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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Feb. 24, 2025:
Virginia House offers delegates financial support for child care
Reported by VPM News’ Megan Pauly
The number of state lawmakers in Virginia who are moms with young kids has more than doubled during the past two years. A new child care stipend for members of the Virginia House of Delegates aims to make it easier for parents to seek higher office — and stay there.
Del. Adele McClure (D–Arlington) admitted it’s been challenging to work 15-hour days while still recovering from childbirth and regularly pumping breast milk. The new General Assembly Building does have lactation rooms with refrigerators; the old building did not.
“Especially while I'm nursing and pumping … it does make me think about the sustainability of continuing to be a lawmaker for a long time,” McClure said.
Preparing for this year’s session, McClure wasn’t sure what to do about child care for Mia, her daughter. Without the stipend, she said she would’ve had to pay a significant amount out of pocket.
General Assembly gavels out – maybe not for long
Reported by VPM News’ Patrick Larsen
Though the 2025 legislative session came to an end on Saturday, the General Assembly has more work to do as federal policy shifts promise to send shockwaves through Virginia’s workforce and economy.
Legislators in the House and Senate have been working overtime to compromise on about 100 bills that the two bodies disagreed on — most of those were heard and adopted on Saturday.
The statehouse also passed its amendments to the state budget — State Sen. Louise Lucas (D–Portsmouth) spoke in favor of it, while a handful of Republican legislators raised some objections, including removing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to eliminate the car tax for some Virginians.
“This General Assembly is sending me a multitude of bills, including a budget, and over the next 30 days I will go to work to review and take action on those bills and budget,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We will have much to address at the reconvene session, but I remain grateful for the hard work of our General Assembly members and their staffs."
But big changes could be coming from Washington.
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth
- Richmond police chief sent to driving school (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- In lawsuit, public housing residents say RRHA systematically hid rent waiver from poorest tenants (The Richmonder)
- Multiple probationary IRS employees in Richmond laid off as part of broader federal workforce cuts (WTVR)
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
