NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

Neighbors,

We are wrapping up the 2021 legislative session! I hope my updates throughout the session have been helpful, and I look forward to soon sharing highlights of all we accomplished this year to help Virginia recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and ensure everyone has opportunities to thrive. 

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I want to give special thanks to Pastor Reginald Tuck of Messiah United Methodist Church for providing invocation for yesterday’s floor session. I appreciated his prayer for us to embrace a spirit of gratitude, humility, and service as we worked to finish another truly historic session. 

Below you will updates on:

  • Upcoming Virtual Town Hall

  • Legislative Updates 

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

Delegate, 42nd District 

UPCOMING VIRTUAL TOWN HALL

**Save the Date** 

Tuesday, March 16 from 5:30pm-7pm

Join me for a virtual town hall with Delegates Mark Sickles, Vivian Watts, and Paul Krizek! We will give updates on the 2021 legislative session. 

We will also be joined by Dr. Danny Avula, Virginia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Coordinator, to talk about Virginia’s COVID-19 vaccine plan and answer questions from constituents. 

You can register for the town hall here and submit questions here. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Five of my bills and four of my budget amendments are headed to Governor Northam’s desk for his signature. I appreciated working with constituents and a broad range of advocacy groups on my legislative agenda. 

  • House Bill 2035: Expands employment opportunities for Virginians receiving TANF benefits. I appreciate working with the Virginia Department of Social Services and Voices for Virginia’s Children to ensure our most vulnerable Virginians aren’t left behind in the economic recovery. 

  • House Bill 2036: Makes it easier for the Virginia Employment Commission to use emails and other electronic communications to get in touch with Virginians about their unemployment benefits. I appreciate working on this issue with Virginia’s Chief Workforce Advisor and to have the support of The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, the Legal Aid Justice Society, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and the National Federation of Independent Business. You can read about ABC 8’s coverage of this bill and other reforms to the Virginia Employment Commission here. 

  • House Bill 2161: Protects military service members, military spouses, and their dependents from discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and housing. I am proud to have worked with Blue Star Families, Veterans of Foreign Wars, multiple business chambers, Governor Northam, and Attorney General Mark Herring on this issue. You can read the Virginia Pilot article about this bill here.

  • House Bill 2162: Establishes a right for individuals with disabilities to have a designated support person provide them assistance at hospitals. I learned about this issue after hearing about the experiences my constituents have faced and worked with them and numerous advocacy groups throughout Virginia to pass this bill. 

  • House Bill 2163: Protects all customer data provided to the DMV by requiring written agreements to be in place for when sharing of DMV data, restricting how third parties can access DMV data, and limiting the sharing of DMV data for civil immigration enforcement. You can read ABC 8’s coverage of this bill here.

In addition, the final proposed budget includes four of my budget amendment requests. Below are highlights of what I got included in our budget:

  • Item 52#2c: Requests recommendations on how to improve language access across our state government. 

  • Item 52#3c: Establishes a workgroup to develop recommendations on helping refugees fully participate in Virginia’s workforce. 

  • Item 374 #2c: Provides $1.5 million in funding to connect Mason Neck State Park to public water. This is on top of 2 full time staff positions that I requested and was approved for during the special session. I am thankful to have worked closely with Friends of Mason Neck State Park to improve this natural treasure located in the 42nd District. 

  • Item 356#1c: Provides $100,000 to improve translation and interpretation services for the 2-1-1 social services hotline led by the Department of Social Services. 

Highlight of Legislation that Passed This Week

  • Our last week of the 2021 legislative session was quite busy as we worked to finalize negotiations with the state Senate on different bills. I will be sharing a wrap-up of the session soon, but in the meantime, below is a highlight of bills that the General Assembly passed this week. These bills are now headed to Governor Northam for his consideration. 

  • House Bill 1890: Establishes a first in the nation state-level Voting Rights Act to ensure voters are not disenfranchised based on race or English language abilities. 

  • House Bill 1902: Bans polystyrene (styrofoam) food containers by 2025, with flexibilities for businesses that face economic hardship. 

  • House Bill 2007: Increases prescription drug transparency

  • House Bill 2013: Prohibits local school boards from suing students for school meal debt.

  • House Bill 2047: Allows for the consideration of mental illness, intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities during non-insanity criminal trials.

  • House Bill 2113: Establishes an expungement process for people previously convicted of certain offenses and who meet specific criteria. Last year, based on conversations with constituents, I introduced a similar bill to expunge the records of people convicted under the old larceny threshold. My bill and other similar bills were recommended to be studied by the Virginia Crime Commission and this bill is a result of that study. 

  • House Bill 2137: Establishes up to five days of paid sick leave for home health workers that serve clients under Virginia’s Medicaid program. 

  • House Bill 2263: Abolishes the death penalty in Virginia, making us the 23rd state in the county and the first in the South to stop this practice. 

  • Senate Bill 1303: Requires local school districts to offer in person learning for the 2021-2022 academic school year following certain safety guidelines and offering families the ability to request virtual instruction.