NEWSLETTER 

APRIL 16, 2021

Neighbors, 

On April 18, Fairfax Health District will enter Phase 2 of our COVID-19 vaccination plan. This means that all Fairfax County residents ages 16 and older can search for and make a vaccination appointment at a nearby site through www.VaccineFinder.org. See more important details below!

In this newsletter, I have included information on:

  • Earth Day Town Hall

  • Fairfax County COVID-19 Vaccination Process

  • Wrap-up from the Reconvene Session

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

Delegate, 42nd District 

 

UPCOMING TOWN HALL

Virtual Earth Day Town Hall  

Thursday, April 22 at 6pm - 7pm

I hope you will join me for an Earth Day Town Hall - I will be joined by special guests from the League of Conservation Voters, Mason Neck State Park, Friends of Mason Neck State Park, NOVA Parks and the US Bureau of Land Management.

I look forward to seeing you on Earth Day! You can sign up and submit questions here.

Fairfax County COVID-19 Vaccination Process 

On April 18, all Fairfax County residents ages 16 and older can search for and make a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at a nearby site through www.VaccineFinder.org.

Note, this is an updated process for Fairfax Health District. Previously, under Phase 1a, Phase 1b, and Phase 1c, Fairfax residents registered through the County portal. The Fairfax County Health Department will continue to reach out and make appointments for those individuals currently on the waitlist.

It will take a little bit of time for the County’s vaccination sites to be uploaded onto the VaccineFinder page; however, you would be able to identify vaccination opportunities at retail pharmacy chains.

For more information, please see the County’s news release here.

Wrap-up from the Reconvene Session

For a summary of the bills that passed during the 2020 legislative session, please see my previous newsletter here.

Last week, the General Assembly met for the 2020 Reconvene Session. We considered Governor Northam’s amendments to 37 bills that had passed during this year’s Legislative Session.

While many proposed changes were technical in order to provide clarity in the law, I have highlighted below some of the significant amendments that passed the during the Reconvene Session:

  • House Bill 1800, this is the state budget - We approved the Governor’s request for $2 million in funding for public health education programs and law enforcement training regarding the legalization of adult recreational use of marijuana in Virginia.

  • House Bill 2312, this is legislation to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana in Virginia and establishes a regulated market for the sale of recreational marijuana - We approved Governor Northam’s request to move up the date to July 1, 2021 for legalization of the possession of up to one ounce of recreational marijuana; and for the ability of households to cultivate up to four marijuana plants. Lastly, we approved the Governor’s amendments to strengthen worker protections once the regulated market for the sale of recreational marijuana is established.

  • House Bill 1999, this bill gives the Virginia Tax Commissioner authority to waive interest during a declared state of emergency - We agreed to add an emergency clause so the bill would go into effect as soon as the Governor signs it (instead of the original timeline of July 1). This will benefit taxpayers this year, as Virginia has moved our state individual income tax deadline to May 17 to align with the federal government’s deadline. I am Chief Co-Sponsor of this bill and proud to advance relief for tax payers.

  • House Bill 2113, this bill reforms our state’s expungement system - We agreed to speed up the automatic expungement and petition-based sealing process as state resources allow. This compliments the Governor’s actions regarding recreational marijuana legalization so that past marijuana convictions can be sealed.

  • House Bill 2207, this bill includes COVID-19 as a presumption for healthcare workers and first responders when applying for worker’s compensation - We approved retroactively expanding the timeline when workers would be eligible. The original start date for would have been September 1, 2020 and the amended date will be July 1, 2020, making it easier for more frontline workers to apply for these benefits if they become sick or die of COVID-19.