Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly narrowly passed legislation that will raise the commonwealth’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. Their votes came despite Governor Glenn Youngkin previously suggesting such legislation was unnecessary.
HB 1 previously passed the Virginia House of Delegates on February 2 in a partisan vote with 51 in favor and 49 against. In the Virginia Senate, the bill’s counterpart, SB 1, also passed along partisan lines, with 21 votes in favor and 19 votes against.
The legislation would increase the minimum wage from the current rate of $12 per hour to $13.50 per hour in 2025, and would increase it a second time in 2026 to make the commonwealth’s minimum wage $15 per hour.
It will now go to the governor’s desk for approval or a veto. Should the government veto the legislation, Democrats likely do not have the votes required for an override.
Youngkin, previously asked if he would sign such a bill if it reached his desk, said that he did not believe an increase to Virginia’s minimum wage was necessary due to market forces naturally causing wage growth in the commonwealth.
“I don’t think that you need to send a bill because the market is handling it,” Youngkin reportedly said during a press event in January. He added that lawmakers “should allow small business to handle” wage increases.
The Virginia Star contacted Youngkin’s office to ask whether he will sign the legislation but did not receive a response prior to press time.
State Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), who authored the Senate version of the bill to hike the minimum wage, predicted earlier in the legislative session that Democrats would end cooperation with Youngkin and Virginia Republicans if he did not vow to sign the legislation into law.
“If Glenn Youngkin vetoes my minimum wage bill, he will quickly find the cooperative tone from Democrats changing very quickly,” Lucas wrote to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in January.
PREDICTION: If Glenn Youngkin vetoes my minimum wage bill, he will quickly find the cooperative tone from Democrats changing very quickly.
— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) January 26, 2024
Since then, Virginia Democrats have successfully defeated several of Youngkin’s initiatives.
Among the high profile blows to Youngkin’s plans was the stalling of his plans to build a new sports complex for the Washington Wizards and Commanders, which Lucas defeated in committee.
Democrats also dealt defeats to Youngkin’s plans to regulate how social media companies can offer services to children and collect data from minors, a bill that would have banned TikTok from offering its services to minors, and a pause on the governor’s tax proposal until the 2025 legislative session.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “$15 Minimum Wage Protest” by Fibonacci Blue. CC BY 2.0.
