February 26, 2025

Neighbors, 

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned the 2025 legislative session on Saturday, February 22, and I am proud of the progress we made this session. I’ve provided an update on all of my bills that passed the General Assembly below. In the following weeks, I’ll be sharing an update on the budget and other key legislation that passed the General Assembly.

I am continuing to closely follow the mass firing of thousands of federal workers by the Musk/Trump Administration. These firings are wrong and deeply damaging to families and communities throughout Virginia. I am also very concerned by Governor Youngkin’s support for these cuts and his cavalier dismissal of how this serious situation is affecting Virginians. 

Virginia is home to 140,000 federal workers in addition to countless federal contractors and grantees. As I’ve noted previously, as a former civil servant at the US Department of Labor, I know firsthand the dedication, expertise, and professionalism with which our federal workers serve our nation and embody the values of public service.

Constituents have reached out to me to share their concerns, from how they will be able to put food on the table to paying their rent or mortgage to caring for their families. We also know that the decimation of the federal workforce will affect the availability of a range of government services upon which Virginians depend. The impacts on the people of Virginia and to our communities are real and severe.

In this newsletter,  I am providing an update on the work of the Virginia House of Delegates Emergency Committee on Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions. I look forward to the Committee’s legislative and budgetary recommendations on how we can do everything we can to provide relief to impacted Virginians.

In this newsletter, I’ve also included the following updates:

  • Town Hall

    • Annual Transportation Town Hall

  • Virginia House of Delegates Emergency Committee on Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions

  • Community Updates

    • Virginia History Day on the Hill 2025

    • The Links, Incorporated's Legislative Day of Action

    • FIRST Team 1086 Blue Cheese

  • Legislative Updates

    • Budget

    • My Legislative Agenda

As always, let me know if you have questions or need assistance by calling my office at (804) 698-1018 or emailing me at DelKTran@house.virginia.gov. 

Best, Kathy

Kathy KL Tran

Delegate

Town Hall

Thank you all who joined me at my recent Virtual Session Town Hall – I enjoyed answering your questions and sharing updates on my legislative agenda and the state budget. I hope to see you at a future town hall!

Annual Transportation Town Hall with VDOT, 3/4

Delegate Kathy Tran’s Virtual Transportation Town Hall with VDOT

Tuesday, March 4

6:30pm

Register here: https://bit.ly/2025TranTransportation 

I hope you will join me at my annual Virtual Transportation Town Hall with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to get an update major transportation projects in our district:

 

Virginia House of Delegates Emergency Committee on Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions 

As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, Speaker Don Scott established the bipartisan House of Delegate’s Emergency Committee on Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions to assess and give recommendations on how we can help impacted workers and communities, maintain essential services, and safeguard Virginia’s economy.

The Committee held its first meeting before the 2025 legislative session adjourned. The Committee heard from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Virginia Employment Commission, Virginia Municipal League, and House Appropriations Committee staff. You can view the February 22 meeting here. 

The Committee will continue to meet in the next few months, and I look forward to its recommendations.

If you or someone you know is affected by the firings, you can find resources compiled by Fairfax County at this link or reach out to my office for assistance.



Community Updates

Virginia History Day on the Hill 2025

I was excited to see my constituent Elena at the Annual Virginia History Day on the Hill, hosted by the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. Her research project on Juan Peron, the former president of Argentina, was chosen to represent Virginia at the prestigious National History Day competition last year. Congratulations Elena!


The Links, Incorporated's Legislative Day of Action

I appreciated visiting with The Links, Incorporated, one of the oldest and largest volunteer service organizations committed to the cultural and economic progress of African Americans and other people of African ancestry.


FIRST Team 1086 Blue Cheese

It was a pleasure to meet with the FIRST Team 1086 Blue Cheese, a group of high school students – they  impressed me with their passionate advocacy for STEM education!


Legislative Updates


Budget Update

Last year, the General Assembly passed and the governor signed a balanced, biennial budget. This year, the legislature considered amendments to that budget, given updated economic forecasts. 

The House of Delegates and the state Senate passed a balanced, fiscally responsible budget with bold investments to strengthen public schools, expand healthcare, address the affordable housing crisis while delivering over $1 billion in tax cuts to hardworking Virginians. I’ll share a more detailed summary of the General Assembly’s budget proposal in my next newsletter.


