Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Tuesday that he vetoed seven bills – six of them sponsored by Democrats – and amended a handful of others by deadline set for him to act on legislation approved this year by the General Assembly.
Lawmakers will return to Richmond next week to review the vetoes and either approve or overrule McDonnell’s changes.
Here’s a short roundup of McDonnell’s signings, vetoes and amendments:
- Signed a bill that allows faith-based adoption centers and foster care agencies to discriminate against gay parents.
- Signed a bill that prevents any state money from going toward infrastructure projects that require a union-friendly labor agreement. Will affect Dulles Metro rail project.
- Amended proposed changes to a voter ID law. As written, the bill would require anyone who forgets to bring an ID to the polls to return with the ID before their vote is counted. Voters used to be able to sign an affidavit and have their vote coutn. McDonnell’s changes added community colleges to list of acceptable IDs.
- Amended proposed changes to the Virginia Retirement System to give local governments five years to phase in 5 percent raises for workers, who also have to put 5 percent of their paychecks toward their pensions. Previously, local governments had to provide the full riase immediately.
- Amended a new voucher-like program that gives tax credits to companies that provide scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools. The changes allow parents to switch schools mid-year and removed a $175,000 limit on how much one company could receive in tax credits.
- Vetoed a bill that would have forced the Board of Education to create physical education requirements for public schools.
