Virginia Senate Democrats pledge action on affordability as 2026 session begins

Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, speaks at a news conference in Richmond Tuesday as Senate Democrats outline their agenda for the 2026 General Assembly session, emphasizing affordability as their top legislative priority. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

On the eve of General Assembly Session 2026Senate Democrats on Tuesday outlined an ambitious agenda focused on reducing the financial strain on Virginia families, while signaling their openness to reviewing tax and tax policy amid looming budget pressures.

Democrats control both chambers of the Legislature, which is set to convene Wednesday with affordability at the top of lawmakers’ priorities, amid broader economic and political debates facing the commonwealth.

At a news conference in Richmond, party leaders outlined what they called the “2026 Affordability Agenda,” a program aimed at easing costs for households in areas such as health care, child care, housing, energy and access to food.

The framework builds on the Affordable Virginia model revealed last month by Democratic Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, who made cost-of-living issues a central theme of her early legislative initiatives.

“Over the last year, one of the things we heard about was rising costs for families,” said Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, chairwoman of the Senate Democratic caucus.

“Families across Virginia are facing rising costs, from housing to health care to child care to everyday necessities, and they deserve relief. The urgency of this moment is not lost on us.”

Locke said the program would build on eight pillars that also include transportation, access to jobs and food, energy and education, aimed at restoring “hope, freedom and opportunity to working families” in Virginia.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, has linked the affordability push directly to economic pressures that he attributes to federal policy changes, including energy rates and costs.

In a sweeping critique of national trends, Surovell said rising prices of essential goods such as food and utilities highlight the urgency of Parliament’s work.

“The truth is that President Trump’s policies are failing Virginians, and the question now is whether we’re going to let that happen, whether we’re going to do something about it,” Surovell said, ahead of a series of Democratic proposals that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2028, create paid family medical leave and expand collective bargaining rights for public employees.

Surovell also addressed the state’s financial outlook, emphasizing that new changes to federal tax law – under the so-called A big and beautiful bill passed by Congress last year — could cost Virginia about $1 billion in revenue if the Commonwealth conforms its tax code to the federal structure.

The Legislature must decide during the first two weeks of session whether to align state tax policy with federal changes, he said.

“If we can tailor our tax policy to what Congress is asking us to do, it will cost us a billion dollars in revenue,” Surovell said. “We will have to decide within the first two weeks whether or not we can comply with federal tax law.”

He added that after K-12 and Medicaid spending adjustments, Virginia faces a $3 billion to $4 billion funding gap before new initiatives can be considered.

Among the potential revenue discussions are modernizing elements of the state’s tax structure, Surovell said, including reexamining the sales tax base and whether existing income tax brackets are fair in a changing economy.

Sen. Louise Lucas, a Portsmouth Democrat, president pro tempore of the Senate, echoed the centrality of affordability while placing it in the broader context of opportunity and long-term prosperity.

“We are going to define affordability and it is inseparable from freedom and opportunity,” Lucas said, citing access to quality education, health care and workforce development as key elements of sustainable economic mobility.

The Democratic agenda aligns with broader expectations of the General Assembly.

Affordability resonated with voters across Virginia in the 2025 elections, helping deliver Democrats a big increase in the party’s House majority and shaping policy priorities for 2026.

Spanberger’s earlier rollout of the Affordable Virginia Agenda echoed this. campaign promises and presented the session as an opportunity to tackle prescription drug costs, utility bills and housing issues, emphasizing measures to rein in runaway costs without overburdening the state budget.

Still, the ambitious scope of the Democratic proposals has drawn attention from critics who say some measures — such as broad regulatory changes and spending mandates — could backfire by shifting costs elsewhere in the economy or increasing burdens on businesses and taxpayers.

A recent Washington Post analysis suggested that some affordability strategies might inadvertently increase costs through cross-subsidies or expanded mandates.

Beyond affordability, Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for debate on other high-profile issues such as constitutional amendments, redistricting procedures and structural reforms in areas like energy policy and worker protections.

Under the Virginia Constitution, constitutional amendments first passed last year must be re-approved in the coming weeks before going before voters later in 2026, making this session particularly important.

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