February 7, 2023

Neighbors, 

We are at the halfway point of the 2023 legislative session! Today is “Crossover,” the last day to pass a piece of legislation out of its originating chamber in order to be considered by the other chamber during the remainder of the session. This means that all bills introduced in the House of Delegates must pass out of the House in order to be referred to the state Senate and vice versa. This week, we have debated and voted on about 270 bills to meet this deadline! 

Thanks to everyone who attended my Town Hall with Senator Scott Surovell on Saturday, February 4. It was great to be able to share an update of my work in the House of Delegates and answer your questions. Thanks for being engaged!

In this newsletter, I’ve included information about the following:

  • Town Halls

  • Community Meetings

  • Speaking on the House Floor

  • Policy and Legislative Updates

    • Policy Updates

    • My Bills in the News

    • My Legislative Agenda

    • Other Legislative Updates

  • Transportation Updates

    • WMATA Multi-Year Strategic Transformation Plan Input

    • Supervisor Walkinshaw’s community meeting

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


TOWN HALLS

Virginia Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus 

Virtual Crossover Town Hall

Thursday, February 9 at 7:00pm

Register here: https://bit.ly/2023VAAPICCrossoverTownHall 

I am proud to serve as the Chair of the Virginia Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus, and I hope you will join us to hear updates about the session during our virtual Crossover Town Hall on February 9.

Delegate Kathy Tran’s

Virtual Crossover Town Hall

Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00pm

Register here: https://bit.ly/2023VAAPICCrossoverTownHall 

I look forward to providing a legislative briefing and answering your questions at my virtual Crossover Town Hall on February 15.

Delegate Kathy Tran’s 

Veterans and Military Families 

Virtual Town Hall

Saturday, February 18 at 11:00am

Register here: https://bit.ly/TranVeteransTownHall 

Please join my town hall focused on our veterans and military families, which will be held virtually on February 18. I will be joined by Delegate David Reid, Co-Chair of the General Assembly Military and Veterans Caucus, Delegate Kathleen Murphy, Co-Chair for Women’s Veterans, Delegate Jackie Glass, and Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services Daniel Gade.

COMMUNITY MEETINGS

I proudly welcomed my Rabbi, David Widzer, to give the invocation to the House of Delegates last week. Rabbi Widzer's warmth, compassion and humor has endeared him to our congregation at Temple B’nai Shalom, where he has brought new creativity and energy to our social justice and community work, youth activities, and Jewish learning. Thank you for joining us, Rabbi Widzer!

I met with my constituent Tess and other Virginia medical school students when they came to the General Assembly to advocate for increased mental health services.

It was a pleasure to meet with members of Virginia AFL-CIO when they came to advocate for policies to improve pay, benefits, and workplace protections.

I participated in a webinar hosted by the American Immigration Council and the Refugee Advocacy Lab on how to advance inclusive policies in state government. I appreciated the opportunity to share my experience in Virginia, including how we are addressing teacher and nursing workforce shortages by tapping into the skills of immigrants and refugees.  

My staff and I also met with constituents and advocates from across the American Federation of Teachers, Virginia Association For Parks, Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, NextGen Virginia, Virginia Parent Teacher Association, Virginia March for Life, and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington.

This past weekend, I joined Congressman Gerry Connolly and Supervisor James Walkinshaw in welcoming students to the mock trial competition organized and hosted by Fairfax County Circuit Judge John Tran. My son and I enjoyed watching part of the trial with one of the South County High School defense teams — Go Stallions!

I was delighted and honored to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Kalanidhi Dance and present its Arts Champion Award to my friend and constituent, Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta, a fearless advocate for the rights of women and girls around the world. 

The Virginia Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies co-hosted a candidate training. I participated in a panel discussion with Virginia State Senator Ghazala Hashmi and Cheverly, Maryland City Councillor Amy Jean Chung Fry, and it was inspiring to be with these community leaders!

SPEAKING ON THE HOUSE FLOOR

My husband was laid off from his job last fall. I recently shared how the financial uncertainty and emotional trauma affected our family and how we must help ordinary Virginians going through hard times, instead of giving a $362 million tax cut for large corporations.


As the House and Senate finalize their budget proposals, we should note that in 2022, 44% of households in Virginia with children had difficulty paying for usual household expenses. We have an opportunity to ensure that Virginians have the support they need to prosper by: giving targeted tax relief like fully funding the Earned Income Tax Credit and supporting my legislation to establish a child tax credit; making child care more affordable; investing in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; lowering the cost of prescription drugs; expanding collective bargaining; and breaking the cycle of poverty by fully funding our public schools and paying our teachers more. You can view that speech here.

POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Policy Updates

Education Funding

I am very concerned to learn that Fairfax County Public Schools has an $18 million shortfall and school districts across Virginia have a $201 million gap in anticipated funding due to an error by the Virginia Department of Education. 

This is inexcusable and it exacerbates the strain that our underfunded public schools are already facing. This funding was included in the biennial budget that passed the General Assembly last year, and as we finalize the budget this legislative session, we must rectify this situation as well as increase education funding overall, including raising teacher pay.

History Standards of Learning Curriculum 

On February 2, the Virginia Board of Education voted 5-3 to accept the newest draft of Virginia’s history and social science standards of learning (SOLs). These SOLs will go through a public comment process before being considered by the Board of Education for a vote. 

If you would like to submit public comment, you can do so online until March 21 or by attending one of the public hearings. The nearest one to the 42nd district will be held at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 7:00pm. To find more details about the public hearings, click here.

