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2025 Session Update: Week 1
To the Constituents of the 37th House District:
Wednesday, January 8, marked the beginning of the 2025 Session of the Virginia General Assembly. As you may have heard, the first day of work could not begin until the following Monday due to a system-wide utility failure that left the entire City of Richmond, and much of the surrounding areas, without water for the better part of a week. Even with this setback, I am confident that we can finish our work on time during this 45-day “short session.” Nearly 1,200 bills have been filed and are now making their way through the committee process.
My committee assignments remain the same as last year. I serve as the senior ranking Republican on Appropriations, and am on the committees of Transportation, General Laws, and Rules. Within Appropriations, I serve on the subcommittees of Higher Education and Transportation & Public Safety. The makeup of the General Assembly also remains unchanged, with Republicans holding the largest possible minority in both chambers with 49 members in the House of Delegates, and 19 members in the Senate. With these slim margins, and Governor Youngkin presiding over the Executive Branch, Republicans will continue to work hard to ensure common-sense legislation becomes law.
I look forward to joining my colleagues in the House as we build on the momentum created by $5 billion in tax relief. Over the past two years we have eliminated the state grocery tax, made the first $40,000 of veteran retirement income tax free, nearly doubled the standard deduction and returned money to Virginians through significant tax rebates.
Governor Youngkin delivered his delayed State of the Commonwealth speech last Monday morning, setting the tone for Session. He rightly touted Virginia’s ranking as the No. 1 State for Business, our AAA bond rating, and our “right-to-work” status. A thriving economy is critical for a strong Commonwealth, and Republicans continue to focus on tax cuts that will help hard-working families, especially those in the middle class. This includes cutting the car tax and ending the income tax on tips for service workers. The governor also highlighted efforts to increase educational pathways and align curriculums to better prepare our students to enter the workforce with real-world skills. Notably was his celebration of the near instant results of Executive Order 33, which call for a cell phone-free education in K-12. He told a story about a principal who exclaimed how nice it was to once again have a loud cafeteria during lunch time, because kids were talking to each other rather than staring at their phones!
These initiatives are just the start. The Republican legislative agenda also includes making our communities safer by supporting our law enforcement. This includes Republican-led programs known as Operation Ceasefire and Operation Bold Blue Line that have reduced murders in 13 of our most violent cities by 38% in the past year.
I look forward to updating you as we advance our priorities over the following weeks. The governor laid out a solid agenda, and I’m happy to be working with him and my Republican colleagues to make it happen.
Unfortunately, Democrats had the votes to advance two proposals. House Joint Resolution 1 begins the process of amending the Constitution of Virginia to enshrine an undefined “right to reproductive freedom” that would open the door to unlimited abortion. It would also end our parental consent laws, which currently require a juvenile to have parent permission for an abortion. I’m hopeful that we can do more to stop it, but without 51 votes, that’s a tall order. Nonetheless, we will keep working.
Democrats also passed House Joint Resolution 2, which would restore the voting rights of all felons in Virginia as soon as they’re released from prison. No fines, no fees, and no restitution would need to be paid. They need not even finish their probation. The recent, and appalling, pardoning by President Biden of two men who admitted to murdering a Sussex County police officer shows how dangerous this can be. There is room to change the way we bring felons back into society, but this is not it. For the constitution to be amended in Virginia, a bill needs to pass in two consecutive Sessions, with a state election in between. And because proposed amendments do not go before the governor’s desk, if these amendments pass again next year, they will be placed on the ballot and the final decision will rest with the voters.
As your Delegate, one of my great privileges is serving as chairman of the VA250 Commission, tasked with celebrating Virginia’s leadership role in the founding of our nation 250 years ago. This past Saturday, the VA250 hosted an event at the O. Winston Link Museum to celebrate the signing of the Fincastle Resolutions on January 20, 1775. Endorsed by 15 Virginia frontiersmen, this document was drafted in what was once Fincastle County (now Wythe County) to support the Continental Congress in protest of the Intolerable Acts. Though many similar documents were drafted throughout the colonies during this time, the Fincastle Resolutions are significant for being the first to state the signers’ willingness to lay down their lives to defend the cause. Sent to Williamsburg two months prior to Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, this declaration changed the tenor of discourse among Virginians regarding independence and its significance to the Revolutionary War cannot be overstated.
On Saturday, we also unveiled the VA250 Mobile Museum Experience. This “museum on wheels” is known as “Out of Many, One” and is housed in an expandable tractor-trailer that is traveling throughout the Commonwealth to tell the stories of Virginia’s rich history to schools, museums, local events, fairs, and more, highlighting every region of the state. It is a remarkable exhibit, and you can go to VA250.org to check its schedule so that you can visit with your family when it is in your area. Every locality now has its own VA250 committee, and I encourage you to learn more as we approach our nation’s semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026.
While in Richmond, it is always a pleasure seeing familiar faces from back home. This week, we welcomed to the Capitol the Virginia Federation of Republican Women, our sheriffs from Alleghany and Botetourt and local representatives from the Virginia Dental Association. I look forward to seeing more constituents of the 37th House District in the coming weeks. I always emphasize the importance of these visits, and I thank you for taking the time to make your voices heard in person.
It is an honor to serve you in the Virginia House of Delegates. If I can be of assistance to you, or you would like to share your position on any of my legislative priorities, please do not hesitate to contact me at DelTAustin@House.Virginia.gov or 804-698-1037.
Delegate Terry L. Austin
37th House District
