The General Assembly Week 1 Wrap Up

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I want to update you on some of the very first actions taken by the new Democratic majority in the General Assembly and by Governor Spanberger—and why they matter to families and employers across Virginia.

Partisan Constitutional Amendments

One of the majority’s first moves was to fast-track four constitutional amendments for the ballot, likely this April. These are not modest or bipartisan proposals. They are sweeping, ideological changes—three of them focused on divisive social issues.

Most notably, the abortion amendment would create a fundamental constitutional right to abortion in Virginia. That goes well beyond Roe v. Wade and would almost certainly be used to strike down laws that enjoy broad public support, including parental consent and parental notification requirements. Virginians should understand that once a policy is embedded in the Constitution at this level, it becomes extremely difficult—if not impossible—to rein in through normal legislation.

There is also a redistricting amendment that deserves close scrutiny. Just three years ago, an overwhelming majority of Virginians voted to take politics out of redistricting. Now, in a strikingly ironic and purely political maneuver, Democrats are moving to undo that decision. Their own supporters have openly claimed this amendment could be used to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts to produce a 10–1 Democratic majority in our congressional delegation. All of this is happening while the same leaders tell Virginians their focus is affordability—a claim that rings hollow when paired with an aggressive effort to entrench political power.

Governor Spanberger’s “Task Force” Orders

Governor Spanberger also signed a series of executive orders creating task forces to study affordability—health care, housing, and other costs that are already squeezing Virginia families.

Frankly, this is surprising. The Governor spent more than a year campaigning almost exclusively on affordability. Virginians reasonably expected concrete proposals on day one—not a decision to appoint task forces to figure out what to do after the election.

The disconnect becomes even clearer when you look at what Democratic legislators are already advancing.

An Agenda That Raises Costs

At the same time these task forces are being formed, Democrats have introduced legislation that would raise costs across the board for workers, families, and small businesses, including proposals to:

• Mandate a $15/hour minimum wage, increasing labor costs for small employers
• Create paid sick leave and paid family leave programs funded by more than $2 billion in new taxes
• Impose a $1.4 billion income tax increase on higher earners
• Expand sales, digital, and services taxes—amounting to billions more in new revenue
• Repeal Right-to-Work, forcing workers to pay union dues and increasing the cost of doing business in Virginia

It is hard to reconcile the creation of “affordability task forces” with an agenda that so clearly moves in the opposite direction.

Republican Solutions That Deliver Real Relief

By contrast, Senate Republicans have already introduced common-sense legislation that would make an immediate, measurable difference in your household budget—ideas that might actually be worth studying by those task forces. These include:

• Repealing the Virginia Clean Economy Act, saving families more than $1,000 per year in energy costs
• Eliminating taxes on tips, returning an average of $280 per worker
• Eliminating taxes on overtime pay, saving about $130 per worker
• Repealing the car tax, putting roughly $1,099 back into the average household
• Repealing the grocery tax, saving families hundreds of dollars each year
• Extending the higher standard deduction, saving up to $600 per family

These proposals are straightforward, practical, and focused on one goal: letting Virginians keep more of what they earn.

As always, I welcome your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. If you are in Richmond during the General Assembly session, please feel free to stop by my office. I value hearing directly from the people I represent.

Sincerely,

Mark Obenshain