My Bills in the News

HB2209 passed the Chesapeake Bay Subcommittee and Agriculture, Chesapeake Bay, and Natural Resources Committee on a bipartisan vote. This bill would let local governments prohibit the sale and use of toxic pavement sealants with high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which increase cancer risk, particularly in young children, and are harmful to marine life. I am grateful for the support of the League of Conservation Voters, James River Association, Virginia Conservation Network, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. This bill was highlighted as one of this year’s efforts to remove toxic chemicals from our waterways by the Virginia Pilot.

My Legislative Agenda

HB2007 passed the House Communications, Technology and Innovation Committee by a bipartisan 16-6 vote and unanimously passed the House Appropriations Committee. This bill modernizes Virginia’s Information Technology Access Act by requiring state agencies, local governments, institutions of higher education, and local school districts to ensure their information and communication technologies are accessible to all persons with a disability. Every Virginian deserves accessible technology to perform their jobs, obtain government services, and learn in school, and I appreciate collaborating with the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia and the Virginia Higher Education Accessibility Partnership on this bill.

HB2219 will be studied by the Joint Commission on Health Care. This bill is the first comprehensive proposal in Virginia to address online health data privacy that prioritizes consumers’ privacy. It modernizes Virginia’s Health Records Privacy Act to protect online health information collected through wearable technology and web applications, including fertility trackers, by limiting how it can be shared, monetized, and used against an individual. I look forward to the Commission’s recommendations and appreciate having the support of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia, Repro Rising, and Virginia American Civil Liberties Union.

HB2453 passed out of the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee with strong bipartisan support but then failed in the Appropriations Committee on a partisan vote. This bill requires the Department of Conservation and Recreation to create a pilot program to have all-terrain wheelchairs for use at Virginia State Parks. Thank you to the Virginia Disability Law Center and Hillary, my constituent, and Kris, who testified on behalf of the bill from Mason Neck State Park Friends Association.

HB2218 failed to advance out of a Transportation Subcommittee on a partisan vote. This bill brings together key stakeholders, including the Virginia Department of Transportation, local governments, school board members, police and other experts to assess how we could improve pedestrian safety near our schools. Thank you to Fairfax County Public Schools for working with me on this issue.

HB2212 received bipartisan support but failed in a Privileges and Elections Subcommittee. This bill requires the Virginia Department of Elections to provide key voting information in the most widely spoken languages in Virginia, ensuring that Virginians are not disenfranchised by language barriers. During the last election, the Department of Elections failed to provide critical voting information on their website, with parts that were partially translated, translated incorrectly, or not updated from past cycles. Thanks to the League of Women Voters and Voter Registrars Association of Virginia for your support.

HB2245 failed to advance out of a House Finance Subcommittee on a partisan vote. This bill breaks up tax preparers’ monopoly by re-establishing Virginia’s true free system to file our state taxes. Thanks to the Virginia Poverty Law Center for supporting this legislation.

HJ575 failed in our Rules Committee on a partisan vote. This resolution affirmed that teaching AAPI history in the United States and the Commonwealth is important. Particularly, at a time when AAPI Virginians are facing a rise in hate and violence,  and the Board of Education is updating the K-12 history curriculum for our public schools, it is important that we teach a complete and accurate history.

HJ533 was not scheduled for a hearing, along with other proposed constitutional amendments, by the Speaker of the House. This resolution is the first step to allow Virginia voters to amend the Virginia Constitution to provide surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty with equitable tax relief. These families were unfortunately left out of previous exemptions that Virginians approved for other eligible surviving military spouses, and we now have an opportunity to honor them by sharing in their sacrifice. I am grateful for the support from the Gold Star Wives of America, Military Officers Association of America, and my constituents, Edie and Traci.

Other Legislative Updates

During the last week, other bills that we voted on included:

House Bill 1573 — Under current law, physicians seeking licensure in Virginia are asked “1) Do you have any reason to believe that you would pose a risk to the safety or well-being of your patients or clients?; and 2) Are you able to perform the essential functions of a practitioner in your area of practice with or without reasonable accommodation?” This bill eliminates these questions, which stigmatize mental illness, and passed unanimously out of the House of Delegates. I supported this bill as it continues our efforts to ensure our health care workers are able to seek and receive mental health services.

House Bill 2021 — This bill requires Virginia School Boards to provide information and applications about free and reduced price lunch programs to parents at all school wide events. This would help food insecure families get connected to services so that their children are not hungry at school. I voted for this legislation, and it passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 66-33.

House Bill 1570 — This bill removes the existing prohibition on carrying firearms or explosives at Virginia highway rest stops. I voted against this legislation, and it passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 53-47.

House Bill 1947 — This bill ends the permanent absentee voter list. That program began in 2020 and allows an eligible voter to request that an absentee ballot be sent to them every year at their address on file with the registrar. Under this bill, voters would have to request an absentee ballot every year. I believe that we should break down barriers to voting, so I voted against the legislation. It passed on a partisan vote, 52-48.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATES

WMATA Multi-Year Strategic Transformation Plan Input

As I have mentioned, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is seeking public input on its draft multi-year strategic transformation plan. For information on how to attend the public hearing on February 9 or provide your input by February 14, see here. 

Virtual Community Meeting on Proposed Improvements at Old Keene Mill Rd and Ainsworth Ave

As I shared previously, Supervisor James Walkinshaw is hosting a virtual community meeting on proposed road improvements at Old Keene Mill Road and Ainsworth Avenue.  The virtual community meeting will be held on February 13, 2023, from 7- 8:30 p.m. For more information on how to participate, click here.

Constituents had reached out to me with concerns about pedestrian safety at this intersection. I raised these concerns with VDOT and earlier this fall, VDOT completed school sign upgrades, new reduced school speed limit ahead warning signs, end school zone sign, and tree trimming. I hope you will be able to participate in this community conversation on additional solutions to improve pedestrian safety at this intersection.