Heciel Nieves Bonilla, News Editor
The Virginia General Assembly kicked off its 2026 session on Jan. 14 with a deep Democratic majority that has moved quickly to pass four constitutional amendments and the “affordability agenda” Gov. Abigail Spanberger ran on.
Democrats left the statewide election in November with the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general under their belts — winning by higher margins than anticipated. Many down-ballot races saw double-digit swings away from Republicans, according to a previous report by The CT.
Democrats now hold a 64-36 majority in the House of Delegates, the strongest position they have held in decades.
The victory was large enough to oust longtime legislators, such as Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Spotsylvania, who had won his previous 36 years of elections by double digits.
Orrock’s opponent, now-Del. Nicole Cole, is one of several Democratic women who defeated Republican incumbents in the same year Virginia got its first female governor. There are now more female Democrats in the House than there are total Republicans in the same chamber.
What are the constitutional amendments?
The 164th General Assembly kicked off with the passage in both the State Senate and House of Delegates of four separate constitutional amendment proposals — which must be passed twice
and then decided by voter referendum. They were already passed during last year’s session and during a special session in October, and will be passed off to voters later this year.
Three of the amendments would add new rights to the Virginia Constitution: the rights to abortion and other kinds of reproductive care, to same-sex marriage and to voting rights restoration for people with felony convictions without specific action by the governor.
The abortion amendment would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” in Virginia. It would prevent the state from punishing doctors, nurses or patients for reproductive health decisions, while still allowing for third-trimester restrictions on abortion, except for when “the patient’s life or physical or mental health is at risk, or the pregnancy cannot survive,” according to the bill’s summary.
The second would require the equal treatment of any marriage between adults by the state “regardless of the sex, gender or race of such persons.” The affirmative right to marriage would accompany an explicit revocation of any law banning same-sex marriage in Virginia.
Same-sex marriage is legal nationwide by Supreme Court statute. However, Virginia retains a ban in its state constitution from 2006, which the new amendment seeks to revoke, as previously reported by The CT. The amendment’s passage would prevent any return to a ban should the United States Supreme Court revisit Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that established same-sex marriage as a federal right.
The amendment on voter rights for felons would hold that people released from incarceration automatically have their right to vote restored.
Former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam previously opened a path to voting rights to all people not then-incarcerated during his tenure. Once former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin took office, the number of people whose rights were restored dropped every year as he began requiring all restorations go through his office individually.
Virginians will be able to vote on whether to cement automatic restoration into the state constitution in November, along with the amendments above.
The General Assembly also approved a fourth amendment: one to allow Democrats’ mid-decade redistricting plan.
Normally, Virginia only redraws its congressional district lines to fit the population once every decade, and the process is run by a nonpartisan commission. After President Donald Trump began pressuring other states last year to redraw their lines to help Republicans, Virginia Democrats called a special session in October to redraw lines in favor of Democrats, according to a previous report by The CT.
Democrats have said the referendum to approve the plan will take place in April, seven months before the November elections. If approved, the 2026 midterm elections will take place under a new map, which party leaders have teased could be a 10-1 map favoring Democrats.
What Spanberger’s ‘affordability agenda’ entails
The large Democratic majority in the General Assembly leaves the party free to legislate with less risk of a governor’s veto, which Youngkin set a record for doing the most throughout his tenure.
Many bills Democrats plan to pass are in keeping with their overarching “affordability agenda,” including pre-filed bills to curb rent gouging, extend energy bill assistance programs and confirm a minimum wage increase to $15 by 2028, with regular increases tied to the Consumer Price Index thereafter.
Spanberger elaborated more of this agenda to the General Assembly in her first speech since her inauguration. It includes changes to housing policy, such as loosening home building regulations and extending required eviction notice response times, and changes to health policy which include “targeted” healthcare premium assistance and requiring that prescription rebates go to patients as opposed to corporate middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers (PCMs).
Spanberger plans to sign legislation establishing a licensed retail market for marijuana, which passed last year but was vetoed by Youngkin. The proposal would include recommendations from the commission on the subject last year.
Another Democratic priority is a proposed assault weapons ban. HB217, patronized by Fairfax Del. Dan Helmer, would ban the “importation, sale and manufacture” of assault weapons, as defined by Virginia’s existing code, and ban their use for those under 21.
One pre-filed bill faces an uphill battle despite the Democratic majority: a repeal of Virginia’s right-to-work law, which Spanberger did not support during her campaign.
“When a Virginia college grad can’t afford to live near their job, they’re going to move to Maryland or Georgia or Texas,” Spanberger said during her address to the General Assembly on Monday.
The General Assembly is expected to adjourn in March. The final deadline for the governor to sign or veto any legislation is May 25.