Virginia Gov. Youngkin vetoes bills that would legalize retail marijuana sales, increase minimum wage

NORFOLK, Va. — Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday vetoed seven bills, including those with the potential to reshape life in Virginia.

HB 698 and SB 448 aimed to establish a retail market for marijuana starting in May 2025. HB 1 and SB 1 would have increased the state’s minimum wage from $12 per hour to $13.50 at the start of the new year and $15 per hour starting in 2026. Both passed the House and Senate by tight margins.

The marijuana bill would have “endanger(ed) Virginians’ health and safety,” Youngkin said in a release.

“States following this path have seen adverse effects on children’s and adolescent’s health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue,” he said, adding that a retail market wouldn’t end illegal sales or ensure product safety.

“Addressing the inconsistencies in enforcement and regulation in Virginia’s current laws does not justify expanding access to cannabis, following the failed paths of other states and endangering Virginians’ health and safety.”

The governor cited a 400% increase in calls since 2016 to U.S. Poison Control regarding children who have consumed high amounts of edible cannabis, and an 85% increase in such calls to the Blue Ridge Poison Control Center since possession of cannabis became legal in the state.

In 2021, Virginia became the first Southern state to legalize marijuana use, possession and cultivation in small amounts, but buying it continues to be illegal for those without a medical marijuana card.

State Sen. Aaron Rouse, a Democrat and the chief patron of the Senate’s version of HB 698, wrote Thursday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Youngkin’s “dismissive” treatment of the issue of marijuana sales is “unacceptable.”

“Public servants are obligated to tackle pressing issues,” Rouse wrote. “This legislation would have combated the illegal market and ensured access to safe, tested and taxed cannabis products.”

In striking down HB 1, Youngkin explained he prefers to let the free market decide salaries and wages “dynamically.” He called the proposed increases “arbitrary” and argued it will increase operational costs for small businesses outside of Northern Virginia, forcing them to increase prices that will drive up inflation, “ultimately hurting the workers the proposal seeks to assist.”

“This wage mandate imperils market freedom and economic competitiveness,” reads Youngkin’s statement.

Youngkin also vetoed three other bills:

— SB696 – would allow those convicted of felony offenses relating to marijuana distribution before July 2021 who are still in prison or on probation to have an automatic hearing to consider modifying their sentences.

— HB157 – would eliminate the exemption from minimum wage requirements for farm workers and temporary foreign workers.

—HB974 – would allow employees to satisfy the burden of proof in workers’ compensation claims based on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of others.

He signed 100 other bills Thursday including “bills that strengthen law enforcement’s ability to prosecute child predators and expand Department of Corrections inmate access to quality health services.”