Democrats who control the Virginia Senate are rolling out their list of priorities, filing a number of bills well ahead of January's General Assembly session.
Raising the minimum wage is the first priority, followed by paid family medical leave and childcare. These are at the top of the list for Democrats who control the Virginia state Senate.
Senator Mamie Locke of Hampton is chairwoman of the caucus. "If people don't have economic security, if they don't have the resources to pay for education, to pay for housing, to pay for food, none of this other stuff matters," Locke said.
Another of the early bills would provide universal free breakfast to public school students, a longtime goal of Senator Danica Roem of Prince William County.
"After you had so much success of Democrats in 2025 winning on a message of affordability," Roem said, "we've gotten to a place now where because Governor Youngkin will no longer be governor, that we're going to have an administration that's actually going to be friendly to feeding hungry kids."
Similar bills on minimum wage and paid leave have also been filed in the House of Delegates. Democrats say they're looking forward to working with the next governor on a long list of bills that were vetoed by the current governor, who will be stepping down in January.
Republicans cast a skeptical eye on the Democratic bills. “For a group that ran on lowering costs," House minority leader Terry Kilgore said Thursday, "this sure looks like it’s going to make things more expensive.”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
