After years of trying — on both sides of the aisle — lawmakers will have to try again to give localities the option to levy local sales taxes to fund school construction.
An effort to overturn Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto of the proposal failed during the reconvened session on Wednesday.
But lawmakers backed a Youngkin amendment that will enable Petersburg residents to vote this year on whether to build a casino resort.
During Wednesday’s reconvened session, lawmakers reviewed the governor’s amendments to 116 bills and his 153 vetoes. With the legislature closely divided, lawmakers did not muster the two-thirds vote to override any of Youngkin’s vetoes.
Senate Bill 14, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, and House Bill 805, sponsored by Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, would let any locality levy a 1% surcharge on sales taxes to fund school construction if voters approved it in a local referendum.
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Youngkin had said in his veto message: “This proposal could result in a nearly $1.5 billion a year tax increase on Virginians. Some localities would have a combined sales tax rate of eight percent, with no additional offsets, such as reduced income tax or property tax.”
Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, who supported the bill and the override attempt, said Wednesday: “On this side, I know we are not for increasing taxes. He added: “Why this bill is actually OK is because of the way it’s fashioned,” Stanley said. “The people decide whether they want to be taxed.”
In recent years the General Assembly has approved some localities to do what McPike and Rasoul’s bill would allow all localities the option to do. Both Republicans and Democrats have carried the bill in recent years — arguing that the option should be available statewide.
“This is something we should let localities decide for themselves,” McPike said when he initiated the veto override attempt.
Supporters of the bill say it’s needed to help modernize schools with outdated infrastructure and less resources. A state study found that over 1,000 of Virginia’s schools were more than 50 years old.
Stanley described schools with leaking roofs or insufficient electrical outlets. He said the disparate wealth in Virginia’s localities leaves some students in lesser learning environments than some of their peers in parts of the state where schools are modernized.
“They receive what is supposed to be the identical diploma but the education is not the same,” he said.
Ultimately the Senate voted 25-15 — shy of the two-thirds vote needed to override the veto. The House also sustained the veto on Rasoul’s version of the bill.
Lawmakers will return May 13 to rework the state budget. McPike said there may be a path forward in those negotiations to explore tools to help localities fund school projects.
Petersburg casino vote
Lawmakers backed Youngkin’s amendment to remove a reenactment clause from the casino legislation sponsored by Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg. Lawmakers removed a clause that would have required legislators to pass Aird’s bill again in 2025 before Petersburg residents could vote on a casino.
Petersburg officials hailed the legislature’s vote, which means the city can hold a casino referendum this fall. (Gov. Glenn Youngkin previously signed legislation that bars Richmond from holding another casino vote. Richmond residents twice rejected a casino resort.)
Five companies are vying for the right to develop a Petersburg casino — Bally’s, Penn Entertainment, the Warrenton Group, Rush Street Gaming and The Cordish Companies, which has partnered with former NFL and Virginia Tech football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith.
Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham said in a statement Wednesday: “On behalf of City Council and the City Administration, I deeply thank Senator Aird for her unwavering commitment, hard work, and dedication to Petersburg and her residents.
“This opportunity has the potential to be a game changer for our city. Senator Aird has fulfilled her promise to equip Petersburg with the needed tools to drive positive change and foster growth for future generations. The City also wants to thank Governor Youngkin for removing the re-enactment clause and the General Assembly for final approval.”
The city’s statement said City Manager March Altman will form a committee of city team members and community representatives to plan this fall’s casino referendum.
Contraception bill back to Youngkin
Much of Wednesday’s reconvened session focused on Youngkin’s proposed amendments to 116 bills that the legislature had already approved. In cases in which lawmakers rejected or did not act on Youngkin’s amendments, he can now sign or veto the bills within the next 30 days.
Legislators passed by for the day Youngkin’s substitute version of Senate Bill 237 by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, and House Bill 609 by Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News. The lawmakers’ bills as they passed the legislature said that health care providers have a right to prescribe contraceptives and that people have a right to obtain them. The bills also offered definitions of forms of contraception and outlined legal actions people could take if rights were infringed.
Youngkin’s substitute simply would have aligned Virginia with U.S. Supreme Court rulings that federally protect the right to contraception. Hashmi and Price say their proposal would be useful should the U.S. Supreme Court reverse its previous rulings as it has with Roe v. Wade.
Legal experts said Youngkin’s substitute was not as strong of a legal protection as Hashmi and Price’s bills.
In a related matter Wednesday, the House and Senate rejected Youngkin’s changes to bills that would require health insurers to cover contraceptives.
His recommendation for Senate Bill 238 by Hashmi and House Bill 819 by Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince Wiliam, added a line for exemptions.
“The provisions of this section shall not be interpreted or construed to apply to any nongovernmental plan sponsor that is exempt under federal or state law based on sincerely held religious or ethical beliefs,” Youngkin’s recommendation stated.
Hashmi said Wednesday: “We don’t have a definition of ‘sincerely held ethical beliefs’ in (state) code.”