Most of the new laws approved earlier this year by the Virginia General Assembly will come into effect Thursday.

This year’s session was the second year Democrats had full control of the General Assembly since the overthrow of the House of Delegates in 2019. While marijuana was one of the main issues, here is a recap of some of the others. new laws that will affect people:

The budget includes money for a 5% increase for teachers, state employees, college and university professors and employees, and local state-supported employees such as sheriff’s deputies. State Soldiers will receive an additional 3% raise, plus money for each year of service.

After considering the issue in 2020, the General Assembly adopted measures to make Virginia the first southern state to end the death penalty.

The legislature has approved measures that prohibit anyone other than law enforcement from owning firearms within 40 feet of polling stations on election day, require prepaid postage on envelopes to return ballots postal ballot and allow local election officials to designate places to drop ballots. The legislature passed a law to allow voters with disabilities to vote outside a polling station.