Spanberger's executive orders set early tone for Virginia
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Gov. Spanberger signed the flurry of executive orders on Jan. 17. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Gov. Spanberger moved quickly after taking office just over a week ago, signing 10 executive orders within hours of her swearing in.
Why it matters: Much like the 11 executive orders former Gov. Youngkin signed on his first day, Spanberger's set the tone for what Virginians can expect from her administration over the next four years.
State of play: The slate of executive orders Spanberger signed is focused on lowering costs, reshaping public safety and signals a clear break from Youngkin's priorities.
What they're saying: "We are setting the tone for what Virginians can expect over the next four years: pragmatic leadership focused on lowering costs and delivering results," Spanberger said in a statement after signing her Day One orders.
Zoom in: Here's a closer look at the orders:
💸 Statewide Affordability Directive, which directs every executive branch agency to deliver a report to the governor within 90 days that identifies ways to reduce expenses for Virginians.
- Specifically, agencies are asked to target savings for housing, health care, energy, education, childcare and groceries.
🏥 Interagency Health Financing Task Force, which establishes an interagency task force aimed at identifying health care services most at-risk from federal funding cuts and to review how to maximize federal funding for health care.
🏘️ Housing Development Regulation Review, which focuses on increasing the housing supply by reviewing and streamlining housing regulations and permitting rules.
🍎 High-Quality Public Education Directive, which orders the Department of Education to strengthen how schools teach reading and math.
- It also directs the agency to review the state's new rating system for K-12 public schools and ensure it's implementing the improvements recommended by the state watchdog group last year.
💼 Federal Impacts Assessment, which establishes another task force to coordinate a state response to support workers affected by federal policies, including displaced federal employees or contractors and farmers or others affected by tariffs.
🎓 Board of Visitors Appointment Process Review, which orders a review of the college board appointment process and term lengths.
⚖️ Equal Opportunity Policy, which sets a statewide, non-discrimination standard for state government employment and specifically protects veterans and people with disabilities from discrimination.
🧊 Law Enforcement, this order rescinds one signed by Youngkin last year, which directed Virginia State Police to assist with federal immigration enforcement, and encouraged local law enforcement to sign 287(g) agreements to work with ICE.
- The order does not terminate any of the roughly 32 agreements in Virginia, Virginia Mercury reports.
Her other two orders set a backup chain of command in the event that the governor is unavailable or incapacitated.
What we're watching: Virginia Democrats introduced legislation this week aimed at limiting law enforcement from participating in 287(g) agreements, RadioIQ reports.