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Senate votes on a memorial resolution to honor Paul Ebert, a PWC prosecutor who sent more people to death row than anyone in VA, and who 4th Circuit justices said engaged in actions "abhorrent to the judicial process," and "eschewing the Constitution, [and] ethical strictures."

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Now another GOP senator asking for clarification on the implementation of the assault weapon ban bill, which this governor's amendment delaying implementation of the open carry bill has nothing to do with, but even if it did, delaying implementation would help to get answers. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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Additionally, as @ssurovell.bsky.social points out, DeSteph is talking about the wrong underlying gun bill (public open carry vs assault ban). And as @jeremymcpike.bsky.social points out, a yea vote delays the law from taking effect. There isn't a repeal up for discussion.

Sen DeSteph complaining on Senate floor right now that laws have to be interpreted by courts. 🤡

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Ultimately only a handful of senator convinced to vote against this amendment allowing data centers to use evaporative cooling.

Voting board shows 28 yeas and 10 nays on amendment

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Interesting point though acknowledged by Sen Stuart: rejecting this amendment would send it back to the Governor, who could line veto the underlying data center water conservation language altogether.

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Senate taking amendments up one by one now. Unanimous on 3 & 4, partisan vote on #1, some GOP opposition to #2. Sens Stuart & Roem argue against amendment #5 allowing data centers to use evaporative (swamp) cooling, undermining water conservation measure of conference report.

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House accepts Gov's amendments tweaking data center consumption tax reporting, clarifications to local school construction/transp. sales tax, changes to sick leave law; and by a 56-34 vote, delaying enactment of newly-passed restriction on carrying firearms in public spaces.

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House GOP vote nay on Governor's budget amendment #1 ($ for Dept of Elex for ballot referenda). Some GOP vote nay on #2 (menhaden research funding), #6 (to add utility co-ops to RGGI eligibility), #7 (law enf. face covering clarification), 9, 10.

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"Unusually unloquacious" senators have no points of personal privilege today and are now waiting around for the House to take up the budget.

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Irregular invocations in both the House and the Senate today: the House because the pastor fled the chamber before the Delegate who'd invited him even had a chance to make an introduction; the Senate replacing an invited religious leader invocation with a moment of silent prayer.

Senate Rules subcommittee proposes the Senate adopt for next session the following bill limit: 15 bills per senator, plus 5 from among: early bird submissions (by August), legislative commission bills and/or governor's requests. Full Rules adopts the proposal.

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House accepts conference report on budget by a 71-22 vote. Both chambers now in recess until they're called back into session (with notice).

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Del McNamara giving floor speech complaining about how much more this year's budget requires in revenues than last year's. So I guess he's pretty pissed at the Trump administration for passing along billions of costs in Medicaid and SNAP and CHIP plans to the states.

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Poor Del @katrinacallsen.com timing is rough, presenting a resolution commending a giant peach grown on an Albemarle farm b/w terribly sad memorial resolutions to Del @lesliemehta.bsky.social VA's husband and Del Askew's chief of staff, who both passed away since the legislature adjourned.

Mild bipartisan support in the Senate for the conference committee budget agreement (which, per Minority Leader McDougle, Gov. Spanberger has not officially signed off on):

Voting board shows 23 yeas and 16 nays on HB30

Kudos to Finance Chair Louise Lucas from her GOP colleague and budget conferee Sen Stuart: "The Chairman did a fantastic job...her fortitude, her tenacity, she stood behind me and fought WITH me to address this issue that protects people and their ability to have water to live on."

Senate floor discussing budget conference agreement where a $1.2 billion consumption fee on data centers will go towards an increase to the standard deduction, a utility bill tax credit, 4% teacher raises, a 3.5% pay increase for all state employees.

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Republicans relitigating the underlying policies of constitutional amendments the legislature has already passed—abortion rights, right to vote, right to marry—today at a joint House/ Senate P&E meeting to vote on the specific language to go on the November ballot (written by nonpartisan lawyers).

