E-NEWSLETTER
August 10, 2021
Neighbors,
Hello from Richmond! I wanted to share an update from the Special Legislative Session - we passed a budget to allocate $3.4 billion in federal funding that Virginia received from the US Congress through the American Recovery Plan.
In this newsletter, I have included information about:
COVID-19 Response
Vaccine Requirement for State Workers
Mask Requirement for K-12 Schools
Vaccination Opportunities
Legislative Updates
Budget to Allocate American Rescue Plan Funding
Language Access
Community Updates
Mason Neck - Old Colchester Bridge Over Pohick Creek
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, 42nd District
COVID-19 Response
Vaccine Requirement for State Workers
Governor Northam announced a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for state employees effective September 1, 2021. State employees must show proof of vaccination or be tested weekly for COVID-19. This policy will affect around 122,000 employees. You can learn more here.
Mask Requirement for K-12 Schools
During the 2020 Legislative Session, we passed Senate Bill 1303 to provide guidance to local school districts on safely re-opening schools five days a week for the 2021-2022 school year. The new law took effect on July 1, 2021 and requires local school districts to adhere to guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC has issued updated guidance recommending universal mask wearing for all students, teachers, and staff, regardless of vaccination status. The Virginia Department of Education is expected to issue updated guidelines as to how this will apply to school districts in Virginia. Fairfax County School Board announced a universal mask requirement for the Fairfax County School District.
Vaccination Update
Now, 73.3% of adult Virginians have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 65.7% are fully vaccinated. If you haven’t received one or both doses of the vaccine, you can find a vaccination site nearby here.
Legislative Updates
The Virginia General Assembly Passed a Budget to Allocate American Rescue Plan Funding
Yesterday, the Virginia House of Delegate and State Senate passed a budget, HB7001, to rebuild the Commonwealth stronger after the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget allocated about $3.2 billion out of $4.3 billion in federal funding that Virginia received from the US Congress through the American Rescue Plan. The budget proposal will now be considered by Governor Northam.
I’m proud of the investments this budget makes to ensure our recovery leaves no one behind, including:
Health Care and Social Services
Strengthening Mental Health Services: It has been a challenging year for everyone, and COVID-19 has shown that our behavioral health system needs more support. This budget includes $238 million to shore up our state mental health hospitals while supporting community-based crisis centers, supportive housing, and suicide and substance abuse prevention and treatment.
Home Health Workers: Home health workers are essential caregivers. This budget directs the Department of Medicaid Services to seek federal approval for $1,000 one-time bonuses to agency- and consumer- directed home health workers and to temporarily increase rates for eligible Medicaid home and community based services by 12.5 percent.
Assistance to Vulnerable Virginians: Because of the economic challenges resulting from the pandemic, many Virginians need additional support to get by. The budget provides $120 million for utility assistance and $14.6 million for food assistance, as well as strengthens protections to help Virginians facing eviction.
Small Businesses
Supporting Small Businesses: The budget gives $250 million to fully fund the Rebuild VA program, which awards grants to small businesses and nonprofits affected by the pandemic. The additional funds means we’ll invest $400 million into Rebuild VA to provide relief to small businesses.
Replenishing Unemployment Insurance: Our unemployment system has been overwhelmed as a result of this pandemic. The budget includes $935.6 million to replenish the Virginia Employment Commission’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and improve our unemployment insurance program infrastructure. These funds will strengthen the ability of the VEC to provide timely customer service to individuals seeking unemployment insurance benefits and also protect businesses from increased taxes.
Education
Getting Kids Safely Back to School: As we continue to deal with COVID-19, it is paramount that we ensure schools are able to re-open safely including improving air quality in our classrooms. The budget provides $250 million to our public schools to upgrade their HVAC systems. This funding is on top of the $3.1 billion Virginia schools have received from the federal government to respond to COVID-19.
Helping Students in Higher Education: Knowing many students and their families have faced economic hardships as a result of the pandemic, the budget includes $111 million in financial aid for students attending colleges and universities in Virginia.
Law Enforcement
Increased Compensation for Law Enforcement: To help ensure Virginia is able to attract and retain the best law enforcement workforce, the budget contains $76 million to increase pay for state police, provides one-time bonuses for sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers, and directs the Governor to convene a workgroup to address compensation.
Infrastructure
Expanding Broadband: The pandemic has highlighted the simple fact that businesses, workers, and students without broadband will be left behind. The budget dedicates $700 million to expanding broadband across Virginia and closing the digital divide within three years.
Clean Water: Earlier this year, the General Assembly established that having clean drinking water is a human right. This budget invests nearly $500 million to clean up drinking and wastewater systems so that our drinking water is safe and our rivers and bays are clean.
State Parks: As any of us who have visited Mason Neck State Park knows, our state parks are an important asset to Virginia. The budget includes $25 million to alleviate the state park maintenance backlog.
Language Access
During the 2021 Legislative Session, Senator Jennifer McClellan and I introduced and passed two budget amendments to address language access in Virginia. These provisions require the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer to make recommendations on a statewide language access policy and provides $100,000 to the Virginia Department of Social Services to increase interpretation and translation services for Virginia’s 2-1-1 social services hotline.
I’m also proud that the budget we just passed includes $500,000 to expand the ability of the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer to assess how our state agencies can be responsive to the language access needs of Virginians.
The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, a Richmond-based think tank, recently wrote about the need for greater language access in Virginia and highlighted our work. They note that Virginia has “relied on error-prone automated translations, hard-to-navigate interpretation services, and uncompensated bilingual community members to address the language barrier.”
Over 200,000 of our fellow Virginians speak English with limited proficiency. I’m proud to lead the work in the General Assembly to ensure these Virginians have equitable access to state government services.
Community Updates
Mason Neck - Old Colchester Bridge Over Pohick Creek
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, the Virginia Department of Transportation cautiously estimated that the Old Colchester Bridge over Pohick Creek would reopen by the end of the day on August 6.
However, VDOT followed-up to let me know that they’ve had to delay reopening because some of the connection plates for the guardrails have to be custom fabricated. We hope this process can be completed quickly, and I will continue to closely monitor the timeline for reopening the bridge.