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Spanberger signs first wave of bills targeting health care, housing and energy costs

By Virginia Mercury

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed the first batch of bills passed by state lawmakers before they adjourned in mid-March, advancing measures on health care, housing and energy affordability. With hundreds of bills cleared by the legislature, she has until April 13 to sign, seek amendments or veto remaining legislation.

In the meantime, Spanberger in a statement highlighted lawmakers’ focus on these three issues as a priority during the legislative session.

“No Virginian should ever have to choose between seeing their doctor, paying their rent or mortgage, or keeping their lights on,” she said. “I am signing this legislation to respond to the real, pressing concerns I have heard from Virginia families across the commonwealth about high costs — particularly at the pharmacy counter, in the housing market, and on their utility bills.”

While she signed some versions of bills, she noted cognates from the opposite chamber that have yet to be communicated but will be signed when they officially reach her desk.

Health care

Following through on a campaign promise, Spanberger signed a slate of bills aimed at addressing health care affordability and access, along with measures to boost housing supply and strengthen tenant protections.

After passing unanimously, Senate Bill 669 by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, and House Bill 830 by Del. Katrina Callsen, D-Charlottesville, aim to prevent pharmacy benefit managers from inflating prescription drug costs.

Pharmacy benefit managers are the middlemen that negotiate drug prices between health plans, manufacturers and pharmacies. Critics have argued they operate with little transparency, making it hard to tell how much of their negotiated savings are passed on to consumers. Rouse and Callsen have been working on reforming PBMs in recent years.

Another unanimously supported measure was SB 405 by Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth and HB 815 by Del. Mark Downey, D-Williamsburg. The legislation invests in Virginia’s health workforce by administering nursing scholarships.

HB 220 by Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, and SB 630 by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William will eliminate additional fees on health care premiums while HB 60 by Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton, seeks to prevent life and health insurance from being denied to people who have sought care for HIV or AIDS.

Housing

After a state-directed study confirmed a shortage of roughly 200,000 affordable housing units, lawmakers have spent several legislative sessions trying to address the gap. Housing affordability and increasing supply were also central to Spanberger’s campaign for governor.

HB 1227 by Del. Josh Thomas, D-Prince William, and SB 729 by Sen. Mike Jones, D-Richmond, leverage the state’s bonding authority to support the development of new affordable housing.

SB 628 by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, and SB 527 by Del. Adele McClure, D-Alexandria, establish Virginia’s Eviction Reduction Program — a measure both women had planned to pursue through their work on the Virginia Housing Commission, where they learned the piloted diversion program was not being used as widely as intended.

SB 346 by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, and HB 655 by Del. Michelle Maldonado, D-Prince William, aim to boost housing supply by making it easier to construct manufactured homes, which can provide a more affordable housing option but are not always granted the same approvals as other single-family homes.

All of the housing bills Spanberger has so far signed so far, or indicated she plans to sign, cleared the legislature with bipartisan support.

Energy

With energy costs a top concern for Virginians, lawmakers passed several bills aimed at lowering monthly utility bills.

Spanberger signed HB 1191, by Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax, and SB 377, by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, that allows high load energy customers — such as data centers or manufacturers — to enter into agreements to invest in new substations that serve only them, shielding ratepayers from those costs.

Under these measures, customers that demand more than 20 megawatts of power and rely on transmission lines of 230 kV of power or more would pay 100% of the cost to construct the substation should they enter into an agreement with the utility and comply with local ordinances.

HB 369, sponsored by Del David Reid, D-Loudoun, addresses the process by which commercial and industrial customers of Phase I and Phase II utilities buy renewable energy certificates, or RECs, from within the regional grid operator PJM to help meet clean energy and capacity requirements.

The RECs help utilities comply with mandates under the Virginia Clean Economy Act. The legislation also provides that power purchased from nuclear and fusion energy sources would count toward meeting the law’s carbon-zero emissions requirements.

SB 505, by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, directs the State Corporation Commission to take a closer look at fuel and power purchase costs and how they affect risk for ratepayers. Fuel costs are a direct pass-through from utilities to customers, but the newly signed bill requires the SCC to ensure that the most efficient methods are being used and to consider fuel-cost sharing programs.

HB 562, also by Reid, allows electric cooperatives to establish virtual power plants to help ease potential strain on the grid during periods of extreme heat or cold. The measure enables customers with electric vehicle charging stations, smart thermostats, and battery storage to temporarily reduce demand on the grid during peak hours on a voluntary basis.

HB 889, by Shin, and SB 497, by Sen. Russet Perry, D-Loudoun, prioritizes existing transmission line corridors and state highways for new transmission siting. The Department of Transportation is also directed to make recommendations on how the state can speed up permitting for transmission lines in areas where infrastructure already exists and along highway rights-of-way.

Another Shin proposal, HB 1225, and SB 407, by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, allows Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company to petition the SCC to build utility-owned electric vehicle charging stations while establishing new location requirements. The bill also initiates a rulemaking proceeding by the SCC to determine appropriate distances between utility-owned fast-charging stations and privately-owned ones.

