An Overview of Legislation Introduced by Local Lawmakers
The Virginia General Assembly will convene on January 14 for the 2026 session. Here's what local legislators have been working on so far.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Email Adele
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 Session will be called to order on Wednesday, January 14, but Fredericksburg-area legislators have already been busy preparing bills to introduce for consideration. Here’s an overview of what local lawmakers have been working on.
Josh Cole (D—House District 65)
Cole was re-elected in November to represent House District 65, which includes the entirety of Fredericksburg City and parts of Stafford and Spotsylvania counties. He has prepared the following bills to introduce this session:
House Bill 34. This bill would establishing a Sexual Offense Prevention and Response Program within the state Department of Military Affairs. Cole introduced this bill—which he drafted at the request of Jean Ibanez Payne, a constituent and survivor of military sexual assault—during the 2025 session, and it passed both houses. However, instead of signing or vetoing the bill, then-Governor Glenn Youngkin returned it to the General Assembly with the recommendation that a work group be convened to determine such a program is necessary. Legislators did not accept this recommendation. Cole told the Advance last year that he would reintroduce the bill in 2026.
HB 35—This bill would prohibit the use of isolated confinement in state correctional facilities, subject to certain exceptions.
HB 36—This amends the state Standards of Quality to permit ensemble music classes offered in 6th grade to have up to 45 enrolled students.
HB 53—This bill expands the definition of "bullying" in the context of public education, stating that the real or perceived power imbalance between the aggressor and victim includes such a power imbalance on the basis of the membership of the victim in a group that is protected from discrimination pursuant to the Virginia Human Rights Act.
HB 64—This bill would require health insurance plans to cover speech therapy as a treatment for stuttering.
HB 72—A bill authorizing the City of Fredericksburg to tax improvements to real property at a different level than (but not to exceed) tax imposed on the land where the property is located.
HB 73—This bill was recommended by the Virginia Commission on Youth, and it would allow the custodian of a child to petition for relief of the care and custody of the child. Currently, the law only allows a parent of a child to file such a petition.
Committee referral is pending for all of Cole’s bills.
Jeremy McPike (D—Senate District 27)
McPike’s 27th Senate District includes part of Stafford County, as well as part of Prince William County. He has introduced the following two bills, which have already been referred to committees.
Senate Bill 66—Allowing localities to impose an additional 1% sales tax to generate revenue for public school capital projects, if voters in the locality approve the measure in a referendum. Virginia law currently allows only Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Northampton, Patrick, and Pittsylvania Counties and the City of Danville to impose such a tax. A similar bill passed the General Assembly in 2024 and 2025 and was vetoed both times by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
SB 74—This bill would authorize any locality to create an affordable housing program by amending local zoning ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
The Fredericksburg area’s other General Assembly members—Nicole Cole (D-House District 66); Phil Scott (R-House District 63); Stacey Carroll (D-House District 64); Richard Stuart (R-Senate District 25); Tara Durant (R-Senate District 27); and Bryce Reeves (R-Senate District 28)—have not yet introduced any legislation, according to Virginia’s legislative information system.
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Re: Jeremy McPike's SB 74 bill that 'would authorize any locality to create an affordable housing program by amending local zoning ordinance. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027'.
'AFFORDABLE'? We learned in FXBG 22401 that there's no definition of 'affordable', or 'accessible', or 'attainable' with the 'Mary's Landing' project on the former parking lot across from the old Mary Washington Hospital.
The developers got double the density for this project with their attorney, Charlie Payne, by using an 1891 Fredericksburg Development Corporation map for R16 to build 63 three-story townhouses instead of half that amount at the current zoning of R8 in the Canal Quarter district in the Comp Plan.
The Fredericksburg Neighborhoods Coalition members chipped in thousands of dollars to hire a NoVA LAND USE attorney specialist to write a 'letter of determination' to the Zoning Admin and city attorney to question/object: 1. This was a SUBDIVISION since there used to be houses under the parking lot and so the application should have been through a SUP/Special Use Permit with the public allowed to comment at the mic; 2. THE DENSITY.
City would not respond to the 'letter of determination'. and the project proceeds. 'Bait and switch' is evident. The original local dudes on the application sold out the project to Ryan Homes.
[Ryan Homes has that mixed reputation, known for affordability and large-scale builds, but frequently criticized for fast and poor construction quality, cheap materials, and subpar post-sale customer service, leading to issues like leaks, failing finishes, and unresponsive support].
Chuck Johnston, former Planning Director, spoke at the meeting with the Canal Quarter residents when they became aware of this project's impact on their neighborhoods and that it was not in line with the R8 Zoning they had for their district.
Mr. Johnston said that 'Mary's Landing' was going to be 'AFFORDABLE' housing. It took a few more questions for residents to 'process' this word but then one resident asked, 'how affordable?, what's the price?'
Mr. Johnston said ~exact price hasn't been set yet but about $600,000.
There was a groan in the room. and then the followup question, 'You call that 'affordable'?
Mr. Johnston replied, ~'to someone moving here from Northern Virginia, that is affordable'. (another groan).
Delegate McPike has introduced similar legislation before. Perhaps there's tweaks in SB74.
But past criticism is that the legislation is 'unnecessary', as in current law allows certain local governments with well-documented housing affordability issues the ability to enact such ordinances.
This type of legislation comes down to a clash over state and local roles in Virginia. With residents, 'Affordable' isn't what it's made out to be.
Geez, Joshua Cole's HB36. Virginia Standards of Quality: Increase class size to 45 students. What music educator in Virginia public schools wants this increase in their class size?
What Music Educators Want?
Virginia music educators look to guidance from professional organizations like the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) for effective practices.
Has Delegate Cole even spoken to the VMEA on their thoughts re: his increasing their class size?, as in 'nothing about us, without us'?
Professional Recommendations: NAfME has established "Opportunity to Learn Standards" which provide national guidance on appropriate class sizes, facilities, and resources for quality music education programs. These standards generally advocate for SMALLER class sizes than the state maximums, especially for specialized instruction and younger grades, to ensure EFFECTIVE instruction, safety, and individual STUDENT PROGRESS.
Focus on Effective Ratios: The general consensus among educators is that SMALLER class sizes, especially in foundational K-3 grades, have the greatest impact on academic gains, which is often a point of advocacy for all subject areas, INCLUDING MUSIC.
Advocacy Efforts: The VMEA and individual educators likely advocate for class sizes that support high-quality, hands-on music instruction, rather than simply meeting the state's maximum capacity, which can be seen as less than ideal for effective teaching.
The recent legislation to permit larger 6th-grade ensemble classes (up to 45 students) suggests that larger sizes are a reality, but likely not the preferred situation for most music educators.