September 1, 2023

Neighbors, 

Happy Labor Day Weekend and a special thank you to all of our unions for leading the way in building our middle class and fighting for better wages and working conditions for all.  

September is National Voter Registration Month! We have important elections this year for the Virginia General Assembly, Fairfax County, and Fairfax County School Board. I hope that you will vote and make sure that your voice is heard. Please register to vote or confirm your registration status on the Department of Elections’ website.

I’m proud of our progress in Virginia to make voting easier, including breaking down barriers to early voting. Some important dates related to our elections this year below - To find early voting locations, visit the Fairfax Registrar’s website:

  • Friday, September 22: First day of in-person early voting

  • Monday, October 16: Deadline to register to vote or update an existing registration

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

  • Upcoming Town Hall

    • Lee Chapel Road Town Hall Meeting

  • Community Updates

    • Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy

  • Legislative Updates

    • Special Session and Budget

    • Applications Open for 2024 House and Senate Page Program

  • Transportation Updates

    • Metro Funding for Electric Buses

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

Upcoming Town Hall

Lee Chapel Road Town Hall Meeting

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 214 328 203 374

Passcode: ZFKBoJ

Please join Senator George Barker, Supervisor Pat Herrity, Supervisor Dan Storck, and me at our joint town hall meeting to discuss the next steps to increase safety on Lee Chapel Road.

Community Updates

Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy

It was wonderful to meet citizen advocates with the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, including my constituent Dean. We discussed how Virginians from all faith backgrounds can come together to make our commonwealth a better, more just place.

Legislative Updates

Special Session and Budget

Governor Youngkin issued a proclamation to call the General Assembly into a special session beginning on September 6. During this time, we will consider amendments to the biennial state budget.

The Constitution of Virginia requires the General Assembly to pass a balanced budget every two years, which we refer to as the “biennial budget.” As I’ve shared previously,  during the regular 2023 legislative session, we passed updates to the budget that allowed us to immediately fill the school funding shortfall caused by an accounting error at the Virginia Department of Education. This error would have cost school districts across the Commonwealth over $200 million and more than $18 million in Fairfax alone. At that time, we also added funds to Virginia’s revenue stabilization fund, ongoing state construction projects, and the Virginia Retirement System trust fund.

Given a mid-year reassessment, Virginia now has a $3.6 billion surplus. During the special session, we will decide how to allocate those funds. 

Budget negotiators in the House, Senate, and Governor’s office have not released their compromised budget — but reports say that there will be, among other changes, one-time tax rebates, an increase in the standard deduction, a reinstatement of the back-to-school sales tax holiday, and more spending for public education and mental health.

Applications Open for 2024 House and Senate Page Program

Applications are open for the 2024 House and Senate Page Programs! The Page Programs, open to 13 and 14 year olds, provide an immersive educational opportunity to experience first hand how the Virginia General Assembly operates while we are in session. 

Applications for the House Page Program are due Monday, October 16, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. You can find the House Page Program application here

Applications for the Senate Page Program are due Friday, October 20, 2023, at 5:00 pm. You can find the Senate Page Program application here.

If you live in our district, please reach out to me if you apply!

Transportation Updates

Metro Funding for Electric Buses

On Wednesday, I was pleased to join WMATA, Congressman Gerry Connolly and leaders across Fairfax County to celebrate a $104 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to facilitate an accelerated transition of nine WMATA bus garages to all electric buses, including the nearby Cinder Bed Road Bus Garage in Newington. 

The funding, which was available from the passage of President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be used to purchase electric Metrobuses for Northern Virginia, workforce development, and training. We anticipate that these buses will be used on the Route 1 Bus Rapid Transit Route currently being built. I hope you’re as excited as me about this program, which will help improve air and noise pollution and address traffic congestion in our region.