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Twenty-five bills led by members of Fairfax County’s General Assembly delegation remained on Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk as of April 13, with the deadline for action set for 11:59 p.m. May 2, 2025.
The unresolved legislation covers health insurance, medical debt, data centers, firearms, education, energy, elections and other issues. Among the measures awaiting a decision are Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy’s proposal requiring contraceptive coverage, Sen. Adam Ebbin’s high-energy data center assessment bill and Del. Karrie Delaney’s Medical Debt Protection Act.
They are part of 160 House and Senate bills statewide that were still awaiting the governor’s action.
“Over the next 30 days, I will review and take final action on the bills and budget amendments that have been sent back to my desk,” Youngkin said following the General Assembly’s April 2 reconvened session.
The 25 Fairfax delegation bills still pending
Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy of the 33rd District had two bills awaiting action:
- SB780, requiring health insurance coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices.
- SB963, allowing an accused person to ask the commonwealth to copy or photograph discovery materials or evidence.
Sen. Adam Ebbin of the 39th District had three:
- SB879, creating an alternative route to provisional licensure for career and technical education teachers.
- SB881, prohibiting certain transfers involving plastic, unserialized or otherwise restricted firearms and receivers.
- SB1449, requiring a site assessment for a high-energy-use facility such as a data center.
Sen. David Marsden of the 35th District had SB1336, dealing with electricity consumption tax rate adjustments.
Sen. Stella Pekarsky of the 36th District had two measures:
- SB1048, addressing school policies for notifying parents about the safe storage of prescription drugs and firearms.
- SB1212, requiring disclosure of mandatory fees or surcharges under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell of the 34th District had two:
- SB805, updating the schedule used to determine basic child-support obligations.
- SB940, addressing challenges to the qualifications of candidates for public office.
Del. Laura Jane Cohen of the 15th District had HB1678, another proposal involving parental notification about safely storing prescription drugs and firearms in the home.
Del. Karrie Delaney of the 9th District had two bills:
- HB1725, creating the Medical Debt Protection Act and establishing prohibited practices and penalties.
- HB1730, addressing an employer’s liability to vulnerable victims in cases involving personal injury or wrongful death.
Del. Dan Helmer of the 10th District had three:
- HB1609, directing consideration of infertility-treatment coverage in Virginia’s essential health benefits benchmark plan.
- HB1796, creating a regulatory framework for decentralized autonomous organizations.
- HB1957, reforming Standards of Learning assessments and related student testing methods.
Del. Charniele Herring of the 4th District had two:
- HB2109, directing the state health commissioner to reestablish the Maternal Health Data and Quality Measures Task Force.
- HB2724, regulating the use of automatic license plate recognition systems and requiring reports.
Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra of the 7th District had HB1630, allowing an accused person to request copies or photographs of discovery materials or evidence.
The delegation’s list identified HB2134, concerning definitions and sovereignty for Virginia-recognized and federally recognized American Indian tribes, under both Del. Paul Krizek of the 16th District and Del. Holly Seibold of the 12th District.
Del. Irene Shin of the 8th District had two bills pending:
- HB2087, addressing electric utilities and transportation electrification.
- HB2779, increasing the number of nonlegislative citizen members on the New Americans Advisory Board.
Del. Richard “Rip” Sullivan Jr. of the 6th District had HB2537, directing the Department of Energy and others to develop model ordinances and reports for energy-storage requirements.
Del. Vivian Watts of the 14th District had HB1721, addressing compensation when conservation or open-space easements are condemned under the Uniform Easement Relocation Act.
Hundreds of bills already signed or vetoed
By April 13, Virginia’s legislative records showed 677 approved or enacted measures classified as Acts of Assembly chapters. Another 158 measures had been vetoed, including HB1600, the state budget bill.
Before an earlier March 24 deadline, Youngkin acted on 916 bills from the 2025 session. He signed 599 and vetoed 157 while returning the budget with recommendations.
The governor said those vetoed measures would have raised living costs, hurt job growth, impeded innovation, weakened his energy policy or made communities less safe.
Lawmakers returned to Richmond on April 2 for a one-day reconvened session to consider Youngkin’s vetoes, amendments to other legislation, eight line-item vetoes and 205 proposed changes to the budget.
The Democratic-controlled legislature did not overturn any of Youngkin’s 157 bill vetoes. Although Democrats held narrow majorities in both chambers, overriding a veto required a two-thirds vote.
Fairfax-backed proposals hit by vetoes
Youngkin rejected numerous bills sponsored by Fairfax delegation members, including measures involving firearms, health care, labor rules, energy and cannabis.
Among them was Helmer’s HB1607, which would have prohibited the purchase, sale or transfer of assault firearms and certain ammunition-feeding devices. Youngkin argued that the proposal unconstitutionally targeted a broad category of firearms commonly used for lawful purposes, including self-defense.
He also vetoed Sen. Jennifer Boysko’s SB1013, which would have created an affirmative defense involving neurocognitive disorders. Youngkin said it would reduce protections for law enforcement, limit prosecutors’ discretion and add procedural burdens to the court system.
Surovell’s SB917 would have established exclusive bargaining representatives for public employees. Youngkin said the change could threaten the funding and delivery of government services while costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Ebbin’s SB880 would have prohibited carrying assault firearms in public areas. Youngkin again argued that the restriction would be unconstitutional because it covered firearms used for lawful purposes.
Del. David Bulova’s HB2037 would have required solar canopies in surface parking areas under certain land-development rules. Youngkin said the mandate could hurt the economics of new development and restrict flexibility.
Youngkin also vetoed Seibold’s HB2485, which proposed a regulated retail cannabis market. He contended that Virginia’s illegal cannabis trade was already dangerous and that expanding availability would pose additional health and safety risks.
Other vetoed Fairfax delegation bills addressed firearm storage, waiting periods for gun purchases, salary-history inquiries, public-employee bargaining, shared solar programs, ranked-choice voting, synthetic media in political advertising and prevailing wages.
A small share of proposals became law
Virginia legislators introduced 3,512 bills during the 2025 session, but most did not complete the process and become law. The same pattern applied to legislation sponsored by Fairfax County’s delegation.
Measures from delegation members that did become law covered subjects ranging from school cellphone restrictions and telehealth to landlord-tenant rules, unemployment benefits, criminal-record sealing, flood preparedness and health insurance.
Among the enacted bills were Pekarsky’s SB738, establishing restrictions on student possession of cellphones and smart devices throughout the school day; Bulova’s HB2050, creating the Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program; and Surovell’s SB1413, addressing inspections and evaluations of indoor air quality in public school buildings.
Other successful proposals expanded information and services for sexual-assault patients, strengthened documentation for students who use augmentative communication, addressed fentanyl testing in hospitals, regulated disclosure of rental fees and provided compensation in wrongful-incarceration cases.
For the remaining 25 Fairfax delegation measures, however, the final outcome rested with Youngkin ahead of the May 2 deadline.