Pre-filing of legislation has begun for the 2026 General Assembly Legislative Session, which is the time period when legislators officially submit their requests for bills to be considered starting in January. I have received dozens of requests for legislation from my constituents, ranging from public safety, economic development, Veterans issues, and your Second Amendment rights. I look forward to sharing more information about these bills once they have been finalized and submitted. In the meantime, it is worth mentioning some of the initial pieces of legislation that House Democrats have filed now that they have established their substantial majority in the House of Delegates.
Democrats ran their campaigns in the 2025 election cycle focused on two things: affordability and opposition to President Donald Trump. Now that Democrats have won a majority, “affordability” for them has appeared to have taken a backseat to other priorities that were quickly filed with the House Clerk. None of the first seven House Bills filed by Democrats as of last week would do anything to lower costs for Virginians. Some would make the problem of high costs even worse.
For example, the Democrats’ House Bill 4 would create a “right of first refusal” for local governments and nonprofits on affordable housing that has accepted government assistance, like Section 8 vouchers. Affordable housing is usually a tradeoff: a decade or so of subsidized rents, that can then be sold for market rates. The Democrats’ HB 4 will destroy the incentive for people to invest in affordable projects, actually reducing the number of affordable units on the market. This would effectively increase costs for those who are looking for affordable housing, which is a vital need for our region and elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
On another note, something that continues to have my utmost attention is energy generation and the cost of our electricity. Legislation filed by House Democrats would continue to increase your electric bill through various means, such as a continued emphasis on unreliable generation methods that depend on the wind blowing, the sun shining, and the construction of massive battery storage facilities. The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) has already stated plainly that “dispatchable generation is needed to complement renewable resources and stabilize the grid,” and that “it is unlikely…that renewable energy development alone with suffice.” This has not stopped Democrats’ continued support of the failed 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), which accelerates Virginia’s electrical production to carbon-free sources only. In times where the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing, Virginia then imports energy – often generated by coal or natural gas – from other states, negating the very reason for the VCEA. Other legislation by Democrats would force utility companies to absorb the costs of making homes more energy efficient – but the consumer would certainly see those costs passed along to us in their electric bills.
There will certainly be more bad ideas filed in the form of legislation by Democrats in the coming month, and unfortunately, Democrats have a trifecta of government control to pass anything that they like. Republicans have said it before and we will continue saying it: we should pass laws based in fact, not ideas. We may not have the votes to stop their bad ideas, but we can – and will – call them out when we see them, so Virginians know just what type of deal they are getting.
As the Delegate representing the 42nd House District in the Virginia General Assembly, your concerns are my greatest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at DelJBallard@House.Virginia.Gov. You can also follow me on Twitter @JasonBallardVA or like my Facebook page, Jason Ballard for Delegate, to keep up to date with what I am doing in Richmond and in our community on your behalf.
