Here’s some of what the General Assembly did Tuesday:
The standard deduction bill dies in committee
A bill by Sen. David Suetterlein to make permanent the current standard deduction was continued on to the 2027 session by the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Tuesday.
The state Senate money committee voted 9-5 on party lines to effectively kill the bill for the 2026 session.
Suetterlein’s bill would have made permanent the current standard deduction amounts of $8,750 for single individuals and $17,500 for married individuals filing jointly.
Those standard deduction amounts are scheduled to revert to $3,000 for single individuals and $6,000 for married individuals filing jointly at the end of the year.
The bill proposed by Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, would have also made permanent the increase in Virginia’s refundable earned income tax credit from 15% to 20% of the allowable federal earned income tax credit. Under current law, the Virginia refundable earned income tax credit expires in 2027, and Virginia’s nonrefundable earned income tax credit, which has no expiration date, is equal to 20% of the federal credit.
Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, who sits on the money committee, said committee chair Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, will have a “more comprehensive” bill forthcoming to tackle deductions that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Neither Lucas nor Suetterlein responded to a request for comment.
Paid family medical leave sees support from Democrats and criticism from Republicans
State Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax County, is carrying a bill to establish a paid family medical leave program to be administered by the state and launched in 2029. The price tag for the program is roughly $2 billion, according to Republicans. Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William County, is carrying the companion bill in the House of Delegates.
“More than half of the employees in the commonwealth can’t afford to take time off without pay,” Boysko said during a press conference on Tuesday. “Everyone deserves the dignity and the ability to care for themselves and their loved ones and hold onto their jobs and get some of their paycheck.”
The bill would require employers to pay 80% of an employee’s weekly wage for up to 12 weeks for family or medical leave. Under the proposed legislation, the program would be administered by the state and funded through a tax assessed to employers and employees starting in July 2028. Boysko’s bill was referred to the state Senate Commerce and Labor committee. Sewell’s bill was pending committee referral as of Tuesday.
Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, said the concept of paid family medical leave “sounds great,” but said that the social program will have a price tag of $2 billion, which, he warned, could balloon.
“That program is not being funded by the commonwealth, that’s being funded by the workers and the employers, that’s not making life more affordable for Virginians,” he said. “Many employers have plans in place that they can fund without government interaction and that’s where we should be as a commonwealth.”
He also took issue with the broad application of the program, which, he said, would allow people to maximize the amount of leave they take each year.
A similar bill passed the General Assembly during the 2025 session but was vetoed by former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has already issued her support for the legislation.
$15 minimum wage makes it out of committee
A bill by Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton, to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour was reported out of the House of Delegates Labor and Commerce Committee and referred to the appropriations committee on Tuesday.
Ward’s bill would increase Virginia’s minimum wage incrementally from $12.77 per hour in 2026 to $13.75 in 2027 and to $15 in 2028. The bill also requires the minimum wage to be adjusted annually to account for increases in the consumer price index starting in 2029.
A similar bill passed the General Assembly in 2025 but was vetoed by Youngkin. Spanberger has signaled her support for the legislation.