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia and Freedom Virginia. More than 8 in 10 Virginians said the General Assembly needs to act. More than 3 in 4 Virginians want lawmakers to prevent landlords from raising rents each year by more than 7%. Many Virginians also supported the idea of the state incentivizing localities to build more housing and providing developers with an ability to appeal rejected housing projects. Many proposals that were made to address all these public concerns were struck down during the 2025 legislative session. One of the main reasons why all the mentioned proposals failed to pass the General Assembly is because of the large influence the local government lobbies have in Richmond in protecting what little authority they are granted by the state. However, 6 in 10 Virginians indicated that they are more concerned with providing more housing than protecting local government authority. Read more here.

[Richmond Times Dispatch] Spanberger Details Affordability Measures in Health Care, Energy, Housing

By VOW Ops • December 19, 2025
Governor-elect Spanberger has released details on how her administration will work with the General Assembly to address affordability issues for Virginians regarding health care, energy, and housing. Democrats in the General Assembly argue the proposals are needed to mitigate the effects of President Trump’s tariff policies and reduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. Some of the solutions being proposed are legislation from the previous session that were vetoed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin. In health care, Spanberger and Virginia Democrats will tackle pharmacy benefit managers’ ability to compel patients toward using affiliated-only pharmacies. The incoming administration also wants to limit the number of times insurance companies can request approvals from patients receiving certain cancer cares and medicines for chronic conditions. Democrats are also reviving legislation that would prohibit insurance companies from charging tobacco smokers higher premiums. Further, Spanberger supports implementing a pilot program to help Virginians who will face unaffordable insurance premiums resulting from the expiration of the ACA enhanced tax credits. In energy, Spanberger called to make it easier for Virginians to utilize small-scale solar panels which don’t require hard labor to install. She also wants the previously vetoed legislation that would set energy storage standards for utility companies brought back to her desk (Governor Youngkin vetoed it because of his belief that the Virginia Clean Economy Act associated with it was ineffective). In housing, Spanberger and Democrats are reviving legislation from 2025 that would extend the grace period tenants have before being evicted for missing rent payments. They are also proposing changes that would give local governments priority in acquiring affordable multi-family units supported by tax credits when the owner wants to sell or convert them. Further, Democrats are reintroducing a bill which would allow all localities to change their zoning ordinances to create dense and affordable housing (currently, only the counties of Albemarle and Loudoun and the cities of Alexandria, Charlottesville, and Fairfax are granted such provisions). Read more here.
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