Monday morning’s oral arguments before the Supreme Court of Virginia touched on a number of issues, but one stand out was the authority the legislature has to call a special session. Republicans argued the special session Democrats used to pass the redistricting amendment for the first time went beyond its original scope.
“Every single member of each house has the opportunity to approve or disapprove of the issues that are proposed to be taken up. They called it, they said it was for budget bills,” Tom McCarthy, an attorney for the GOP, told the justices.
But a quirk of the legislature is the so-called "rule of 51," the legislature, by a simple majority, can adopt their own or new rules once a special session is underway.
“The Supreme Court appeared to be saying when the legislature is in special session it can determine the rules by which it does business and the business it addresses,” according to Radio IQ politics analyst Jeff Schapiro.
This isn’t a new power, and it’s traditionally included the length of the session itself. It was used by Republicans to stymie judicial appointments under Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe. The special session used to pass the redistricting amendment in late 2025 began back in 2024.
Colonial Heights Republican Senator Glen Sturtevant was in the courtroom for Monday’s hearing. “It is true, there is the rule of 51, and I think the Supreme Court will give deference to the way the General Assembly interprets its own rules, procedures and protocols. But I think that's a separate question from whether or not a special session can just exist forever,” Sturtevant said after Monday's hearing.
This legislative authority question may be among those the Supreme Court of Virginia will answer, though they did not signal when they intended to rule.
In the meantime, that 2024 special session ended just before the 2026 session started. And in what may be bad news for Governor Abigail Spanberger, a new, 2026 special session started the day after the veto session and is now ongoing.