VAPLAN @vaplan.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Gov Spanberger vetoed @salimforva.bsky.social bill to end this waiver, now found unconstitutional by {checks notes} conservative Justice Gorsuch. With enemies like this, who needs friends like Spanberger? Wait, is that how that goes?

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VAPLAN @vaplan.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

The fact that the data center industry can spend this much money advertising for themselves nonstop during the World Cup tells you all you need to know about this policy battle.

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VAPLAN @vaplan.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Ohhh, gotcha! Yes, Hashmi is such a great asset that is surely not being utilized! 😞

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VAPLAN @vaplan.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Not really sure what you're implying here-- @ltgovhashmi.bsky.social has plenty of experience from years of legislating. There's no indication Spanberger consults with the LG; in fact, it's rarely how the relationship between VA Gov and LG works.

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It's still a major policy being stuck into the budget language. So it bore mentioning in the summary. (local sales tax option also doesn't have any revenue implications but was mentioned)

Sorry, to clarify, marijuana *IS* in the House proposed actual budget, just wasn't mentioned in their summary.

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Weird timing to release proposed budget details that don't include revenue from this, and then announce this.

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Also in House proposed conference budget: 3% state employee salary increases $2.4 BILLION to fully fund Medicaid and CHIP $288 million to fund SNAP $1.8 billion additional public k-12 support

VAPLAN @vaplan.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

House Approps is up with a proposed budget conference report. It balances without ending data center tax exemption (but commits to studying data centers), w/o marijuana retail markets, w/o new gambling. Does allow school construction local tax option. hac.virginia.gov/wp-content/u...

hac.virginia.gov

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Conservative SCOVA Justice McCullough (who killed the redistricting amendment VA voters approved) appears at Code Commish to ask for leg. to add "plain language" translations to the legalese on court forms. He has a glossary of possible terms to translate. I wonder if "election" was on the list? 😤

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VAPLAN @vaplan.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Not sure that legality + no regulated market exactly makes things safer for kids nor reduces the smell of people walking around smoking.

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VAPLAN @vaplan.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

@paulkrizek.bsky.social now VC of Cannabis Market Transition Commish: 5 yrs in we still do not have an adult-use retail market. Cannabis is legal to grow & use but we continue to lack a safe regulated and taxed place to buy it. We continue to work on the transition even if the politics is difficult.

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I know there were several times in committee where the chair was looking for someone from the administration to come up and testify and there wasn't anyone there. I know previous Dem Administrations have convened workgroups, helped craft bill language etc. and that didn't seem to happen here.

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People ask why Gov. Spanberger tried to change so many bills after the legislature passed them. Many theories, but mostly it looks like the legislature, despite leadership intentionally restraining it to be more moderate, is still left of the Gov, and she didn't convey that before they passed bills.

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Among the Governor’s recs that watered down bills, many were unpalatable: restricting which categories of workers or businesses the law would apply to, turning bills into studies, switching “shall" to “may” (taking away the bill’s teeth), cutting a 2-year statute of limitations cutoff to 1, etc.

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There were several types of Governor's recommendations to bills. Some were language corrections, some aligned House and Senate versions of bills, some added emergency clauses so the bill would take effect immediately, many moved effective dates up or back. MANY watered down the bills.

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Note that for 4 bills where the legislature adopted the recs, the Governor just added a re-enactment clause. The legislator can say “I passed this BILL!” but it’s not actually becoming law any more than if it failed or was vetoed. (She also okayed 2 bills where her re-enactment clause was rejected.)

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On 4 of the 15 bills the Gov. ultimately vetoed, the “recommendations" that the legislature rejected were nothing more than a re-enactment clause, meaning the bill would only become law if the legislature passed it again next year. This is a soft veto, starting over again just the same as if vetoed.

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Bills the Gov. ultimately vetoed included: 👎Prescription Drug Affordability Board 👎Class action lawsuits 👎Marijuana regulated retail market 👎Public sector collective bargaining 👎Pausing transfers to problematic Red Onion prison 👎Preventing civil arrests when at court

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