Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - With just a few minutes to spare, Governor Youngkin made his deadline to take action on the more than 900 General Assembly bills sent his way.
At 11:56 p.m. on Monday night, Youngkin’s office announced that he vetoed 157 bills and proposed changes to 159 others. Youngkin vetoed part of the budget that would have required Henrico voters to approve a referendum before a Rosie’s gaming emporium already under construction can open.
Other vetoes included a minimum wage hike and guaranteed paid sick leave for all Virginia workers. In his veto statement, Youngkin said guaranteeing sick leave for all workers would “increase the cost of doing business in the Commonwealth and adversely impact [its] business climate.”
“Employers must have the flexibility to design leave and benefit policies that fit their workforce rather than be subject to a one-size-fits-all government mandate,” Youngkin said.
Youngkin signed a bill requiring all passengers, including those in the backseat, to wear a seatbelt while driving in Virginia.
The governor proposed more than 200 amendments to the state budget put forward by democrats in the General Assembly earlier this year. That included reviving his planned private school scholarships for 5,000 Virginia students and calling for an additional $300 million in the rainy day fund, along with matching cuts in spending.
“Among the bills I have signed are proposals that will keep school lunches free from artificial dyes, cement Virginia as home of the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion facility, expand rural electric co-ops ability to drive economic development, modernize school transportation to reverse chronic absenteeism, and give more students opportunities to take advanced math classes,” Youngkin said.
