Governor Abigail Spanberger was in Roanoke Monday as she continues to put her signature on pieces of legislation sent to her by the General Assembly. The focus at the Roanoke Higher Education Center — which provides more than 100 training programs — was on bills that will help bolster career and technical education.
The bills ceremonially signed by Spanberger Monday were bipartisan in nature – and many of them were spearheaded by Democratic Delegate Sam Rasoul and Republican Senator David Suetterlein – both of whom represent the city of Roanoke in the legislature.
“We’re going to make it easier for folks that are career switchers to get licensed and stay licensed so that they can provide this critical career and technical education for our young people,” Suetterlein said about one of his bills that will now become law.
Other bills signed by the governor Monday include measures that expand access to apprenticeships for Virginia high school students and another that will make the Community Builders Pilot Program permanent. That effort was created in 2024 to help reduce youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence for both Roanoke and Petersburg.
Governor Spanberger said the bipartisan legislation flies in the face of what she called “vitriol” out of the nation’s capital – where cooperation between the two major political parties has become very rare.
“In Virginia, I believe we’re doing a lot better than that and so I think the example of what we saw by the legislators who’ve come together – a bill carried in one legislative body by a Democrat and the other legislative body by a Republican speaks to that point,” the governor said.
After the event, Spanberger was asked about ongoing budget negotiations in Richmond — as Democratic leaders are still at odds over what to do with a massive tax break for data centers.
The governor said the General Assembly should have discussions on making sure data centers pay their fair share…
“But I as governor do have significant concerns about what it would be or what the impact would be for us to summarily in a one-sided nature break contracts that are currently in place, currently in existence.”
Other Democratic leaders in the General Assembly want the tax break eliminated.
State lawmakers will need to reach some sort of consensus on a spending plan before the new fiscal year starts in July.
