Youngkin makes appeal for unity in Commonwealth address, Democrats remain skeptical

Virginia's Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, newly in the governing body's minority party, appeared to strike a tone of unity and bipartisanship during his State of the Commonwealth address on Wednesday.

"Two years ago, we began a journey, we began a journey together – we began a journey to ignite hope, to inspire faith in our future, and make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family," he said.

The appeal for unity and bipartisanship may have existed only within the bounds of Youngkin's speech, as evidenced by the reaction of the crowd. Much of his address was met with applause and at times a standing ovation from Republican lawmakers while Democrats sat silently. And, though Youngkin claimed to seek bipartisanship in his annual address, Democrats and Republicans appear divided going into the 2024 legislative session.

Mixed message and a line drawn

Youngkin touted a number of achievements since he assumed office in 2022, including job growth, efforts to transform the foster care system, energy initiatives, efforts to rebuild law enforcement ranks and the reduction of regulations for businesses. He introduced each in his address as a bipartisan legislative effort.

He noted that challenges faced by the Commonwealth, including the migration of residents out of Virginia, are also jointly owned.

Despite his appeal for bipartisanship within the address, he asked the Legislature to send him bills that aligned with mostly Republican goals. Specifically, he ask for bills focused on parental choice, increasing penalties for fentanyl distribution and gun-related crimes. He also asked for a bill that says the Commonwealth won’t do business with companies that boycott Israel as well as a hate crime bill focused on all forms antisemitism.

And Youngkin outlined the topics he wasn't willing to negotiate on.

"Please don’t bring me a bill that impacts Virginians’ Right to Work, as it will be met with the business end of my veto pen," he said.

Democrat leaders come out swinging

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D – Fairfax), said several bills filed by Republicans prior to the start of the 2024 session “won’t be alive next week,” and called the tax cuts listed in Youngkin’s recent budget proposal “completely unrealistic” during the Democratic Caucus press conference ahead of Youngkin's address.

Increased funding for K-12 education, access to abortion, gun control measures, maintaining ease of voting, supports for transportation and climate change infrastructure, and economic security for all Virginians Were among Democrat goals for the 2024 session, unveiled during the press conference.

“We have a lot of ideas for that, to continue our reforms, and we hope to work with the Governor to come up with some agreed-upon solutions,” Surovell said.

Democrats noted that there are a few subject areas where their Republican counterparts have signaled they’re willing to compromise. Those areas include behavioral health and restoration of voting rights for previously incarcerated felons.

School funding top of mind

Youngkin has repeatedly said that his education budget is the largest in Virginia's history in the weeks following the release of the governor's budget proposal and Wednesday's address. Democrats remain skeptical, however.

Democratic Caucus Chair Sen. Mamie Locke (D - Hampton) said Youngkin's budget proposal does not address a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report on K-12 funding that was released over the summer.

"JLARC said that we are fundamentally missing the mark on K-12 education and that we are $4 billion in the hole when it comes to what is needed," she said in an interview with USA Today after the address. "We have a long way to go in terms of where we can find some middle ground."

The JLARC report noted that the current Standards of Quality formula, used by the General Assembly to determine funding for staff in K-12 schools, “underestimates staffing needs in each of Virginia’s school divisions.”

Many school division administrators characterized the state’s staffing standards as unrealistic, often citing the difference between SOQ staffing calculations and the number of staff they actually needed to employ, according to the report.

According to the JLARC report, Virginia schools receive less K–12 funding per student than the 50-state average, the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states.

Youngkin acknowledged that the formula is outdated in his address. He said he is committed to working with lawmakers to replace the "byzantine" SOQ funding system, before noting that parental choice remains a priority.

Experimenting with cannabis

Another contested area in the coming year could revolve around marijuana laws.

Democrat lawmakers filed cannabis-related bills ahead of the session including one to “establish a framework for the creation of a retail marijuana market in the Commonwealth, to be administered by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority.” The bill  would allow the Authority to begin issuing all marijuana licenses on July 1, 2025.

House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D – Alexandria) said establishing a regulated market for cannabis is an “important safety matter.”

“It’s shocking, that we’ve gone two years under Republican leadership in the House and it stopped us from getting a regulated market. It’s dangerous,” she said, and issued a stark warning for Youngkin.

“If a bill gets to his desk and he vetoes it, I’m not sure what that communication is going to mean to the public about their safety.”

Youngkin said he is not interested in moving forward with any marijuana legislation during a press gaggle following the address.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Youngkin tests bipartisan message in State of the Commonwealth address