ICYMI: General Assembly Passes Governor Spanberger’s Entire “Affordable Virginia Agenda” Ahead of Crossover

RICHMOND, VA - One month into her term, Governor Abigail Spanberger remains laser-focused on working with the General Assembly to make the Commonwealth more affordable for Virginia families who are feeling squeezed by high costs.

The Virginia House of Delegates or Senate have now passed every bill in the "Affordable Virginia Agenda" announced in December by Governor Spanberger and General Assembly leaders - with more than half of bills passing with bipartisan support.

"Back in December, we announced the Affordable Virginia Agenda to make clear our overarching, unrelenting focus on making Virginia more affordable for all of our neighbors. Over the past few weeks, I've been encouraged to see so many of these proposals pass with broad support from across the political spectrum," said Governor Abigail Spanberger. "High costs impact all Virginians - regardless of their political affiliation. I will continue to work with legislators from both parties to find commonsense solutions to drive down costs for Virginia families, and I look forward to signing every piece of our Affordable Virginia Agenda into law."

Governor Spanberger is also using the full power of her office to lower costs for Virginians. On her first day as Governor, she signed executive orders to start building a stronger, more affordable future for all Virginians - including by directing her cabinet secretaries and all executive branch agencies to quickly identify ways to reduce costs for families. Governor Spanberger also made clear in her first joint address to the General Assembly that she will work with anyone - from either party - to drive down costs.

See below for the full list of "Affordable Virginia Agenda" legislation passed by the Virginia House of Delegates or Senate:

• HB2 (Del. Carr), SB72 (Sen. Srinivasan) - Reducing heating and energy costs for Virginians who need it most
• HB3 (Del. LeVere Bolling), SB5 (Sen. Locke) - Establishing a Virginia Weatherization Task Force to improve energy efficiency
• HB4 (Del. Bennett-Parker) - Empowering localities to preserve and protect the long-term availability of affordable housing
• HB15 (Del. Price), SB48 (Sen. Rouse) - Improving protections for Virginia renters
• HB220 (Del. Hope), SB630 (Sen. Carroll Foy) - Eliminating additional fees on healthcare premiums
• HB395 (Del. Krizek), SB250 (Sen. Surovell) - Facilitate the adoption of portable small solar systems to lower energy costs
• HB434 (Del. LeVere Bolling), SB621 (Sen. Srinivasan) - Optimizing grid utilization to get more out of the current distribution system
• HB527 (Del. McClure) SB628 (Sen. Locke) - Keeping Virginians in their homes by expanding the Virginia Eviction Reduction Program pilot program
• HB736 (Del. Maldonado) - Preventing costly delays in care by limiting prior authorizations
• HB815 (Del. Downey), SB405 (Sen. Lucas) - Increasing access to quality, affordable care by investing in the healthcare workforce
• HB820 (Del. Helmer), SB490 (Sen. VanValkenburg) - Creating a revolving loan fund for the production of mixed-income housing development
• HB830 (Del. Callsen), SB669 (Sen. Rouse) - Stopping predatory middlemen from hiking up the cost of prescription drugs
• HB867 (Del. Cousins), SB74 (Sen. McPike) - Giving every community the opportunity to adopt an affordable housing program
• HB892 (Del. Shin) - Improving forecasting of power usage to avoid overestimates that cause higher prices
• HB895 (Del. Sullivan), SB448 (Sen. Bagby) - Increasing the deployment of energy storage to lower peak prices for ratepayers
• HB1227 (Del. Thomas), SB729 (Sen. Jones) - Leveraging the Commonwealth's bonding authority to support affordable housing

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