RICHMOND, Va. — Gambling regulations, school construction, and more were on the agenda for Virginia lawmakers returning to Richmond on Wednesday to consider Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's proposed amendments to legislation and his record number of vetoes.
Democrats who control the General Assembly don't have the numbers to override Youngkin's vetoes without GOP support, but their leaders have signaled that they plan to reject many of his proposed changes, including most of those he made to the two-year budget bill. Youngkin's rewrite of the spending plan — he's submitted more than 200 amendments — was so extensive, it exceeded the governor's authority, legislative leaders say.
However, on Wednesday afternoon lawmakers announced that an agreement was reached with the governor to hold a special session in May to tackle the budget exclusively.
RELATED: Youngkin, Virginia lawmakers to set aside budget proposal, reconvene in May special session
Skill games could see veto override
Meanwhile, lawmakers are also working through dozens of other bills Youngkin returned to them with suggested changes, including a heavily lobbied measure dealing with so-called skill games, gambling machines that proliferated in convenience stores and other small businesses around the state before lawmakers passed a ban in 2020.
This year's legislation would legalize, regulate, and tax the machines, but the changes Youngkin suggested would implement far stricter limits and a higher tax rate than the version the Assembly sent him.
Convenience stores around the state staged demonstrations this week, briefly halting lottery ticket sales Monday and closing for an hour on Tuesday, in an effort to draw attention to the issue and urge lawmakers to reject the governor's amendments.
Only six senators agreed to the governor's changes, which included adding a 35-mile zone prohibiting the use of skill games near casinos.
Senator Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach) called the proposed amendments an effective ban.
"The 35-mile radius around gaming establishments alone wipes out Hampton Roads, the 25-foot radius around schools, daycares, and churches takes out the rest of the state."
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said he saw the skill games bill as one of two that could potentially face a veto override, the other being a measure that would have allowed all localities to hold a referendum on raising sales taxes to help fund school construction. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support and has been supported by school officials in red-leaning rural areas.
In remarks Tuesday with reporters, House Speaker Don Scott said he's gotten calls from school superintendents in southwest Virginia who questioned the veto. Scott also criticized the governor for a proposed amendment that would ban state funding for abortions in cases of severe fetal abnormalities.
Virginia Beach senators disagree over 10-1 voting system
Two state senators representing parts of Virginia Beach -- one a Democrat and the other a Republican -- find themselves on opposite sides of the aisle over the city's 10-1 voting system.
Several lawsuits were filed after the City of Virginia Beach implemented the new voting system, rather than an "at-large" system. The lawsuits claim the city overstepped its power under state law when it got rid of three at-large City Council seats and started using a 10-1 voting system.
Democratic Senator Aaron Rouse called the lawsuits "frivolous" and an effort to delay the inevitable.
"Over 81% of Virginia Beach residents support this measure, and again this brings us into alignment with the Voting Rights Act of Virginia," said Rouse.
However, Republican Senator Bill DeSteph pushed back.
"Whether or not the lawsuits are frivolous ... there is a tradition within the General Assembly that we do not pass laws regarding that," said DeSteph.
Record number of vetoes considered
Between Gov;. Youngkin's proposed amendments and his record number of vetoes — more this year alone than in any of the complete four-year terms of the state's past seven governors, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project — the governor showed he's no moderate, House Speaker Don Scott said.
"He went after the most vulnerable citizens again," Scott said. "And so we're just saying that he's not a middle-ground, bipartisan governor. He has been an extreme — I call him MAGA-in-disguise — governor," Scott said, referring to the "Make America Great Again" slogan of former president and presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Virginia's reconvened sessions can last up to 10 days but are typically a single-day affair. Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said he expected this year's work could be completed in one day but he left open the possibility it could go longer.