After a veto by Youngkin, minimum wage will remain $12 in Virginia

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed bills that would have increased the minimum wage in Virginia to $15 per hour by 2026.

So, what does that mean for wages in Virginia? And what’s next for the legislation?

First, some background

The General Assembly passed a bill in 2020 to incrementally increase the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $12 per hour over three years. That bill contained a reenactment clause, which meant it would have to be passed again after Virginia’s 2023 election, in order to reach $15 per hour. The bill Youngkin vetoed would have satisfied that reenactment clause.

Minimum wage in the commonwealth remains at the $12 per hour rate it achieved in 2023.

“We kept our promise to the workers of Virginia until we reach $12 per hour. The governor’s veto will prevent us from reaching $15 per hour and will sadly be a part of his legacy,” Del. Jeion Ward, D - Hampton, patron of the House of Delegates minimum wage bill, said in a statement on March 29.

If signed, what would the minimum wage bills have done?

Two identical bills passed the General Assembly during the 2024 session, HB1 and SB1.

If Youngkin had signed them instead of issuing his veto, minimum wage in Virginia would have increased to $13.50 per hour by January 1, 2025, and then to $15 per hour by January 1, 2026.

Could the General Assembly override the governor’s veto?

Lawmakers in Virginia could override the Governor’s veto during the April 17 reconvene session, when they will again meet to consider Youngkin’s actions on bills and the budget.

A two-thirds majority is needed in both chambers to override a veto from the governor. With the bills passing on party line votes in the Senate and House of Delegates, an override appears unlikely.

“I don’t feel like it, that it will,” Ward said of achieving the vote necessary to override the governor’s veto.

“All of the Democrats voted in support of the bill, but I don’t believe I had any Republicans,” she said. “I will do the best I can and hope I can perhaps change a few hearts but I’m not sure at this point.”

Could a vote go to the public through a referendum?

Statewide issues require legislation to be enacted by the General Assembly. Voters cannot circulate petitions for any question to appear on the ballot statewide, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

The commonwealth has a constitutional amendment process that eventually goes to the voters. That process requires a piece of legislation to be passed twice, once by two different Assemblies with an intervening election, before it can go to voters for final approval. That process circumvents the governor’s signature but it’s lengthy and a constitutional amendment is unlikely regarding retail issues.

Arguments from bill supporters, arguments from the governor

“If you are working a minimum wage job and you are not getting that increase it’s going to make it more difficult for you,” Ward said. “All of the prices are going up; it’s just going to cost people more.”

She argued that inflation and unexpected bills affect people the most who are paid the lowest wages.

In a statement following his veto, Youngkin argued that increasing the minimum wage to $15 by 2026 would raise costs on families and small businesses and jeopardize jobs. He said the increase failed to recognize regional economic differences across Virginia.

“Implementing a $15 per hour wage mandate may not impact Northern Virginia, where economic conditions create a higher cost of living, but this approach is detrimental for small businesses across the rest of Virginia, especially in Southwest and Southside,” he said. “A one-size-fits-all mandate ignores the vast economic and geographic differences and undermines the ability to adapt to regional cost-of-living differences and market dynamics.”

Lily Roberts, managing director for inclusive growth at the Center for American Progress, argued that Virginia is one of the most expensive states for housing and that there is not a county or zip code in the commonwealth where a person can make less than $15 per hour and afford to rent a modest apartment.

To pay 30% or less of their income on housing for a two-bedroom apartment, a person in Virginia must make $26.84 per hour, according to a 2023 report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“In Virginia it’s 77 hours a week at a minimum wage,” Roberts said, regarding how much a person would have to work to afford a modest apartment on Virginia’s current $12 per hour minimum wage.

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce issued a statement that applauded Youngkin's veto. "Raising the hourly minimum wage to $15 would have led to shuttered businesses and lost jobs, particularly in the areas most in need of strong economic growth and particularly for Virginia’s small businesses," it read.

“Research and analysis consistently shows that higher wages doesn’t necessarily mean that people lose jobs, that’s an old and really outdated and debunked version of what happens in the market,” Roberts said.

So, what’s next?

Minimum wage in Virginia will remain at $12 per hour.

The next General Assembly election will take place in 2025, along with the election for governor. In Virginia, a governor cannot serve two consecutive terms, which means Youngkin will not be able to seek reelection. Ward hopes, if Democratic lawmakers retain control of the General Assembly and a Democratic governor is elected, a minimum wage increase can be revisited.

“It is not over, because we’re still going to have these minimum wage workers struggling, and we’ve got to keep fighting and speaking on their behalf,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Virginia's fight for $15 per hour continues