Virginia's New $141 billion budget

Last Friday (October 16th), the General Assembly passed a new $141 billion budget prioritizing COVID-19 relief, capping a special session that began two months prior. The denouement of the marathon session wasn’t without a catch, however. The session was recessed - not adjourned - until voters decide on a referendum appearing on November’s ballot asking whether or not a constitutional amendment establishing a bipartisan commission for political redistricting should be established. The referendum has splintered the Democratic bloc, and in response, lawmakers have agreed to keep the budget open, buying time in the interim for Governor Ralph Northam (D) to submit redistricting language to the budget if the amendment passes, thus requiring legislators to briefly reconvene to vote on its final passage. 


The biennial state budget, which projects how much money the state expects to earn in a two-year timeline and subsequently how every governmental program in Virginia is funded, had most recently been agreed to earlier this year to the tune of $135 billion before the coronavirus pandemic swept Virginia into economic and social uncertainty. Like most other states, Virginia faced dramatic decreases in revenue due to the pandemic, triggering Governor Northam to call for delays in the enactment of signature Democratic accomplishments made in the previous Regular Session, like increasing the minimum wage, and eventually an invocation for a special session in mid-August to revamp the damaged budget. 


During the course of this unorthodox special session, lawmakers also narrowed in on police brutality and racial injustice following a dramatic summer of protest, sending a slate of criminal justice reform bills to the Governor’s desk for signatures. The updated budget includes new funding for these reforms and other priority areas related to the pandemic, like child care, housing, and hazard pay, as well as plans to spend the remaining federal CARES funds before the December 30 deadline, when any unspent money must be returned to the federal government. Here are the revisions to the budget you need to know about:


  • $12 million to fund the new criminal justice and police reform measures, as well as $11 million to supply all law enforcement officers with a one-time $500 bonus;
  • A universal moratorium on evictions for residential properties to the end of the year;
  • A 60-day extension of the utility disconnection moratorium, to take effect after the end of the declared state of emergency or until economic or public health conditions improve, including the establishment of a repayment plan program for customers who owe money during the moratorium;
  • $72 million in hazard pay (additional pay for performing work in hazardous conditions) for personal care attendants risking their lives caring for elderly Virginians or Virginians with disabilities;
  • $76 million to support child care;
  • $85 million for broadband expansion, with an additional $30 million allocated from CARES funding;
  • $120 million for colleges and universities to help defray the costs of responding to COVID-19 and the adoption of online learning, including $220 million in relief funds for K-12 schools struggling with reopening;
  • $210 million for unemployment assistance;
  • $60 million for additional hospital reimbursements under Medicaid;
  • and $25 million to retain providers of day support services (programming alternatives for individuals with developmental disabilities on Medicaid who are less interested in employment or who may require more therapeutic interventions in order to have a meaningful day), among myriad other line items



Overall, net new spending would increase by roughly $240 million, paid for with a blend of savings and nearly $187 million in cash the Northam administration had left unassigned to hedge against economic uncertainty. The issuance of these reforms and desperately-needed pandemic relief, however, hangs at a standstill. Virginians will have to wait until they decide the fate of the redistricting amendment on November 3rd before the new budget becomes law.

[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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