Virginia Gov. Spanberger acts on bills in final hours before Monday night deadline

Kate Seltzer, The Virginian-Pilot on Apr 13, 2026

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NORFOLK, Va. — The deadline for Gov. Abigail Spanberger to sign, amend or veto legislation passed by the General Assembly is 11:59 p.m. EDT Monday.

In the hours before, she signed dozens of bills into law – but also made a point to highlight legislation that didn’t pass.

This is the Democratic governor’s first General Assembly session, and Spanberger has faced criticism from Republicans, including from President Donald Trump, who accused her of creating new taxes. Her office issued a release Monday afternoon noting she “did not sign dozens of tax bills into law — because the General Assembly never passed them, and the bills never reached her desk.” Democrats did introduce a variety of new tax proposals this legislative session, but they either failed to pass altogether or were continued until next year.

“These taxes were introduced, debated, and pushed by the Governor’s own allies,” responded House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, in a statement of his own. “Their failure is the result of Democratic infighting, not some principled stand.”

In the past few weeks, Spanberger has signed priority legislation that aligns with her affordability agenda. She also vetoed legislation that would have expanded gambling in Virginia, including legalizing skill games and allowing for a referendum on a casino in Fairfax County.

With decisions on many high profile bills pending Monday evening, here’s what Spanberger has addressed so far.

Approved

Spanberger signed into law bills that would make it a Class 4 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $250, to leave firearms in cars unattended without securing them in a locked compartment. Portsmouth police report that guns stolen from cars are a contributing factor to gun violence, though they had requested a harsher penalty for the offence.

The governor also signed legislation directing a legislative committee and the Department of Education to study the possibility of annual mental health screenings for public school students in grades six through 12.

Other legislation establishes a child care assistance pilot program, where employers would agree to make child care contributions matched by the state.

Spanberger did sign some legislation to regulate gaming, including HB145 and SB129 that impose a 10% tax on fantasy betting vendors’ revenue. Most of that revenue would go toward the state general fund, with 2.5% going toward the state’s Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund.

Other legislation aims to regulate some data center growth. Spanberger signed into law legislation that would require localities to assess how loud data centers would be and their impact on water, agriculture, parks, historic sites and forests. Another bill requires industrial water users including data centers to report how much water they use and reclaim to the Department of Environmental Quality.

Vetoed

Spanberger also announced a slate of vetoes Monday evening. HB1288 and SB17 would allow towing companies to, without a court order, auction off cars valued up to $17,000 to satisfy a lien, a change from the current $12,500 cap. Spanberger said that would result in a significant increase in the number of cars that could be sold through an administrative process.

“Companies often take temporary custody of a person’s vehicle, including when a car needs routine maintenance, when the person parks at the airport, when a vehicle breaks down, or in less honest cases, when a person is the victim of predatory towing,” Spanberger wrote in her veto explanation. “Regardless of the reason why, Virginians should not have to worry that the company with temporary possession of their vehicle can sell it without their permission or a court order.”

Other vetoes included HB86, which would require mattress producers and sellers to register with a mattress recycling organization and come up with a plan to collect and recycle used mattresses. Under the plan, a recycling fee would have been added to the cost of a new mattress.

“While I value the need for reliable recycling for mattresses — which crowd landfills, mandating that all mattress retailers that sell to Virginians participate in a single recycling program and increase their prices makes this program unworkable for the Commonwealth,” Spanberger wrote in her veto explanation.

No amendments had been announced at the time of writing.

The General Assembly reconvenes April 22 and will vote on whether to sustain Spanberger’s vetoes and approve her amendments. A two-thirds majority in both houses is required to overturn a veto.

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