Legislative Priorities 2027

Legislative Priorities 2027

 Voting and Elections 

  1. Election administration reform including election protection and ethics 
  2. List maintenance and voter registration bills to retain accuracy while preventing unsupported and bulk voter registration cancellations 
  3. Campaign Reforms including disclosure requirements 
  4. Voting Rights 
  5. Ranked Choice Voting 

Affordable Housing 

  1. Increase Housing Supply; Budget Amendment for $40 million for Virginia Housing Trust Fund for FY2027 
  2. Equitable Access to Housing: Anti Rent Gouging Bill; Right to Rest Bill (potential) 
  3. Housing Preservation; Mobile Home Park/Manufactured Housing bill(s) 
  4. Homelessness Reduction/Eviction Prevention; Budget Amendment for $11.5 million for Virginia Eviction Reduction Program for 2027 

Education 

  1. Making sure the state pays its fair share of school costs (Local composite index calculation and overall funding calculations) 
  2. Improve funding for youth facing the highest barriers 
  3. Increase school-based mental health supports 
  4. Creating safe and restorative environments for every student 
  5. Opposing voucher programs that take funding away from public schools 

Environment 

The LWV-VA Environmental Issue group considers more oversight of data centers in Virginia as a top priority for our legislative advocacy for several reasons: 

  1. Increase in electric demand that will likely increase consumer energy cost and GHG emissions, 
  2. Significant groundwater or surface water consumption threatens water quality and supply (Note: the findings in the GW Supply East of I-95, GW and the bi-partisan request for a special session), 
  3. Noise, heat, diesel generator air pollution, incompatible land use and loss of open land. 

Gun safety and violence prevention, domestic violence prevention 

The LWV-VA will advocate for stabilization and expansion of accountability of gun safety measures and defending current protections tracking previously delayed bills: 

  1. “Assault Firearms Ban” delayed to July 1, 2027 
  2. Public safety programs delayed to July 1, 2027: Substantial Risk Order Training, Mental Health Crisis Arrest Discretion training 
  3. Defending the 2026 Historic Gun safety slate of legislation 
  4. Firearm Purchaser Licensing (AKA Permit to Purchase) 

Health 

LWV-VA supports state actions to mitigate the impact of federal cuts to healthcare: 

  1. Reducing Medicaid hurdles including addressing operational strain and coverage losses resulting from newly implemented federal Medicaid work requirements and tracking broader administrative burdens. 
  2. Defending against federal cost shifting; allocating state funds to counter federal rollbacks and cost shifts. For children, support coverage for “cover all kids” and increase income eligibility for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, CHIP 
  3. Support state programs to improve state Medicaid coverage 

Justice and the ICE Network 

The LWV-VA supports a coordinated legislative package to respond to an unprecedented enforcement environment resulting in a broad range of injustices, systematic civil rights violations, denial of due process and accountability procedures and absence of civil remedies. 

  1. Protected areas 
  2. Workplace protections 
  3. Private detention facility and zoning 
  4. Detainee communication and transparency 
  5. Investigative evidence preservation 
  6. Virginia law enforcement accountability and civil remedies 
  7. Federal enforcement and private contractor accountability 
  8. Universal representation fund 
  9. Notice of legal rights and court inadmissibility 
  10. Statutory first amendment protections 
  11. Virginia accountability commission 

Reproductive Health 

  1. Support implementation of the constitutional amendment for reproductive freedom 
  2. Support access to community reproductive healthcare including telehealth opportunities in rural areas and healthcare deserts and full funding of Planned Parenthood clinics 
  3. Address Black maternal health issues 
  4. Monitor proposed legislation for attacks on access to abortion, contraception, mifepristone, and reproductive healthcare services in general 
  5. Watch for personhood/born alive bills 
  6. Support legislation to provide funding for period products in schools 
  7. Monitor legislation related to crisis pregnancy centers 
  8. Watch for legislation requiring health education classes in public schools to show videos on fetal development that contain biased and inaccurate content intended to support a particular ideological viewpoint. 

Transparency 

LWV-VA supports legislation to make it easier, less costly and more consistent for Virginians to exercise their rights under FOIA.