Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed a bill into law on Monday that strips state property tax exemptions from several organizations tied to the Confederacy, including the Virginia division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, the Virginia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Confederate Memorial Literary Society.
The measure, HB167, ends exemptions for groups that have long been part of Virginia’s public fight over how the state remembers the Civil War and its aftermath. Delegate Alex Askew, who sponsored versions of the bill for three consecutive years, said Spanberger’s signature was “a proud moment and an important step forward for Virginia.”
The United Daughters of the Confederacy, founded in 1894, has chapters in states including California, Kentucky and South Carolina. Askew’s bill was first moved through the House in February 2026, and the new law follows another step last week, when Virginia lawmakers approved a separate measure to discontinue specialty license plates featuring Robert E. Lee and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Julie N Hardaway, speaking for opponents of the bill, warned that the change would not stop with Confederate groups. “Passage of this bill will set a precedent to open the door for other valuable historical museums to lose tax-exempt status and opens wide the door for legal action,” she said.
The tax fight is part of a broader effort by Virginia Democrats over the last year to reshape the state’s reputation, especially in places like Richmond and Danville, which once served as capitals of the 11 states that seceded from the Union and tried to build a country grounded in enslavement. The Virginia division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has also been described as largely responsible for the spread of Confederate statues and monuments across the country after the Civil War.
Spanberger has not stopped with the Confederate measures. She also sent a bill back to the Virginia assembly with recommendations to establish a taskforce at the Virginia Military Institute, signaling that the state’s reassessment of its symbols and institutions is not finished.
For now, HB167 lands a direct blow to Confederate-linked organizations that had been shielded by the state tax code, and it gives Virginia a cleaner break with the public honors that have shadowed it for generations.
