January 11, 2023
Neighbors,
Hello from Richmond! The General Assembly started our annual legislative session today. I am extremely honored to represent our community and am working everyday to build a more just and equitable future for all Virginians.
The first day of session involves a lot of traditions, including voting on the rules by which the General Assembly will conduct business, hearing the Governor provide the “State of the Commonwealth” address, and seeing colleagues from both legislative chambers. Throughout my time in the House of Delegates, my seatmate has been Delegate David Reid of Loudoun and it was great to reunite with him today!
In this newsletter, I’ve included information about the following:
Legislation Updates
Upcoming Town Hall
My Legislative Agenda
Staying Engaged During Session
Community Updates
Deadly Crash on Lee Chapel
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
Legislative Update
Town Halls
Thanks to the many Fairfax County residents, including several constituents, who provided input at the Fairfax County Delegation Public Hearing held on January 7.
My next legislative town hall is on February 4, and I look forward to giving you updates about the legislative session and to hear about your priorities for our community.
Save the Date!
Town Hall with Delegate Kathy Tran & Senator Scott Surovell
February 4 at 10:00am
South County High School
8501 Silverbrook Rd, Lorton, VA 22079
My Legislative Agenda
This year, the legislative session lasts 45 days, from January 11 through February 25. Both the House and state Senate have limits on the number of bills that we can introduce.
Since this summer, my staff and I have been drafting bills, gathering stakeholder input, and preparing for session. I’ve summarized my legislation below and encourage you to follow the links to learn more about each bill.
EXPANDING HEALTH CARE
House Bill 2210 Cover All Kids — Health care is a human right, but many in Virginia still do not have essential care. This bill expands health care to vulnerable kids by creating a Medicaid-like program for about 13,000 undocumented immigrant children in Virginia.
Non-Profit Hospital Disclosures — The federal government’s 340B Drug Pricing Program helps safety-net hospitals save money by purchasing prescription drugs at a discount, with a goal of ensuring these hospitals have additional resources to increase services for low-income patients. This bill requires participating hospitals to report if and how they are investing the savings into the local community.
DEFENDING REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
House Bill 2219 Online Health/Reproductive Health Data Privacy — Information about your health is personal and must be safeguarded. This bill modernizes Virginia’s Health Records Privacy Act to protect consumer generated health information available through wearable technology and web applications, including fertility trackers, by limiting how it can be shared, monetized, and weaponized against an individual.
KEEPING KIDS SAFE AT SCHOOL
House Bill 2218 School Zone Speed Limits — Vehicle traffic deaths have increased in Virginia, and we must do more to protect our children from aggressive drivers near schools. This bill would give more power to Fairfax County and local governments in Northern Virginia to set speed limits in school zones and keep our kids safe.
LIFTING UP WORKING FAMILIES
House Bill 2205 Child Tax Credit — Given inflation, many Virginians are struggling to make ends meet. This bill provides targeted relief to working families and addresses child poverty for an estimated 1.3 million Virginian kids by establishing a state child tax credit of $500 for every child under the age of 18 in households making up to $100,000.
House Bill 2245 Free File — Hardworking Virginians shouldn’t have to pay to file their taxes. This bill breaks up tax preparers’ monopoly by re-establishing Virginia’s free system to file our state taxes.
BUILDING A MORE WELCOMING AND INCLUSIVE VIRGINIA
House Bill 2207 Accessible Technology — Technology is ubiquitous in how we perform our jobs, access government services, and learn in school. This bill updates Virginia’s Information Technology Access Act by requiring state agencies, local governments, institutions of higher education, and local school districts ensure their information and communication technology are accessible to all persons with a disability.
PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT
House Bill 2209 Bans High-PAH Sealants — Clean, safe water is essential to public health and the wellbeing of our environment and wildlife. This bill lets local governments prohibit the sale and use of pavement sealants with high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which increases cancer risk, particularly in young children.
House Bill 2214 Resource Protection Areas — The Chesapeake Bay is an essential natural resource, economic driver, and national treasure. This bill requires notifying people if their property is part of a “resource protection area” so they can comply with preservation policies that protect the Bay.
HONORING OUR MILITARY FAMILIES
House Joint Resolution 533 Surviving Spouses Constitutional Amendment — This bill creates a voter referendum to amend the Constitution of Virginia to provide surviving spouses of service members who were killed 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.
EXPANDING VOTING RIGHTS
House Bill 2212 Department of Elections Translations — Having accurate election information enables us to exercise our right to vote. This bill requires Virginia’s 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.
INCREASING CONSUMER PROTECTIONS
House Bill 2215 Long Term Care Insurance — People purchase long-term care insurance to reduce financial uncertainty. However, insurance premiums have risen dramatically in recent years. This bill requires insurance companies to notify their policyholders if they request the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to increase their rates. It also requires the SCC to consider how a rate increase would impact policyholders when evaluating these requests.
House Bill 2213 Planned Blackouts Notifications — In a world where electricity is essential for things like teleworking, remote school, and use of home medical devices, Virginians deserve reliable electric service and clear and timely communication from providers about scheduled blackouts. This bill requires electric utility providers to notify affected customers at least 24 hours before a planned blackout.
BUILDING A COMPETITIVE WORKFORCE
House Bill 2211 Refugee Nursing Licensure — Virginia is in the middle of a nursing shortage, affecting health care providers and patients across the state. By clarifying the process by which internationally trained nurses are tested and certified for work in Virginia, this bill will help fill our critical nursing workforce needs while tapping into the skills of immigrants and refugees and empowering them to better provide for their families and fulfill their career potential.
House Bill 2217 Workforce Program Consolidation Study — An agile public workforce system is key to preparing workers to meet employer demand, thereby contributing to Virginia’s economic growth. However, our public workforce system is complex and convoluted, involving many state agencies. This bill proposes a study to realign our workforce system to maximize the best outcomes for Virginia’s job seekers and employers.
Staying Engaged During Session
As I have shared, there are numerous ways that you can stay informed and engaged during the legislative session. I’ve highlighted some tips and resources below as well as my website.
My Newsletter and Town Halls
During session, I send a weekly electronic newsletter to provide updates about my work in Richmond on behalf of our community and to share key issues that are being considered in the General Assembly.
I also host or attend several town halls and hope you will be able to join us. You can learn about my town halls through my newsletter or via my social media.
You can subscribe to my newsletter here.
Providing Input to Legislation
Your input is important to me. You can call my office at 804-698-1042 or email me at delktran@house.virginia.gov with your feedback or to schedule an appointment to meet with my team. You can also write to me at P.O. Box 2731, Springfield, Virginia 22152.
Tracking Legislation
You can keep track of the things we do in Richmond using the resources below:
View all of the bills that have been introduced for the 2023 General Assembly Session on the Legislative Information Services homepage.
Watch the live floor session, live committee meetings, and archives of previous meetings.
Find the agenda for each committee meeting on the committee’s homepage.
Each agenda will identify the bills that have been “docketed” or will be heard during the committee meeting.
Sign-up to provide public comments or submit written comments for committee hearings.
Community Updates
Deadly Crash on Lee Chapel Road
Matt and I are mourning the tragic loss of teenage members of our community in a car crash on Lee Chapel Road on Tuesday evening, and our hearts go out to their families and friends.
I have reached out to VDOT for more information about traffic safety on this stretch of road and will continue to monitor their response to this tragedy.