If you want to understand the future, take a look at the past.
Here are the bills that “could have been” under a Democrat governor during the past four years—devastating bills that Governor Glenn Youngkin and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears stopped in their tracks.
Bills that Would Stifle Job Growth & Punish Business Owners
HB 2531 — Paid family/medical leave w/ payroll tax: Creates a new payroll tax that hits every paycheck and raises employer costs, especially for small businesses.
HB 1928 — Minimum wage hike: Broad cost shock to employers that typically flows through to prices and hiring.
HB 2094 — “High-risk AI” regime: Heavy, litigation-prone rules that chill startups and tech investment.
HB 2561 — Overtime/misclassification lawsuit expansion: Big compliance burden; invites class actions that small firms can’t afford.
SB 1052 — Expands “employer” under VA Human Rights Act: Pulls very small firms into complex liability, raising the cost of hiring.
Bills that Would Raise the Cost of Living (Housing)
SB 1307 — New local sales tax for schools (all counties/cities): Green-lights across-the-board tax hikes that hit families daily.
HB 1973 — “Affordable housing” preservation w/ penalties: Adds red tape/penalties that raise development and renovation costs.
HB 1718 — Local VRLTA enforcement: Empowers locality-driven enforcement/litigation—higher compliance costs, passed to renters.
HB 2122 — Manufactured Home Lot Rental obligations: Mandates likely to raise lot rents for some of the most price-sensitive residents.
HB 2638 — Mandatory tree conservation/replacement during development: Well-intended, but increases project costs and housing prices.
Bill that Would Spike Costs of Electricity
HB 2356 & SB 853 — Prevailing wage + apprenticeship mandates for RPS-eligible work: Forces union-scale labor on energy projects, driving up ratepayer costs.
HB 2413 & SB 1021 — Utility integrated resource plan changes: Political constraints that risk reliability and raise planning/financing costs.
SB 824 — Expands SCC powers: Regulatory expansion that can add delays and expenses passed to customers.
SB 823 — Tighter hurdles for renewable construction: Adds friction and cost to grid build-out without cost controls.
HB 2743 — Prevailing wage for underground utility work: Direct construction cost increase → higher rates.
Bills that Would Hurt Health or Raise Health Costs
HB 2485 & SB 970 — Retail marijuana market: Public safety/health concerns; normalization adds enforcement and societal costs.
HB 1724 — Prescription Drug Affordability Board: Price-control style board adds bureaucracy and potential shortages/market distortions.
SB 1135 — Psilocybin prescribing framework: Medicalizes a psychedelic with unsettled safety/regulatory guardrails.
HB 1639 — Reinstates tobacco-premium surcharge: Raises premiums for many working-class smokers.
HB 2769 — Mandates around HIV PrEP coverage/practices: Additional mandates that can raise premiums system-wide.
Bills that Undermine Election Security
HB 2002 — Limits on data sources for voter-roll cancellations: Makes it harder to remove ineligible voters cleanly.
HB 1657 & SB 813 — “Periodic review” of voter records (as written): Process limits that impede robust list maintenance.
SB 760 — Looser absentee-ballot receipt deadline rules: Complicates chain-of-custody and timely results.
SB 1009 — Ranked-choice voting statewide report/push: Confuses voters and erodes confidence in outcomes.
HB 2479 & SB 775 — “Synthetic media” ad rules: Speech-policing risk in campaign messages.
Reining in Progressive Policy Overreach
SB 1324 — Facility-access “obstruction” penalties: Criminalizes peaceful prayer/protest near clinics; First Amendment concerns.
HB 1693 / SB 995 / HB 1932 — Appraiser “bias” training + task force: Ideological mandates that raise costs and risk politicizing appraisals.
SB 1254 — Environmental-justice strategy in comp plans: Adds litigation-prone criteria that slow housing/infrastructure.
HB 1827 — “Social determinants of health” in comp plans: Mission creep that complicates local planning decisions.
HB 2341 — Culturally responsive mental-health policy mandates: Adds compliance layers without clear outcomes.
Protecting the Right to Work
HB 2764 & SB 917 — Mandatory public-sector collective bargaining: Sweeping unionization of state/local workforce; higher payroll/benefit costs and strike risk.
SB 962 — Extra public-works procurement rules: Favors union style/PLA requirements; fewer bidders and higher prices.
Reining in Government Growth & Keeping It Working
HB 2264 & SB 1306 — Repeal Virginia Free File (opens door to IRS-style “Direct File” at state level): Bigger bureaucracy; fewer private options; potential conflicts.
HB 2098 — Broad expansion of labor/“employer” definitions: Triggers more regulation and lawsuits for small employers.
SB 1233 — Speed-camera expansion: Regressive fine farming; trust and due-process concerns.
HB 2550 — Noise-camera systems in PD-8 & PD-16 counties: Automated ticketing expansion; privacy and fairness issues.
HB 1894 — Mandated corrections temperature monitoring/retrofits: Significant capital/operating costs with unclear ROI.
Protecting Communities & Backing Public Safety
HB 1873 — Easier release on bond: Puts repeat offenders back on the street faster.
HB 2647 & SB 1409 — Strict limits on isolated confinement: Reduces tools corrections officers use to prevent inmate-on-inmate violence.
HB 2555 — Marijuana-offense sentence modifications: Retroactive leniency that can undercut deterrence.
SB 778 — Limits immediate custody for certain juvenile delinquency: Harder to intervene quickly in serious youth cases.
SB 1013 — Neurocognitive-disorder affirmative defense expansion: Creates new defense loopholes ripe for abuse.
Protecting Students & Educational Excellence
HB 1769 — Chronic absenteeism “task force”: Focuses on massaging metrics instead of getting kids back in school.
HB 1915 & SB 1032 — Teacher noncontinuation notice rules: De-facto tenure-style constraints that reduce staffing flexibility.
HB 2237 — Extra due-process for suspended staff: Slows removal of problem employees and delays classroom stability.
HB 2244 — SOQ/measurement changes: Risks watering down accountability standards parents rely on.
Protecting Children & Families
HB 1775 — Easier divorce (adultery/separation revisions): Weakens pro-family guardrails.
HB 2613 — Custody/visitation despite substance use: Could expose kids to unsafe environments under color of “authorized” use.
Preserving the Second Amendment
HB 1607 & SB 1181 — “Assault-weapons” bans: Sweeping bans on common firearms; major constitutional and cultural flashpoint.
HB 1608 & SB 1450 — Civil liability for firearm industry: Attempts to sue manufacturers for third-party crimes; threatens lawful commerce.
HB 2631 & SB 891 — Five-day waiting period: Burdens law-abiding purchasers; no proven safety gain.
SB 848 — 21+ age requirement for many firearms: Bars legal adults from exercising rights.
SB 1134 / SB 1329 — New storage mandates (home/vehicles): Criminalizes ordinary behavior; hard to enforce fairly.