Beyond the Headlines is our twice-weekly newsletter connecting subscribers directly to our journalists. We add context to major stories, go behind-the-scenes, highlight great work from other local outlets or provide more informal snapshots of our community.
Virginia’s government has a whole new set of leaders.
Our new House of Delegates members elected in November 2025 took office on Jan. 14, followed by the state’s new governor (Abigail Spanberger), lieutenant governor (Ghazala Hashmi) and attorney general (Jay Jones) on Saturday, Jan. 17.
For the first time in more than three decades, Democrats have control of the top three statewide offices, along with the Senate and House of Delegates. And they’re moving fast: reshaping appointed positions across the state, introducing thousands of bills and advancing four constitutional amendments.
We’re already seeing the effect locally. Over the weekend, Gov. Spanberger appointed 10 new members to the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors, the body that directs the institution. That’s more than half of UVA’s 17-person Board. The move could have strong effects on how the university and its adjoining regional medical center move forward.
Spanberger overhauls UVA’s governing board following months of controversy
Statewide, the General Assembly has already passed four constitutional amendments, which voters will get to weigh in on in November. They are:
- House Joint Resolution 1: A resolution that will enshrine abortion access as a constitutional right
- HJ 2: A resolution that would automatically restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated Virginia residents
- HJ 3: A resolution that would enshrine same-sex marriage as a constitutional right
- HJ 4: A resolution that would allow the General Assembly to redraw the state’s congressional district map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections for U.S. Congress
Cardinal News, a nonprofit newsroom covering southwest Virginia, has a great article about these amendments, and what legislators are saying about them, if you’d like to learn more.
From Cardinal News: State Senate passes four constitutional amendments to close out first week of session
Beyond that, legislators in both the House and Senate have proposed more than 2,000 bills so far.
As always, the bills address a wide range of issues. Senate Bill 4 and its companion, House Bill 96, would make school breakfast free for all Virginia public school students, for example.
HB 217, meanwhile, would ban Virginia residents from importing, selling, manufacturing, purchasing or transferring assault firearms, with some exceptions.
There’s also a pile of proposed bills that would make changes to data center regulations, environmental policy, election procedures, state education practices and standardized testing. The list goes on.
You can look through all Virginia’s proposed bills here. Or, Virginia Mercury, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state, published a list of bills to watch that pull out some of the highly impactful ones.
We’ll be following the progress of these bills, and our new governor’s actions, closely in the coming months. In the meantime, if any of you know of a particular bill that is likely to have a big impact here in central Virginia, please ping us through our contact form here!
Have a great week, everyone!
Jessie Higgins, Democracy Editor
