House rejects most override attempts, adopts budget and many governor recommendations during April 2 reconvene session

RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia House of Delegates met April 2 to consider the governor's vetoes and recommendations from the 2025 regular session and on dozens of roll-call votes sustained most of the governor's vetoes while adopting a series of budget amendments and many of the governor's recommended changes.

The reconvene session's clerk told members the governor returned 916 bills: 509 were signed, and 95 were vetoed. Members processed blocks of bills and individual measures across hours of debate, numerous roll calls and several recesses.

Why it matters: The reconvene session is the constitutional moment for the General Assembly to decide whether to override or accept a governor's return of legislation. The outcomes decide whether bills passed in the regular session become law as enacted, are changed according to the governor's recommendations, or fail to become law.

Most override attempts failed

Lawmakers repeatedly moved to override the governor's vetoes on a range of bills and fell short in multiple high-profile cases. Several override motions drew wide floor debate before recorded votes.

- Firearms: Delegate Doug Hill (Delegate from Fairfax) called the weapons at issue —weapons of war— and urged an override, saying, —These firearms were designed for the battlefield, not for our streets.— Opponents including Delegate Tony Freitas (Delegate from Culpeper) framed the vote as a Second Amendment issue and said many covered weapons were not what veterans carried in combat. The House recorded a 50-46 vote on the motion to override the governor's veto of House Bill 607; the clerk announced —The governor's veto is sustained.—

- Voter-roll protections: Supporters argued the governor's action to remove voters close to an election was wrong. Delegate Doug Henson (Delegate from Prince William) said the bill would…