2026 Session Update - Week 1

To the Constituents of the 37th House District: 

The 2026 General Assembly convened this past Wednesday, January 14^th. This year is a sixty-day “long” session with more than 1,300 bills having been introduced for the House of Delegates to consider. My committee assignments remain unchanged, and I will continue to serve as Ranking Republican on Appropriations, as well as on the General Laws, Transportation, and Rules Committees. The legislation I have introduced this session addresses transportation, education, economic development, and other key issues. I will keep you updated as these bills move through the committee process.

Virginia’s election produced a 64-36 Democrat majority in the House of Delegates and installed a Democrat in all three offices of the Executive Branch. This result follows a familiar trend in Virginia, as off-year elections generally favor the party not holding power in Washington. The new majority wasted no time implementing their policies. In an unusual procedural maneuver, they presented and passed four Constitutional amendments on the first day.

As you may recall, three constitutional amendments passed out of the House during the 2025 Session, dealing with abortion, felon rights restoration, and marriage. The fourth and most recent amendment was passed during a special session a few weeks before our state elections and upends the bipartisan redistricting commission voted on overwhelmingly by Virginians five years ago. I have voted against all four amendments.

This proposed redistricting amendment would allow the majority party to unilaterally redraw Virginia’s congressional districts mid-decade, effectively bypassing the bipartisan redistricting commission that Virginians overwhelmingly approved in 2020. Our current congressional maps are the product of the voter-approved constitutional amendment adopted just five years ago, supported by 66 percent of Virginians. Those districts were drawn by the Virginia Supreme Court and produced balanced, competitive representation: a 6–5 Democratic-Republican split in Congress, 51–49 in the House of Delegates, and 21–19 in the State Senate.

These results accurately reflect a closely divided Commonwealth and demonstrate that the process worked as intended. In other words, it produced fair maps rather than partisan outcomes. The maps now being considered would upend this balance, likely resulting in a 10–1 Democratic–Republican split for Virginia’s congressional delegation.

This amendment is likely to be placed on the ballot in a spring referendum so that upcoming U.S. House elections would be conducted under newly drawn boundaries. I encourage you to take the time to research the genesis of this proposal and remember that we as Virginians deliberately and resoundingly chose to remove as much politics as possible from redistricting. Passing it would reverse this emphatic mandate and return the Commonwealth to an era of political gerrymandering.

On Saturday, Governor Abigail Spanberger was sworn in as the 75th Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I was chosen to be a part of the Inaugural Committee, along with my Republican colleagues, Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, Delegate Michael Webert, and Delegate Ellen McGlaughlin, to escort Congressmen and past Virginia Governors to the State Capitol’s Portico for the swearing in of Governor Spanberger. During the ceremony, I shook Governor Youngkin’s hand and thanked him for his four years of conservative leadership and for positioning Virginia for long-term success.

As Chairman of the VA250 Commission, I am proud to celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary. It is remarkable to reflect that the Virginia House of Delegates, the oldest continuously serving democratically elected legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, predates the founding of our country by more than 150 years. This body has lasted more than four centuries because it was founded on civilized debate, a tradition Republicans will carry forward by championing constitutional freedoms, pro-business policies, and effective solutions to address affordability.

As always, it’s good to see familiar faces from back home. We enjoyed meeting with local bankers during the Virginia Banker Association’s Bank Day, as well as members of the Virginia Forestry Association. Virginia’s forestry industry is one of the Commonwealth’s largest economic drivers, supporting more than 100,000 jobs, and generating $24 billion and stewarding nearly 16 million acres of forestland, most of it privately owned.

It is an honor to serve you in the Virginia House of Delegates. If I can be of assistance to you, or you would like to share your position on any of my legislative priorities, please do not hesitate to contact me at DelTAustin@House.Virginia.gov or 804-698-1037.

Thank you,

Delegate Terry L. Austin

37th House District