Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda: How Virginia’s Everchanging Politics Creates (Missed) Opportunities For Major Policy Decisions

Benjamin Franklin may have been discussing the new United States Constitution when he penned this note to his friend, French scientist Jean- Baptiste Le Roy, but he could easily have been referring to politics in Virginia. Virginia House of Delegates members and members of the Congressional House of Representatives serve two-year terms. Members of the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. United States Senators serve sixyear terms. And the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General all serve four-year terms with only the Governor constitutionally limited to a single four-year term. With all of these terms being staggered across the various offices, the result is that every single year in the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is a consequential election which could shift the balance of power between and within the executive and legislative branches. Death, taxes and Virginia elections—nothing in this world is more certain. But with the certainty of constant elections also comes constant change. Every January, the Virginia General Assembly convenes to debate and pass the Commonwealth’s laws. The frequency of state elections can result in whiplash policy changes from year to year as the two dominant political parties trade majority rule. Only once in the past ten years has one party managed to control the Governor’s office and both chambers of the General Assembly when the Democrats accomplished this short-lived feat in 2019. The Democrats quickly proceeded to pass a number of initiatives they had long favored, including: criminal justice reform, the decriminalization of marijuana, the creation of the Cannabis Control Authority, expansion of rights for LGBTQIA+, and the Clean Economy Act, among others. But the rapid advancement of so many initiatives in such a short period of time led to significant pushback against the party; in 2021, Republicans regained control of the House of Delegates and swept all three statewide offices for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General. The Democrats retained control of the Senate, setting up another electoral showdown for control of the General Assembly in the November 2023 elections. This article will discuss some of the policy initiatives introduced during the 2023 legislative session in advance of the fall elections. It will examine what happened with some key initiatives such as campaign finance reform, ratepayer reform and the establishment of a cannabis retail market. It will then analyze what should have happened in these areas and look to the 2024 session for what new initiatives we can expect to see introduced.