Spanberger, Dem leaders release ‘Affordable Virginia Agenda’

Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger released a list of bills and proposals she supports to lower the cost of health care, energy, and housing in Virginia.

Gov-elect Abigail Spanberger and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly announced their priorities for the upcoming legislative session at a press conference in Richmond on Thursday. 

Their plan, dubbed the Affordable Virginia Agenda, aims to lower the costs of housing, healthcare, and energy for working Virginians at a time when many are struggling to make ends meet. 

“Our mandate is to get things done,” Spanberger said in a press release. “Not to grandstand, not to gloat, but to come together for a stronger, safer, and — importantly — a more affordable Virginia.”

Many Americans are struggling to pay their bills.  The costs for hundreds of drugs continue to rise, and hundreds of thousands of Virginians will see their health care premiums more than double on average in the new year. CNN reports that since last September, residential electricity rates nationwide increased by 7.4%—with over a dozen states seeing double digit increases year-over-year. And the lack of affordable housing has plagued Virginians for years. 

Spanberger and Democratic General Assembly leaders released a list of bills and legislative proposals to address these issues. 

Their healthcare priorities are: to stop predatory middlemen from hiking up the cost of prescription drugs, and to limit how often insurance companies can make patients get special approval before they can receive medicines for chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma. 

Spanberger also supports stabilizing the Affordable Care Act Marketplace with targeted premium assistance and eliminating additional fees on premiums for tobacco users. 

Her energy priorities include requiring electric utilities to expand programs that help low-income customers improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Spanberger also supports a proposal that would raise energy storage capacity targets for Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power subject to approval by the State Corporation Commission.

Spanberger further supports establishing a Virginia Weatherization Task Force; facilitating the adoption of portable small solar panels; improving forecasting of power usage; and optimizing grid utilization.

Her housing priorities include: improving protections for Virginia renters by giving residents more time to respond to lease terminations; authorizing all localities to change zoning rules to allow the construction of affordable dwelling units (ADUs) to create more affordable housing; and creating a revolving loan fund for the production of mixed-income housing developments. She also wants to expand the Virginia Eviction Reduction Program, which provides flexible financial assistance to prevent vulnerable Virginians from getting evicted. 

General Assembly leaders who support Spanberger’s legislative goals include House Speaker Don Scott, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, and state Sen. Mamie Locke. They each shared statements pledging to work with Spanberger on bringing down the cost of living in Virginia. 

“Our caucus is ready to hit the ground running together with Governor-elect Spanberger to pass this agenda that provides relief for Virginians who are feeling squeezed at the pharmacy counter, by their utility bills, and on the housing market,” Surovell said in the release.