In 2025, Virginia Democrats Ran On Affordability. In 2026, We Delivered.

By Virginia State Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg

As noted last week, this is the second post from NewDEALers in Virginia reporting on the end of their legislative session. After the election of Governor Abigail Spanberger and other Democrats in November, Senator VanValkenburg shares how they turned campaign promises on bringing down the cost of living into a reality. Be sure to also check out last week’s companion piece from VA Delegate Irene Shin. - Debbie Cox Bultan, NewDEAL CEO

My 2026 Virginia legislative session was all about meeting the moment and addressing the issues facing hardworking Virginians in a timely fashion. Over roughly a decade serving in the Virginia legislature, we’ve had some constants, including fighting for affordable and accessible health care and ensuring our economy works for all Virginians. We’ve also had many challenges, such as navigating COVID and President Trump’s attacks on the federal work force, which as of 2025 comprised about ten percent of Virginia’s full-time work force.

This year, my primary focus was on affordability, particularly housing and energy costs, while also creating policies on long-term priorities like building a world-class education system and ensuring Virginia maintains a robust democracy. I intentionally zeroed in on the sweet spot where government oversight, environmental protections, public input, local control, and democratic processes meet, while also cutting red tape and improving government efficiencies. By the time the two-month session ended, 17 of the 26 bills I carried passed both legislative chambers.

Housing

Like many states, Virginia is experiencing a housing crisis. The median sales price for homes in Virginia increased by 42 percent (from $295,000 to $420,000) over the past five years. My district in the Richmond suburbs, despite Henrico County efforts such as the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and the Employee Home Purchase Assistance Program (EHPAP), has seen the price of the average home soar to close to $450,000, putting it out of reach for teachers, firefighters, and other middle-class families. I’m proud of the local government, which has been great at building housing. But if counties across the state won’t – or can’t – build as quickly, then the cost of dirt here still skyrockets. Supply is the ultimate answer, which necessitates changes to the zoning and permitting processes, which will lead to building more housing to expand supply.

So this year, I passed legislation to end zoning discrimination against manufactured housing and created a revolving fund to provide lower-interest loans to developers of mixed-income housing. These changes will take some time to take effect, but will ensure that places like Henrico County are affordable for all kinds of families. And the changes will also help communities across the state.

Energy

For energy affordability, we have to think about addressing the current cost crisis as well as planning for a future with abundant, clean, and affordable energy. To accomplish both, my democratic colleagues and I prioritized two goals: building more solar and maximizing the grid we already have.

For solar, I passed multiple bills expanding our distributed footprint; reformed our solar siting processes for industrial solar; and established a Distributed Energy Resources Task Force to accelerate Virginia’s transition towards integrated distributed energy resource markets. To ensure that the benefits of clean, affordable energy are available to all Virginians, we legislated a pilot program for electric energy conservation, solar energy generation, and energy storage resources for low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals.

To maximize the potential of our current grid, I passed legislation focused on two critical areas. First, state agencies will study existing infrastructure to find cost-saving opportunities that maximize use of the grid. Second, the legislation prioritized the expanded use of clean energy and battery storage where existing power plants are not meeting their maximum capacity.

Education

As a public school teacher, education has been a priority since I was first elected.

Many of my constituents move to Henrico for the schools, and they also want a state that is focused on education. They want academic excellence and solutions to our evolving needs. As a legislature, school funding remains prioritized in our biennial budget. But student learning is about more than funding. That’s why one of my bills targeted improvements to K-12 end-of-course assessment practices.

We also passed SB 108, which clarified and strengthened the 2025 cellphone-free policy to prohibit cell phone and smart device usage on school property. Finally, we passed a range of bills to address diversity in our schools, such as ones to better protect immigrants and provide more flexibility and funding to increase staffing and resources for educating English Language Learners.

And of course, college affordability remains a pressing issue for so many in our state. To address the issue, I led the effort on a piece of legislation to consolidate Virginia’s two higher education financial aid programs, which would make financial aid more accessible to young people.

Additional Highlights

Other legislation that passed both chambers will improve recovery residences in Virginia by setting minimum certification standards and strengthening oversight and transparency mechanisms; expanding employment opportunities for healthcare professionals by prohibiting their employers from using and enforcing non-compete agreements; and requiring financial institutions to automatically exempt from garnishment a minimum account balance of no more than $1,000.

In 2025, Democrats across Virginia campaigned on a commitment to address affordability. Voters responded to the message, delivering statewide victories for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, and adding 13 House of Delegates’ seats to our majority. We did that, and more. Focused like a laser, we raised the minimum wage, passed pharmacy benefit managers reform, furthered access to housing, prioritized energy supply, and passed three constitutional amendments to protect people’s rights – including a right to abortion access; rights restoration; and ridding our constitution of its gay marriage ban.

In our current environment, it’s important that we both promote a positive agenda that moves Virginia and America forward as well as push back against the Trump Administration’s harmful policies. While it is important to do everything possible to counter the impact of the corruption, chaos, cruelty, and incompetence of the Republicans at the helm in the White House and Congress, we must also work on the pocketbook issues facing everyday folks.

This year, the Virginia General Assembly stepped up. We pushed back against MAGA but, more importantly, we passed policies that will put money back in people’s pockets, create a world class educational system, and protect people’s rights.