April 16, 2023

 

Neighbors, 

 

I hope to see you at my 3rd Earth Day Town Hall next Wednesday, April 19 at 7pm. See below for more details!

 

In this newsletter, I’ve included information about the following:

  • Town Halls

    • Earth Day Town Hall

    • Post-Session Town Hall

  • Community Updates

    • Machar Congregation of Greater Washington Congregation

    • APIDAs in Public Service Roundtable

    • George Mason Social Work Class

  • Legislative Update

    • Reconvene Session

  • Commonwealth Transportation Board Public Comment

As always, let me know if you have questions or need assistance by calling my office at (804) 698-1042 or emailing me at DelKTran@house.virginia.gov. 

 

Best, Kathy

 

Kathy KL Tran

Delegate



Town Halls
Earth Day Town Hall

Join us for my 3rd annual Town Hall!

 

I will be joined by guests from New Virginia Majority, League of Conservation Voters, and Virginia Outdoor Adventures for a celebration of Earth Day to discuss efforts to address climate change, environmental justice, electric utility rate reform, and our state parks  Registration information is below!

Delegate Kathy Tran’s 3rd Annual

Earth Day Town Hall

April 19 at 7pm

https://bit.ly/earth_day_townhall


Post-Session Town Hall

Thank you to everyone who joined my Post-Session Town Hall this week! It was my 10th town hall since December 2022, and I was pleased to provide updates about the governor’s amendments and vetoes, and to take your questions.


Community Updates
Machar Congregation of Greater Washington

Thanks to my constituent, Mike, for having me join the Machar Congregation of Greater Washington’s adult education class to share Matt and my family’s experience lifting up and celebrating our Vietnamese American and Jewish aspects, and discuss my work advancing justice.


APIDAs in Public Service Roundtable

It was a pleasure to be a part of Virginia Tech’s Asian Cultural Engagement Center’s “APIDAs in Public Service Roundtable” celebration of Asian Pacific Islander Desai American (APIDA) Heritage Month. Senator Ghazala Hashmi, Delegate Irene Shin, and I joined community leaders to discuss the importance of APIDA representation and how the state government can better support APIDA communities.


George Mason Social Work Class

It was so great to join my constituent, Professor Tomaszewski, and her social work class to talk about how my own social work background informs my work in the VA House of Delegates and to share tips on effective advocacy. We also talked about the students’ interests in ensuring undocumented immigrant youth have health care, increasing affordable housing for students, strengthening gun safety policies on our college campuses, and protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people.


Legislative Update
Reconvene Session

On Wednesday, April 12, the House of Delegates and state Senate met for our Reconvene Session during which we considered the Governor’s recommendations to legislation passed by the General Assembly during the 2023 regular session.

The Constitution of Virginia gives the governor three options when assessing bills: sign, veto, or recommend changes. 

The General Assembly passed about 800 bills this year, and the Governor approved the vast majority of them. You can see those bills here. 

The Governor’s three vetoes were upheld, and the General Assembly accepted most of the his proposed amendments to bills. You can see the outcomes of the Governor’s recommendations here.

In addition, we said farewell to many delegates who are retiring or running for other office. And I enjoyed seeing Eddie, a beloved member of the Clerk’s team, and wishing him an early 95th birthday!


Commonwealth Transportation Board Public Comment

The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), which oversees transportation in Virginia, will be holding a public meeting for the northern Virginia region to hear feedback from community members about transportation projects.

The in-person meeting will be held on Monday, May 1 at 5:00pm in the Potomac Conference Center at the Department of Transportation’s NOVA District Office (4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030).

If you are unable to attend at that time, the CTB will also take comments online or by mail or at one of the addresses below:

  • For roads and highways: 

    1. For transit and rail: 

      • Email: DRPTPR@drpt.virginia.gov

      • Mail: Public Information Office, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, 600 East Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, VA 23219.

To learn more, visit the Department of Transportation’s website.