RICHMOND, Va. -- The final push at the State Capitol in Richmond is on as Virginia lawmakers work to wrap up this year's General Assembly session.
On Monday, both House and Senate Democrats laid out some of what they said they've accomplished on key issues since taking over both chambers in last November's elections.
They drew attention to dozens of bills that have passed both chambers with enough time that Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) will have to act on them by midnight Friday.
Among the so-called seven-day bills:
- Banning legacy university admissions,
- Re-enrolling in a program to share voter information with other states,
- Requiring health insurance cover contraception.
Some of the bills were from Republicans or passed with bipartisan support.
House Republican Minority Leader Todd Gilbert sent the following statement following the news conference:
“I don’t know what the Democrats hope to accomplish by sending these bills to the Governor on an accelerated timeline. In Virginia, the Governor works almost like a third chamber of the General Assembly. Regardless of party, the Governor’s office often finds errors and problems in legislation and sends down fixes. If these bills are truly that important, why would Democrats want to rush the Governor’s review?”
CBS 6 Political Analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth said the reason Democrats made the move was to force Youngkin's hand on some issues before finalizing their work on the two-year state budget. That budget could or could not include language to allow a professional sports arena in Northern Virginia. A project the governor announced and supports.
"What the Democrats have done is they've used a legal option here," Holdsworth said. "If on Friday, the Governor vetoes a whole set of Democratic legislation, that arena legislation may become the victim of Democratic retribution."
As for the budget, different versions were passed in each chamber and lawmakers said they started meeting on Sunday on a compromise.
When asked for a comment about the news conference a spokesperson for Youngkin said "The Governor is reviewing the legislation that has been delivered to his desk, as he continues to watch how the General Assembly chooses to act on other important priorities."
Regarding the seven-day bills, Youngkin can either sign them into law, amend them, veto them, or let them become law without his signature.
Not included among them are some of the big-ticket topics this year:
- Retail marijuana
- Skill games
- Increasing the minimum wage.
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