NORFOLK, Va. — Gov. Youngkin continues to take action on bills passed in the General Assembly and added four more vetoes to his total of 91, setting a new record for vetoes in a session.
One of the bills he vetoed would've required the Board of Education to provide learning materials related to climate change and the environment, but the governor vetoed saying it's redundant to what's already being taught.
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The Sierra Club Virginia Chapter is disappointed in the veto.
"The way we talk about the issue of climate change matters and if we can't teach it in a way that is universally accepted, then we're not teaching it correctly," said Tim Cywinski of the Sierra Club.
Youngkin has signed hundreds of other bills into law, including one Wednesday that gives prosecutors more power to crack down on labor trafficking, where people are being forced to work.
"This is a universal effort to understand what we can do to not just diminish human trafficking, but eliminate it," Youngkin said during a bill signing ceremony.
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Another piece of legislation he approved expands the definition of a hate crime to include someone's ethnic heritage, which is meant to help address antisemitism.
"These bills make clear that antisemitism will be treated like all other manifestations of hatred and that Jewish individuals and communities of Virginia are included in Virginia’s laws against discrimination and assault regardless of whether they identify or are targeted based on Judaism’s religious or ethnic aspects," said Betty Ann Levin, the CEO of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater in a statement to News 3.
Still, several bills are awaiting his action. One would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board that would oversee and set limits on drug prices.
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"Drug costs and healthcare costs are kind of the main reason people are seeing their paycheck erode," said State Sen. Schuyler VanVelkenburg (D-Henrico County) during a bus tour stop on Wednesday.
Youngkin also still has to take action on the state budget, which he has been campaigning against in recent weeks.
"The big question is what's going to happen with the budget?" Said Dr. Eric Claville, a political analyst from Norfolk State University. "Will there be line-item vetoes within the budget or will the budget itself be vetoed outright and then they would have to start over?"
