Governor Glenn Youngkin has started taking action on bills from this year’s General Assembly session.
Among the first batch were several involving economic development issues. At an event Wednesday afternoon, Youngkin said he was signing bills that set incentives for some big manufacturing developments, including chip maker Micron in Northern Virginia, electric battery maker Microporous near Danville and the Commonwealth Fusion power plant in Central Virginia. Another bill that got Youngkin's signature allows for site readiness incentives in smaller localities.
Youngkin said the bills will continue the Virginia’s track record of economic success. He also argued the state’s economic health will help lessen the blow of what he called "dislocation" caused by federal workforce cuts.
"We not only respect the capabilities of our federal workforce we actually want them in the Virginia job market," Youngkin said.
Youngkin touted the 250,000 open positions in Virginia and the Virginia Has Jobs initiative that was set up to link displaced federal workers with the opportunities.
Democrats quickly criticized the governor's presentation, saying he was supporting the Trump administration's attacks on the federal workforce and Virginia's economy.
"It is embarrassing and quite frankly irresponsible for a governor to offer such out-of-touch and arrogant nonsense to hardworking Virginians facing an economic crisis," Democratic Party of Virginia chair Susan Swecker said in a statement.
Youngkin has until midnight Monday to act on bills passed during the General Assembly session. You can follow along on the progress here.
