August 5, 2022
Neighbors,
I hope you are having a wonderful summer! The annual Virginia Sales Tax Holiday starts today, 8/5 and goes through Sunday, 8/7. I’ve included more information about items eligible for the tax break below.
In this newsletter, I’m sharing updates about the following:
Virginia Sales Tax Holiday 8/5 - 8/7
Abortion Care in Virginia
Community Events
Biennial Budget
Small Business Grants
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
Virginia Sales Tax Holiday 8/5-8/7
The annual Virginia Sales Tax Holiday starts today, August 5, and ends on Sunday, August 7!
Eligible items include certain school supplies, clothing, footwear, emergency preparedness products, and Energy Star and WaterSense products. For a complete list of eligible items, see https://www.tax.virginia.gov/virginia-sales-tax-holiday.
Abortion Care in Virginia
I attended a recent legislative roundtable with Vice President Kamala Harris about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and how the federal government is working to ensure access to abortion care.
Currently, abortion remains legal in Virginia. Given the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, the Commonwealth is now a safe haven for abortion care for people across the South who have lost access to this healthcare service.
This past legislative session, numerous bills attacking abortion rights in Virginia were debated. Some passed the House of Delegates on a partisan line but were ultimately defeated in the state Senate. I expect reproductive choice to continue to be a topic of focus for the General Assembly.
Community Events
I appreciate the opportunity to participate in community events throughout the summer. I have highlighted some below:
My family and I celebrated World Refugee Day in Harrisonburg at a community gathering hosted by Church World Services. I shared my personal story of coming to the United States as a boat refugee from Vietnam and the progress we have made in Virginia to be more welcoming of refugees.
Refugees who call Virginia home come from all over the world — sharing with us their cultures, dreams, strength and grit. Many neighbors in our community are helping refugees from Afghanistan and I am grateful to them for their support.
I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Inova Pride Clinic. I am so glad that Northern Virginia now has a clinic focused on providing safe and culturally competent primary care and mental health services to LGBTQ Virginians.
I welcomed participants to the Opening Ceremony of the Virginia 9 to 11 Little League Championship Tournament, which was hosted by the West Springfield Little League and District 9.
I also presented a resolution to WSLL commending them for their contributions to our community during the last 50 years.
WSLL has provided opportunities for thousands of youth to enjoy baseball as well as develop teamwork and leadership skills. Thank you to the managers, coaches, umpires, volunteers and parents for all you do for our youth!
Before the school year ended, I gave a resolution to Harold Simmons to celebrate his esteemed 40 year career supporting students and his retirement as the building supervisor from South County Middle School.
I also presented a resolution to Sangster Elementary congratulating the Falcons for being named a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education, a recognition that only 7 schools in Virginia achieved.
I was honored to attend a parade at Marine Barracks Washington, DC hosted by the Commandant of the US Marines Corps for the Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, my constituent.
Biennial Budget Update
Earlier this summer, the General Assembly met to consider the Governor’s proposed amendments to the budget and then we passed the biennial budget.
The final budget has been signed into law by the Governor and took effect on July 1. Below, I’ve included highlights of the final budget as well as the status of some of the Governor’s proposed amendments to the budget.
Highlights of final biennial budget
Tax Relief
The budget includes $4 billion in tax relief, such as raising the standard income tax deduction for individuals and joint filers and providing one-time rebates of $250 for single filers and $500 for joint filers. It also eliminates the state tax on groceries and menstrual products, phases in tax relief for eligible military retirees, and refunds a portion of the earned income tax credit.
Education
The budget includes pay increases for K-12 teachers and support staff by an average of 5 percent each of the next two years. It provides $1.25 billion for school construction, $271.6 million to hire more support staff, and $62.5 million to increase the number of reading specialists in elementary schools. For higher education, it includes an additional $140 million for financial aid for students at our public universities and $37 million more for Tuition Assistance Grants for students at private universities.
Health Care
The budget funds an additional 600 priority one development disability waivers and provides $214.2 to increase reimbursement rates for combined personal care, dental, and home and community-based services. It also includes $19.6 million to improve our state mental health facilities.
Status of some of the Governor’s proposed amendments to the budget.
Abortion
In Virginia, individuals on Medicaid can receive abortion care only in cases of rape, incest, if the life of the pregnant person is in danger, or in narrow cases in which a doctor believes the fetus has an incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency.
The Governor introduced an amendment to remove the last exception. I voted against this proposal; it passed the House of Delegates but was defeated in the state Senate.
Gas Tax
The Governor submitted an amendment to temporarily suspend Virginia’s 26-cent per gallon tax on gasoline. His proposal did not include any measure to compensate for a roughly $400 million drop in road maintenance revenue.
The Commonwealth Institute, a nonprofit Virginia think tank, released research showing that over half of the tax cut would go to oil companies and out-of-state drivers. And, less than a third of the cut would go to Virginians with incomes less than $136,000. The Governor himself stated that he can’t guarantee that Virginians would see any savings.
I voted against this amendment. It passed the House of Delegates but was rejected by the state Senate.
New Felony
The Governor also proposed an amendment to create a new felony for anyone who protests outside of a courthouse or a judge’s home.
This amendment was not considered by the House of Delegates, and thus it failed and was not included in the budget.
Earned Sentence Credits
In 2020, the General Assembly passed HB5148 at the recommendation of the Virginia Crime Commission, a state entity responsible for studying public safety and protection. The law allows incarcerated Virginians to earn sentence credit for good behavior or for participating in rehabilitation programs. The law applies only to time served for nonviolent offenses.
The Governor introduced a budget amendment to bar any incarcerated Virginian with a mix of violent and nonviolent offenses from the program, extending the sentence of approximately 550 incarcerated people who have earned credit for good behavior or for participating in rehabilitation programs.
I voted against this amendment. It narrowly passed the House and Senate and was included in the final budget.
Laboratory Schools
Under current law, only colleges and universities with teaching programs can create laboratory schools. The Governor introduced an amendment giving all private universities the ability to create laboratory schools and diverting public school funding to those schools.
This proposal was added to the budget on a party-line vote in the House and Senate. However, the final amendment was stripped of the funding component, meaning that private colleges and universities may create laboratory academies, but funding for public schools cannot be reallocated for them.
Small Business Grants
The Virginia Tourism Corporation has opened applications for reimbursable grants for small businesses to boost non-peak seasonal tourism. Small, tourism-related businesses with less than 20 employees are eligible, including restaurants, bed and breakfasts, food trucks, and breweries.
The application period opened yesterday, August 4 and closes 5 p.m. on Sept. 20, 2022. You can find more information about eligibility and apply for a grant here.