Activist who protested outside Stephen Miller’s home won’t face state charges

By CBS News
An activist who protested outside the home of White House adviser Stephen Miller and distributed fliers containing his Virginia address will not face state charges, after a local prosecutor determined she did not commit a crime.In a 166-page court filing, the Arlington and Falls Church Commonwealth Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said that she had reviewed evidence against Barbara Wien and found there was "nothing in the proceeds of the search warrant supports criminal prosecution" for violations of a state law that criminalizes using someone's identity or address as a means to coerce, intimidate or harass. Violations of that law constitute a misdemeanor."It would neither accomplish the ends of justice nor discharge the Commonwealth's ethical obligations of fair prosecution to initiate any charges," she wrote, adding that charging her for protesting against the Trump administration's policies also would likely violate her constitutionally protected free speech rights.Wien, a former college professor and longtime political activist in Arlington, Virginia who specializes in peace-building,  has been under a state investigation since last year, after she distributed fliers last August and September depicting Miller on a "Wanted" poster for "crimes against humanity."The flyers contained his Arlington address, and they also provided a QR code that urged people to demand a congressional investigation. A second flyer distributed in his neighborhood, meanwhile, referred to Miller as the "alt-right extremist behind Trump's most abhorrent policies, Project 2025 and your new neighbor in Arlington, Va."In making her determination not to bring charges, Dehghani-Tafti noted that the wanted flyer "called neither for any action at or near his residence, nor for any action by the viewer against Mr. Miller.""The sole call to action was to a traditionally and clearly protected political activity, encouraging residents to petition Congress to investigate Mr. Miller's actions based on the wanted flyer's allegations," she wrote.A White House spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on the decision.Bradley Haywood, an attorney for Wien, said he admired Dehghani-Taft's careful effort to analyze the facts and the law in her filing. He said that such a move is important at a time when the federal government has been increasingly targeting political activists whose views do not align with the Trump administration."We have a… federal government that is trying to bring conspiracy and even RICO cases against activist groups," he told CBS.  "If you are looking to investigate someone for alleged threats of violence, maybe don't pick a literal professor of peace studies," he added. "Barbara's whole career has been in peace studies."Wien has separately been under a federal investigation in connection with the same incident, according to congressional documentation cited in the court filing, sources familiar with the matter and a witness who was approached by the FBI for an interview. To date, no federal charges have been filed.Shortly after those incidents, the Miller family moved out of their home and into military housing, CBS previously reported.Stephen Miller's wife, Katie Miller, reported the flyers to Arlington County Police Department on August 4, and said she believed the flyer listing their home address violated state law. About a month later, protesters appeared at the public intersection closest to the Millers' home and used sidewalk chalk to depict non-threatening political messages about issues such as immigration and transgender rights.Katie Miller also told police she saw Wien walk by once while she was on her porch, and that Wien made a gesture which seemed to convey "I'm watching you."As part of the state investigation, Virginia State Police reviewed evidence, including a message sent in April 2025 from a phone associated with Wien to a group that stated that Stephen Miller had moved to the neighborhood and accused him of being "the evil fascist behind family separation and deportation policies.""My Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) chapter in N. Virginia intends to make his life hell. We have set up a carefully vetted Signal group. Let me know if you are interested in being a part of our campaign," the message said.In other Signal chat messages, Wien also communicated about sidewalk chalk events, sending one image that read: "Got a message for Stephen Miller? Come (peacefully) CHALK IT OUT on the sidewalks of his neighborhood.""The conduct initially investigated cannot support a charge," Tuesday's court filing said. "In short, Ms. Wien is not likely to be found guilty and her speech is likely to be found to be constitutionally protected."The decision not to charge Wien is likely to spark fresh tensions with House Republicans, who since last year have demanded investigative documents from Dehghani-Tafti and accused her of "stymying the investigation" into the alleged threats against the Miller family.Miller has repeatedly pressed the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia to bring federal charges in the case, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News. But those efforts faltered after a federal magistrate judge twice rejected the FBI's attempt to obtain a search warrant for Wien's phone, according to a letter sent to Dehghani-Tafti from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and a source familiar with the matter.Dehghani-Tafti said the efforts by federal investigators to accompany state police on the execution of the search warrant "raised specific concerns regarding how federal authorities may have been involved (and appearing, potentially, to be attempting to use the Commonwealth, this Court, and the VSP to further a federal investigation—that had to date failed to demonstrate wrongdoing by even the lowest of legal standards of proof.)"After the FBI and Secret Service sought to accompany the state police when officers tried to seize Wien's cell phone, a state judge also separately prohibited local investigators from sharing any data collected from the phone with anyone, apart from the Commonwealth Attorney's Office.Since then, FBI agents have tried to interview several witnesses in the case, telling at least two of them they were visiting, "based on Barbara Wien's phone logs or, on review of their personal phone logs," the court filing says.Dehghani-Tafti wrote in her filing that she was not sure how the FBI could have obtained phone logs, since the court had restricted data sharing with the bureau and the state's narrow search warrant did not include data pertaining to those phone logs or contacts.She added that since she learned about the FBI's interviews, she has tried to obtain more information about how they may have accessed phone logs, but said neither the FBI nor the Virginia State Police have been willing to share their communications with one another.Dehghani-Tafti asked the court to issue an order telling the state police to destroy the records it obtained from its search of Wien's phone. She also asked for a court order requiring the custodians of the records to attest that they were not shared with any other outside agency.
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