The Virginia General Assembly approved dozens of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s budget amendments while it rejected dozens more Wednesday, setting up a potential fight between the Democratic-controlled body and the Republican governor as they work to pass a spending package.
An amendment to expand relief to victims of February’s floods, a reduction in funding for site readiness in Pulaski County, and money for school construction were among the budget items adopted by the legislature.
The General Assembly voted against $80 million for the Virginia Military Institute to build its Leadership and Ethics Facility and against the transfer of $50 million from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to the state’s general fund, among other items.
State Senate Democratic leadership pointed out that the governor had not reached out to lawmakers on either side of the aisle to work through budget items or bill issues prior to vetoing or amending them just before the March deadline.
“Most governors will tell you what their position is during the legislative process and try and take their views into account when we’re trying to craft these bills. Even after that, they come to you before they make an amendment and they say, ‘Here’s the amendment that I’m thinking about; can we talk about it?’” Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said. “This office rarely reaches out to anybody on either side, Democrat or Republican, to ask them about a way to compromise on a bill.”
Among Youngkin’s budget amendments accepted by lawmakers are measures to retain $50 million for disaster response and recovery following Hurricane Helene, and to broaden the recipients of that money to include those affected by February flooding; $50 million for school construction; and to decrease from $15 million to $7.5 million for utility infrastructure investment at a key business site in Pulaski County.
“This is an excellent example of how Republicans and Democrats can work together to help hundreds of families in Southwest Virginia who lost everything with virtually no means to rebuild their homes,” said Del. Will Morefield, R-Tazewell County, regarding disaster relief.
If the final budget bill is approved by the governor, the state funding package will be similar to what was approved for previous floods in Southwest Virginia, he added. Youngkin could sign the final budget bill or choose to throw out the entire thing.
The legislative body rejected more than 100 budget amendments proposed by the governor, including one that would have provided $80 million to VMI to build its Leadership and Ethics Facility, and another that would have transferred $50 million in proceeds from the state’s participation in RGGI to the state’s general fund.
Funding for the VMI project had been removed from the budget during a dispute between the state Senate and House of Delegates over costly commitments at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia.
The Republican governor had suggested that the Democratic-controlled General Assembly used the budget to try to force the VMI Board of Visitors to renew the contract of Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, the first Black superintendent of the 186-year-old public military college.
The board of visitors voted at the end of February not to renew Wins’ contract, effectively ousting the superintendent.
Legislators also rejected proposals by the governor that were intended to:
- Add $40 million to the Virginia Business Ready Sites program.
- Authorize a $20 million state-supported treasury loan for the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission to support a runway modification project at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
- Reduce the size of an increased appropriation to the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke. The legislature had originally approved $6.5 million for enrollment growth. The governor wanted to reduce that to $5 million; the General Assembly rejected that, which keeps the $6.5 million appropriation in the budget.
- Provide additional funding for new and existing lab schools.
- Establish an annual cap on increases to in-state undergraduate tuition and mandatory educational and general fees.
- Require the New College Institute in Martinsville to develop a new business plan or a plan for merger into another regional educational institution.
- Remove funding for the identification and designation of lynching sites in Virginia as historical landmarks.
- Extend the sunset date for the sales tax exemption for data centers from 2035 to 2050.
The votes took place during the General Assembly’s 2025 reconvene session, when lawmakers had a chance to address the governor’s actions on more than 900 bills and a package of more than 500 budget amendments that were sent to his desk at the end of the session.
The governor had vetoed 157 bills from the 2025 session, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, and amended 159 pieces of legislation as of Wednesday.
Youngkin will have 30 days to act on the steps taken by the General Assembly. He can either veto or sign bills without the amendments rejected by the General Assembly. Lacking a two-thirds majority in either chamber, also known as a veto-proof majority, Democrats were unable to override any of the Republican governor’s vetoes on Wednesday.
