Virginia governor delivers State of the Commonwealth, highlights jobs, education and public safety

The governor delivered a State of the Commonwealth address to a joint assembly, saying Virginia is ‘‘soaring’’ after four years of his administration and urging lawmakers to keep policies that he said have driven business investment and job growth.

In the address the governor credited the administration with attracting more than $157 billion in private investment, saying ‘‘we've won record business investment’’ and reporting ‘‘nearly 270,000 more Virginiaians are working today than when we started together.’’ He told the chamber that the state is running a large surplus, citing roughly $10 billion in surplus revenue and multi-year revenue growth of about 8 percent.

The address framed those numbers as justification for further tax relief and opposition to tax increases. ‘‘Keeping right to work right where it is,’’ the governor said, ‘‘No amendments, no reforms, and no changes.’’ He also urged lawmakers to preserve policies he said are favorable to data centers and industry.

Education featured prominently. The governor pointed to what he called a record increase in K–12 funding since the pandemic, the creation of 15 new lab schools with capacity for some 5,000 students, and a dramatic rise in math scores: ‘‘a 20% surge in math proficiency,’’ he said. He credited the Virginia Literacy Act and other reforms for improved outcomes and said a statewide bell-to-bell cell-phone ban is now law to improve classroom focus.

On public safety and drugs, the governor described expanded law-enforcement efforts and harsher penalties for fentanyl distribution, citing operations he named as part of the response and saying the state had delivered 400,000 naloxone doses and trained nearly 100,000 people to use them. ‘‘Thanks to our comprehensive efforts, Virginia now leads the nation in reducing fatal fentanyl overdoses by 59%,’’ he said.

The governor outlined behavioral-health system changes, saying the state increased care capacity and crisis response: beds and chairs up 241 percent, 988 crisis calls increased by 456 percent to more than 30,000 calls per month, and nearly three times as many mobile crisis teams were deployed.

On energy policy, he urged an ‘‘all-of-the-above’’ approach that includes gas and nuclear power and said Virginia must double generating capacity in the next 10 years. He opposed rejoining what he called ‘‘Reggie,’’ arguing it would raise costs and drive jobs away.

The address included a series of ceremonial acknowledgments and a closing benediction. Procedurally, the joint assembly agreed to a resolution appointing a committee to notify the governor and later approved motions to adjourn and to reconvene the House the following day at noon.

Votes at a glance - Resolution to notify the governor and appoint a 10-member notification committee: approved by voice vote; committee members announced by the president of the joint assembly. - Motion to adjourn to reconvene tomorrow at 12:00 noon: approved by voice vote. - Motion to adjourn for the day: approved by voice vote.

What happens next: The clerk announced committee meeting times for the next day and the House was scheduled to reconvene at 12:00 p.m. the following day.