RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Glenn Youngkin acknowledged Virginia’s strong economy, highlighting economic and education investments made over the last three years as he spoke before the General Assembly on Monday — the first full day of the legislative session after it was delayed last week.

Youngkin began his annual State of the Commonwealth address by acknowledging the cause of the delay, the water crisis in Richmond, and thanking everyone who stepped up to help.

“As we begin the year 2025, I’m proud to report to you that Virginia’s economy is strong, stronger than it has been in a long time,” Youngkin said. “Our student scores are up. Violent crime is down. People are moving to Virginia. We’ve seen record job growth, record new business investment and our state budget is projected to run a large surplus again.”

Youngkin touted CNBC’s ranking of Virginia as the number one state for business and the fact that for the first time in nearly a decade, more people moved into Virginia than out of it.

He presented his goals for his final year in office, urging the commonwealth to stay the course in investing in education and health care, lowering the cost of living through tax relief and providing safe communities to remain in competition with other states.

“We cannot let Virginia stall,” he said. “Because there are winning states and losing states.”

But Democrats weren’t persuaded that everyone in Virginia is winning.

“Once again, Gov. Youngkin’s vision reflects a plan to singlehandedly keep a selected few winning, and those who need help the most, losing,” said Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, delivering Senate Democrats’ rebuttal to the address. “The ultra-wealthy, corporations and special interests are the winners under the governor’s plan while too many working families are left behind.”

Youngkin reiterated his proposals to take steps to get rid of the car tax and to end the tax on tips. Democrats say the car tax proposal is a no-go.

Youngkin also touted substantial investments in education, including the passage of the Virginia Literacy Act and funding for lab schools.

Youngkin also proposed $50 million in scholarships for 10,000 low-income families to use for private schools. Democratic leadership who spoke to reporters after the governor’s address appeared poised to reject that measure.

“I just want to make sure that we’re clear that the governor is not going to take any money from public schools for vouchers for private schools,” said Sen. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

Youngkin urged the General Assembly to pass legislation establishing a Virginia Gaming Commission. On the public safety front, he also voiced his support for expanding school resource officers’ presence in schools across the commonwealth and for increased prosecution for flying drones over secure buildings.

“I’d ask us again: Send me the bill to make flying a drone over critical infrastructure a class four felony,” he said.

Youngkin also called for an end to the Virginia Clean Economy Act, saying that wind and solar energy are insufficient drivers of the projected economic growth.

Absent in the State of the Commonwealth was discussion of potential federal legislation that would cut Medicaid or reduce the federal workforce, an omission Democrats criticized.

“At this point, (Youngkin) also didn’t talk about any of the risks that our state faces because of some of the things he’s doing,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County. “For example, he just went down to Mar-A-Lago last week and signed a letter with a bunch of governors basically praising the elimination of hundreds of thousands of federal jobs in the commonwealth of Virginia, which would be an existential threat to our economy.”

Youngkin also did not discuss access to reproductive care. Democrats hope to enshrine a right to abortion, an affirmative right to same-gender marriage and voting rights in the state’s constitution via a series of constitutional amendments.

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