Virginia’s Youngkin signs 700 bills that cover health care, police and taxes

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed about 700 bills impacting the economy, health care policy, law enforcement policies, taxes and various other issues.

Each bill had some level of bipartisan support, needing approval from the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and the Democratic-controlled Senate. The governor also amended more than 100 bills, which the General Assembly will need to act on. Lawmakers are also working on several other bills that have yet to reach the governor, with the most important of those being the state budget.

“Every year the duly elected representatives of the people assemble to pass new laws on behalf of their constituencies, and I am honored to sign these 700 bills into law this year,” Youngkin said in a statement. “These bills are all bipartisan and we can all be proud that together we’ve taken steps to make life easier for Virginians, make our Commonwealth’s economy more competitive, support law enforcement, protect the most vulnerable among us, increase access to health care, and take necessary steps toward making Virginia’s schools the absolute best in the nation.”

Senate Bill 469 and House Bill 312, which the governor signed, are designed to improve health care transparency by requiring the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange to develop a plan to strengthen marketing and navigator services. This is meant to increase awareness of marketplace insurance options and the availability of subsidies, according to Sen. Jennifer McClellan’s, D-Richmond, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill.

“Too many Virginians are facing high premiums for their health insurance,” McClellan said in a statement. “This new law and the new state-based exchange will provide major cost relief to Virginians, providing better coverage at a reduced cost. By equipping the state-based exchange with improved navigation tools, we are empowering more Virginians to get the health care they need at a lower cost. This new law takes an important step to ensure all Virginians are properly insured with the health-care that best fits their individual needs.”

Youngkin also signed bills that extend the sunset provisions on the business facility job tax credit; the sales tax exemptions for aircraft components; the gold, silver and platinum bullion sales tax exemption; the Growth and Opportunity grants; and the worker training tax credit. By repealing the sunset provisions, these policies will remain in place.

The governor signed legislation to create a local and state tax exemption for facilities on the roof of a residential dwelling or a structure on an agricultural zoned property designed to serve the electricity needs for that property. He also signed legislation to create a sales tax exemption for medicine and drugs purchased by veterinarians.

House Bill 263, which Youngkin also signed, allows banks to hold virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, if they have the means to do so. It does not require banks to hold those currencies.

The governor signed legislation to ban police departments from implementing arrest and summons quotas. He also signed bills to require human trafficking training for law enforcement.

Tyler Arnold reports on Virginia and West Virginia for The Center Square. He previously worked for the Cause of Action Institute and has been published in Business Insider, USA TODAY College, National Review Online and the Washington Free Beacon.