Youngkin signs 599 bills, including back seat belts and campaign finance ban

The big picture: Last month, the state legislature sent the governor the more than 900 bills it passed during this year's General Assembly session.

• Youngkin had until midnight Tuesday to act, and he did, announcing minutes before the deadline that he signed 599 bills, amended 159 of them and vetoed 157.
• He also added 205 amendments and a handful of vetoes to the budget earlier Monday.

What they're saying: "The legislation that I've signed into law and the budget amendments I've put forward this year will go a long way to helping ensure Virginia remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family," Youngkin said in a statement.

• "I have returned many bills with recommended amendments, hoping that we can come together next week with common purpose to advance these bills," he added.

Some of the notable bills that will now become law in Virginia:

🚗 Adults in Virginia will be required to wear a seat belt in the back seat of a car beginning July 1. (It was already required for kids.)

💸 Politicians and political candidates can no longer use campaign funds on personal expenditure.

🥊 School districts must adopt anti-cyberbullying policies and address cyberbullying instances between students that occur off school property.

🚸 It is now a Class 1 misdemeanor if a driver kills or seriously injures a pedestrian or cyclist legally crossing the road.

🥗 School lunches must be free of artificial dyes, effective July 1, 2027.

🚌 School districts can advertise the hiring of school bus drivers on said buses.

☢️ Fusion energy is now officially considered a clean energy source in Virginia. (This comes as Chesterfield is set to get the world's first commercial nuclear fusion energy power plant.)

🤫 The Virginia Lottery is banned from sharing personal information about people who win $1 million or more.

🐄 Livestock and poultry owners can now be compensated with more money if their animal is killed by a dog.

📋 Landlords have to include an itemized list of charges to tenants, including rent, security deposits and any one-time fees, on the first page of the lease.

🥵 Local school districts must adopt extreme heat safety policies for student-athletes. (The bill was inspired by a 15-year-old Hopewell football player who died last year due to a medical emergency during an August practice.)

🍈🍈 Health insurance providers can no longer charge copays for breast exams and supplemental exams common after abnormal mammograms.

👴🏻 Localities now have greater flexibility to give property tax relief to seniors and people with disabilities.

🏚️ The owners of derelict or neglected commercial buildings are now subject to the same fines as negligent residential property owners.

Notable bill amendments, which the legislature can accept or reject when it reconvenes next week. (If they reject them, Youngkin has the option to then veto.)

👶 The right to birth control — the governor proposed an exemption allowing physicians to refuse to provide birth control on religious moral grounds.

🔚 Ending tax breaks for organizations honoring the Confederacy — amended to require the Department of Taxation to review and submit a report on financial implications of the change for legislators to review next year.

📲 On a bill that would impose a one hour per day social media limit for anyone under 16 (unless a parent consents to more or less time), the governor proposes raising the age to 18 and allowing parents to disable features like infinite scrolling.

👀 On a bill that would charge fentanyl sellers whose products lead to involuntary manslaughter, Youngkin upped the ante and proposed they be charged with felony homicide.

What's next: Legislators will return to Richmond on April 2 to take up the governor's proposed amendments.