My Legislative Agenda

I’m proud that 10 of my bills passed the House of Delegates and state Senate, and they are now with the Governor for his consideration! These bills will help us build an economy that uplifts working families, ensure that each student in Virginia gets a world-class education, and make strong, safe, and connected communities.

You can find my legislative agenda on my website and I’ve provided a brief summary of my bills that passed the General Assembly below:


Family-First Economy   

  • House Bill 2764 gives the right of public sector employees to collectively bargain for better pay, benefits, and working conditions. You can read more about this legislation here.

This bill passed on a party-line vote in both the House and Senate. Thank you to the Virginia AFL-CIO, SEIU 512, Virginia Education Association, United Campus Workers of Virginia, Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors, Virginia Professional Firefighters, Virginia Council of the Communications Workers of Virginia, Police Benevolent Association, The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, and Virginia Building and Construction Trades Council for their strong support.

  • House Bill 2218 improves tenant rights by requiring landlords to accept all lawful forms of payment for rent and security deposits and ensuring tenants have at least one fee-free option to pay their rent.

This bill passed the House on a party-line vote and with broad bipartisan support in the state Senate. I am grateful to the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, and the Virginia League of Women Voters for their support.

  • House Bill 2264 re-establishes a free system to directly file our state taxes and requires Virginia to join the IRS’s Direct File program so that no one has to pay in order to file their taxes.

This bill passed the House of Delegates with bipartisan support and the Senate on a party-line vote. I appreciate the support of the Commonwealth Institute and Freedom Virginia.


World-Class Education 

  • House Bill 2265 supports our youngest students by allowing qualified licensed teachers with over 15 years of experience teaching preschool special education the opportunity to continue teaching in their classroom without needing extra coursework, if their superintendent recommends it.

The House and Senate both passed this bill by a unanimous vote. I appreciate the support of my constituent Jennifer, the Arc of Virginia, disAbility Law Center of Virginia, the Arc of Northern Virginia, American Federation of Teachers Virginia, and the Virginia Education Association.

  • House Bill 2219 requires teachers and staff to be trained on their student’s augmentative and alternative communication before classroom instruction begins so that no student falls behind. You can read more about this bill here.

Both the House and the Senate unanimously supported this bill. Special thanks to my constituents Toby and Lindsay for their advocacy, and to the Arc of Virginia, the Arc of Northern Virginia, disAbility Law Center of Virginia, Autism Society of Central Virginia, Autism Society of Northern Virginia, REV UP Virginia, Special Education Administrators, and the American Federation of Teachers for their support. 

  • House Bill 2541 helps ensure that Virginians with disabilities are able to equally obtain government services and educational opportunities. It requires information and communication technology that is used to deliver services by state agencies, local governments, institutions of higher education, and local school districts to meet federal accessibility standards for people with all disabilities.

The House and Senate passed my bill unanimously. I am grateful for the support of the Virginia Higher Education Accessibility Partners, The ARC of Northern Virginia, and the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia.


Strong Communities

  • House Bill 2241 helps reduce gun violence by prohibiting people who are convicted of misdemeanor assault hate crimes from possessing firearms.

This bill passed the House and Senate on a party-line vote. Thanks to Everytown, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, Virginia Moms for Change, and the Virginia Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus for their support.

  • House Bill 2266 promotes solar energy by spreading out the costs of expensive infrastructure upgrades needed to install solar panels on our schools, government buildings, and parking lots, among other locations. 

This bill passed the House with bipartisan support and the Senate on a party-line vote. Thank you to the Southern Environmental Law Center, League of Conservation Voters, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, Chesapeake Solar and Storage Association, Piedmont Environmental Council, Sierra Club, Virginia Conservation Network, and Dominion Energy for their support.

  • House Bill 2269 addresses the proliferation of violence against health care workers in hospitals by requiring this data be captured and analyzed.

Both the Senate and House unanimously passed my bill. I am thankful for the partnership of the Medical Society of Virginia, Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, Psychiatric Society of Virginia, Orthopedic Society of Virginia, Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Virginia Society of Anesthesiologists, Virginia Nurses Association, Virginia Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

  • House Bill 2746 requires Virginia courts to determine, with clear and convincing evidence, that an individual under guardianship or conservatorship lacks the capacity to understand the act of voting before disqualifying them from voting.

This bill passed the House of Delegates with bipartisan support and the Senate unanimously. Many thanks to the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, the Arc of Virginia, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, ACLU of Virginia, Virginia AARP, Virginia Autism Project, REV UP Virginia, and the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities for their support.