NEWSLETTER

March 9, 2020 

Greetings!

The last full week of the 2020 legislative session has wrapped up. It has been a whirlwind week with many long sessions as both chambers of the General Assembly finalized agreements on all remaining bills.

One interesting factoid: In order to meet certain legislative deadlines, on the evening of Thursday, March 5th, the House of Delegates and State Senate recessed until Friday, March 6th. What this meant was that on Friday, we finished Thursday’s legislative calendar. It felt a little bit like a sci-fi movie where we stopped the clocks for a short while and Thursday lasted well over 24 hours!

Our session was supposed to end on Saturday, March 7th. But because of the volume of bills still being negotiated, we convened on Sunday, March 8th, and we will return to Richmond on Thursday, March 12th to finalize the 2020-2022 Biennial Budget and election of judges. The Budget will be posted online in the afternoon of Monday, March 9th for review, and you can access it here. 

As always, if you need assistance with our state government or have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me by emailing DelKTran@house.virginia.gov or calling 804.698.1042.

Cheers, Kathy

Coronavirus Updates

As of the publication of this newsletter, there have been two cases of COVID-19 from the novel coronavirus diagnosed in Virginia. One patient is being treated at Ft. Belvoir and the other patient is a resident of the City of Fairfax and is being treated at a hospital in Northern Virginia. 

The Virginia Department of Health has the lead for the Commonwealth to address the public health risk posed by the coronavirus. The Department is working closely with local public health agencies, including the Fairfax County Public Health Department, the Center for Disease Control, the Department of Defense and others to monitor these cases and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

You can view my recent statement, which includes the Department’s suggestions for personal hygiene, and several resources here. 

Legislative Updates

Two of my bills had passed the House of Delegates earlier this session. This week, they also passed the State Senate and are on their way to Governor Northam for his consideration:

House Bill 1141: This bill would ensure that, if the Affordable Care Act was repealed, then any new insurance plans that go into effect would still cover pre-existing conditions. I am grateful to have the support of the Virginia Association of Health Plans for this bill.

House Bill 1225: This bill would clarify when electric utilities are able to terminate power without notice and establish an appeals process for customers in instances where there is suspected meter tampering. I appreciate working with the Virginia Poverty Law Center and the Virginia Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives to establish these consumer protections. I thank my constituent, Cheri, for bringing this issue to my attention. 

I was able to reach an agreement between the House and Senate for four of my bills that were still in the conference committee process. These passed both Chambers and are also on their way to the Governor’s desk: 

House Bill 298: This bill would extend the statute of limitations for misdemeanor sexual offenses to give certain survivors additional time to come forward. I am thankful to have worked with Senator Jennifer McClellan, courageous survivors, the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police to get this bill passed. 

House Bill 1201: This bill would allow localities to establish responsible bidder criteria in their bids for public works contracts. I am proud to have worked with Senator Jeremy McPike and the Mid-Atlantic Pipe Trades Association on this bill. 

House Bill 1209: This bill would establish an Office of New Americans and a corresponding Advisory Board to assist with immigrant integration in Virginia. This is an evidenced-based model with bipartisan support across the country, and I am thankful to have worked alongside Senator Ghazala Hashmi and various immigrant rights advocates to pass this bill. 

House Bill 1211: This bill would allow undocumented and other immigrants to be able to drive by obtaining a driver’s privilege card if they pass the DMV vision, knowledge, and roads tests, as well as meet tax and insurance requirements. I worked with Senator Jennifer Boysko, Senator Scott Surovell, and many advocates to pass this bill. 

One of my bills had passed the House and Senate previously. However, there were differences in approaches, and we were unable to come to an agreement in our conference committee on a final policy.

House Bill 1220: This bill would give the Virginia Department of Taxation discretion to waive interest on state tax returns if a taxpayer is found to owe additional money because of changes to their federal taxes. I am disappointed this bill ultimately failed in the Senate this year, but I will continue working on this issue to help support Virginia’s taxpayers.

Constituent Meetings

I look forward to being back in the 42nd District and providing legislative updates to our community. Currently this spring, I am scheduled to present to the West Springfield Civic Association, Crosspointe Homeowners Association, Barrington Homeowners Association, and Mt. Vernon District Democratic Committee.

Additionally, I am working on scheduling town halls after the Governor’s Veto Session in April, and I will provide further information once those are organized. 

If you belong to a homeowners association, community group, or neighborhood huddle and would like me to provide a legislative update at a future meeting, please email me at DelKTran@house.virginia.gov.