Gov. Glenn Youngkin signs several new bills into law as Virginia legislative session closes

RICHMOND, Va. - The Virginia Legislative session has officially wrapped up and perhaps the hottest topic of the session was whether or not there would be a deal to facilitate the Capitals and Wizards moving to Alexandria.

As of Friday, there is nothing in the proposed budget but Gov. Glenn Youngkin took action on a handful of bills already before him.              

There were some of the big-picture dynamics at play during this legislative session.

Last November, Virginia voters gave both the House and Senate Democratic majorities. That set up conditions for friction between the legislature and Youngkin, a Republican.

There were 84 bills the governor had to act on by Friday night. 

A few notable ones he signed: The first essentially codifies in Virginia the law of the U.S., if any two people are seeking a lawful marriage, a license must be granted to them.

Another bill: if it’s a state university, a student’s legacy status, or relationship to a donor can not give preferential treatment to that applicant and then a few education-related bills about Standards of Learning tests.

As for the notable vetoes: There was a bill that would have clarified that schools notifying parents about sexually explicit books in schools could not be a justification to ban them without a public process.

The governor’s veto statement says he feels the existing laws already make that clear, hence the veto.

MORE FROM FOX 5: Virginia senator boasts about blocking budget for Monumental Sports move to Potomac Yard

There was also House Bill 46, requiring someone who can’t have a gun due to a protective order to hand over that gun to someone outside of the household who’s older than 21. Advocates say this would have been a critical step in domestic violence prevention.

The governor vetoed that bill, called Domestic Violence is Deplorable, but thinks the legislation is unnecessary and that courts already have the power to require transfers.

The legislature also passed a budget that, as we’ve reported, doesn’t include money for an arena deal. However, while the bills we’ve been talking about are early bills that the governor had to act on by midnight Friday, he’s got over a thousand bills, including the budget, to review in the next 30 days.

The arena remains a key priority for Youngkin and many of the bills that are Democratic priorities could be destined for vetoes.

Dwayne Yancey with Cardinal News based in Southwest Virginia says even though the legislative session is over, it’s worth keeping an eye on Youngkin’s next moves now that these bills are on his desk.

"The arena has really been the big thing, sort of hanging over the sessions," Yancey said. "Much to his druthers, the governor, a Republican, would no-doubt want to veto a lot of the democratic bills, but there’s always been the possibility out there of some sort of grand bargain where the general assembly agrees so the arena, and in turn the governor acquiesces to some democratic priorities. If the arena isn’t going to happen, I would expect the governor would veto a lot of these bills."

A few of the notable democratic legislative priorities in Yancey’s eyes, a minimum wage increase and marijuana retail sales legalization to name a few.

For his part, in a statement Saturday as the legislative session ends, the governor referred to the budget currently on his desk as "backward" and in need of a lot of work.

We’ll know much more what that work will entail by the time Virginia’s legislature reconvenes on April 17th.