The Democrat-led General Assembly voted in recent days to raise the salary for State Delegates and Senators to $50,000 per year.
Virginia has always had a General Assembly made of part-time legislators. The idea was for them to have their primary jobs back at home, and their service in the legislature in Richmond was designed to occupy only a few weeks per year, with a modest stipend in accordance with that limited time.
The move to grant themselves salaries of $50,000 per year is already more than many Virginians make at their full-time jobs that they work at year-round.
The Democrats ran on “affordability” as a major platform during the fall 2025 campaign.
The nearly 300% raises were passed on largely party lines, with Republicans opposing. Having passed both houses of the General Assembly, the measure now needs to be signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) to become law.
Updated March 9, 2026: Per state law, legislators cannot vote themselves a pay raise during the same session as their vote. There must be a new election before the pay raise can take effect, therefore the 278% pay raise will not take effect until 2028. The original wording of this story may have given readers the raise was immediate. The Roanoke Star regrets the error.
Delegates are currently paid $17,650 a year; senators $18,000. Under the proposed increase, that wouldnearly triple to $50,000 a year for each.
Like any bicameral legislature, the Virginia General Assembly has an upper house and a lower house. The Senate, with only 40 members serving four-year terms, is the upper house. The House of Delegates, with 100 members serving two-year terms, is the lower house.
This proposed pay increase would have equal compensation for members of both houses. During an economic downturn in 1991, the House of Delegates voted to cut their pay by 2%.
In contrast to 1991, when some legislators cut their benefits to be more in line with residents’ hard times, this current General Assembly is raising their salaries despite the fact that many Virginians struggle today with unemployment, inflation and so-called “shrinkflation.”
A survey of Democrat campaign literature sent to Roanoke County homes to support Lily Franklin’s ultimately successful bid to unseat then-incumbent Chris Obenshain (R) showed a focus on affordability issues, and made no references that Franklin would support higher salaries for legislators if Democrats took the majority, as they did after the November 2025 elections.
– Scott Dreyer
