Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed 48 bills passed by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly on Friday.
Vetoed bills included SB238, which would have required health insurance companies to cover morning-after pills like Plan B and intrauterine contraceptive devices.
“During my State of the Commonwealth address in January, I made clear my intention to work in a bipartisan manner with the General Assembly to accomplish policies that move Virginia forward, and we have a lot to be proud of this session,” said Governor Youngkin in a press release.
Youngkin stated that he “must act on the language before me, and there are several bills which are not ready to become law.”
“This includes legislation related to contraception. Let me be crystal clear: I support access to contraception. However, we cannot trample on the religious freedoms of Virginians. And that is the issue the recommendations I sent back to the General Assembly addressed. I will continue to uphold the oath that I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Youngkin said.
Youngkin also vetoed SB 517, which sought to remove tax-exempt status from organizations dedicated to Confederate history. This would have included the Virginia Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the General Organization of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, and the Stonewall Jackson Memorial.
“The Commonwealth should pass necessary reforms regarding exemptions from local property and recordation taxes,” Youngkin wrote in a statement. “Narrowly targeting specific organizations to gain or lose such tax exemptions sets an inappropriate precedent. … Choosing winners and losers is imprudent and undermines the tax system’s fairness. ”
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