Virginia Del. Katrina Callsen did not begin her career as a politician.
The Yale graduate and Democrat representing Charlottesville in the Virginia House of Delegates started out as a middle school math teacher before working her way through the University’s School of Law, and ultimately into Charlottesville city government. Today, she passes bipartisan legislation she hopes the governor will sign into law.
With the Virginia General Assembly session concluding Saturday, Callsen is awaiting Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s decision on bipartisan legislation. In her first term representing the 54th district, Callsen secured several measures — including those aimed at lowering prescription drug costs, expanding access to advanced math education and reforming probation policies. Youngkin has until March 24 to approve or veto the bills, all of which passed with bipartisan support.
The 54th district includes Charlottesville and parts of Albemarle County. Callsen, the first delegate to announce her reelection bid for this November’s election, entered the race early due to the quick turnaround for House of Delegates elections, which occur every two years. Virginia holds its legislative elections in odd-numbered years, with a gubernatorial race held the year after a presidential election and the Senate races held the year before one.
Callsen said she worked to build bipartisan support for her bills this session, given the split government — Democrats control the legislature, but Youngkin’s Republican administration holds veto power.
“The second session's been a little harder,” Callsen said. “We kind of feel like our hands are tied when we have a split government in Virginia … I think it's really important that we get a majority so that we can get stuff done.”
Callsen said that her background experience as a teacher continues to shape her legislative priorities. Education has been a central focus for Callsen, particularly in ensuring students have access to coursework that matches their abilities. She said that studies show that Virgnia has demonstrated slower education growth for children especially in math — ranking last in the nation for post-pandemic math recovery.
This session, she introduced House Bill 2686, which passed with unanimous, bipartisan support. The bill mandates automatic enrollment in advanced math for students scoring in the top 25 percent on standardized tests, which establishes pathways for students to qualify for accelerated mathematics coursework. It also requires annual data reporting on participation and performance.
“Policies like this have been shown to increase participation in advanced math by all kinds, in every demographic,” Callsen said. “If you haven't taken algebra by eighth grade, you're basically already running behind in terms of being college ready.”
The bill passed in both chambers and is now awaiting Youngkin’s decision. Callsen said that with Republican co-sponsors and strong support, she is hopeful that it will pass.
Beyond education, Callsen has also prioritized healthcare accessibility which is the leading concern among both of her Democratic and Republican constituents. In response, she pushed House Bill 2610 — mirrored in the Senate by Senate Bill 875, introduced by Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach — which addressed rising prescription drug costs.
Virginia’s prescription drug coverage is currently handled by private companies known as pharmacy benefit managers, which work with insurance providers to set drug prices and decide how much pharmacies are reimbursed. However, critics argue these PBM “middlemen” operate with little transparency, allowing them to drive up medication costs while underpaying pharmacies. This has put financial pressure on independent drugstores and led to higher prices for consumers.
HB 2610 seeks to overhaul this system by eliminating private, health-plan-run PBMs and replacing them with a single state-contracted PBM to administer all Medicaid pharmacy benefits. This aims to reduce administrative inefficiencies, increase transparency in drug pricing and ensure that negotiated savings benefit patients and pharmacies rather than being absorbed by PBMs.
“Middlemen are artificially inflating prescription prices and not reimbursing our pharmacists,” Callsen said. “There’s not really any accountability.”
Callsen said that while the bill has gained bipartisan support, it also faces pushback. Supporters of the bill state that reform could save Virginia $39 million annually by reducing inefficiencies and preventing PBMs from pocketing excessive administrative fees, but the Virginia Association of Health Plans raised concerns about an estimated $17 million in transition costs — upfront expenses associated with implementing the new system. Callsen said that because health plans will face profit losses, she expects lobbying pressure leading up to Youngkin’s final decision.
“There’s a lot of pushback from health plans in particular,” Callsen said. “There’s a lot of money that people make off these PBMs.”
Callsen gave a speech on the bill Feb. 20 as the Senate debated amendments. The final version was approved Feb. 22, clearing its last legislative hurdle.
Callsen also introduced bills to address the criminal justice system, but said that criminal justice bills typically face significant hurdles. HB 2242, which Callsen pushed with bipartisan support, seeks to ensure that individuals held on probation violation holds — known as PB-15s — are quickly brought before a judge.
Currently, individuals can be jailed for PB-15 holds for days or even months without court paperwork being filed — leading to situations where they serve more time in jail waiting for a hearing than their actual sentence would have required. Callsen’s bill would require that once a PB-15 hold is issued, courts must immediately initiate a case and schedule a hearing.
“It’s not uncommon to have 5 to 10 days that [parolees] sit in jail before anyone's even initiated the let's get you in front of a judge,” Callsen said. “That's not the way the system should work.”
Callsen’s separate criminal justice bill, HB 1865, the Virginia Access to Justice Act, sought to expand Virginia’s public defender system, increase compensation for court-appointed attorneys and require Commonwealth’s Attorneys to prosecute all jailable misdemeanors. The bill stalled in the House Appropriations Committee due to involved concerns over its high implementation costs.
Callsen noted that criminal justice reform bills often face greater political resistance and can be more challenging to advance despite bipartisan support.
“Where I struggle the most with vetoes is criminal justice reform,” Callsen said. “They're tough to message on. Nobody wants to be seen as being kinder to people who break the law, and that's just unfortunate.”
Callsen faced similar opposition with HB 1870 — which sought to ban algorithmic rent-setting software used by corporate landlords to artificially inflate rental prices. The software, commonly used by large property management companies, analyzes market data and recommends coordinated rent increases — sometimes hiking up prices across multiple landlords in the same area. Although Callsen’s bill did not advance, she may reintroduce it next session.
While Youngkin has yet to sign or veto bills this session, during the 2024 session, he signed 777 bills into law, amended 116 and vetoed 153. He has until March 24 to sign, veto or amend the bills on his desk. The General Assembly will reconvene on April 2 to consider possible veto overrides.
Despite potential vetoes and partisan challenges, Callsen said she stays motivated by focusing on the long-term impact of her work.
“The political climate is really tough,” Callsen said. “I try to focus on the things that I'm passionate about… I need to [continue] pushing and keep fighting for my bills, because they're gonna help people, and that's what keeps me motivated.”
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