January 27, 2025

Neighbors,

Thank you to everyone who joined me, Senator Scott Surovell, and Delegate Rozia Henson at our South County Town Hall this weekend - I appreciated the opportunity to give you an update on the 2025 legislative update and hearing about your priorities!

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

  • Community Updates

    • House Page Program

    • Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

    • American Federation of Teachers Virginia

    • Hamkae Center

    • The Virginia Center for Public Safety

    • Virginia Nurses Association

    • Virginia Promise Partnership

    • Fairfax County Council of PTAs and the Virginia PTA

    • The LIBRE Initiative

    • Future Farmers of America

  • Legislative Update

    • Collective Bargaining Press Conference

    • My Legislative Agenda

    • My Budget Priorities

    • Staying Engaged During Session

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

Community Updates

House Page Program

I am thrilled that my constituent, Lily, was selected for the House Page Program - I enjoyed hearing about her experience in Richmond!

The House Page Program gives Virginia students an opportunity to learn about civics, the lawmaking process, and leadership firsthand. Since 1847, pages have worked with the House Clerk and Senate Clerk’s offices to provide support to staff, legislators, and constituents.

Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

I enjoyed meeting with volunteers from the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance to discuss the importance of protecting our environment, from song birds and other wildlife to trees and native plants. 

American Federation of Teachers Virginia

Thank you to my constituent Emily and educators of the American Federation of Teachers Virginia for visiting me to discuss our shared priority of increasing teachers wages and strengthening our public schools. 

Hamkae Center

I joined members of the Virginia Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus to speak with advocates of the Hamkae Center about building a more just and equitable Virginia.

The Virginia Center for Public Safety

It was great to see my constituent Julie and volunteers from the Virginia Center for Public Safety to discuss the need to reduce gun violence, which is the leading cause of death for children and teens.

Virginia Nurses Association

I had an opportunity to meet with members of the Virginia Nurses Association and introduce them in the House Gallery. I am partnering with VNA on legislation to collect data on workplace violence that they and other healthcare professionals face. 

Virginia Promise Partnership

It was great to visit with my constituent Stephanie and other Virginia Promise Partnership volunteers to discuss the urgent need to expand affordable, high-quality childcare.

Fairfax County Council of PTAs and the Virginia PTA

As a former president of my local PTA, it was wonderful to speak with constituents and leaders of the Fairfax County Council of PTAs and the Virginia PTA about increasing funding for public K-12.

The LIBRE Initiative

Thanks to the LIBRE Initiative for coming to meet with me about expanding comprehensive childcare and protecting maternal healthcare.

Future Farmers of America

I was delighted to meet with students participating in Future Farmers of America and be able to share my experience as a member of the Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee and chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee.

My team and I also met with:

  • AARP Virginia

  • American Association of University Professors

  • Birth in Color

  • Communications Workers of American Local 2201 and National Coalition of Public Safety Officers

  • Disabled Disrupters

  • Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters

  • Eggleston Services Virginia

  • Freedom Virginia

  • Grafton Integrated Health Network

  • Harvard STRIPED Youth Corps

  • Medical Society of Virginia

  • National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

  • Northern Virginia Family Service

  • Omega Protein

  • Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia

  • Virginia Academy of Clinical Psychologists

  • Virginia Association for Parks

  • Virginia Association of Community Rehabilitation Programs

  • Virginia Citizens Defense League

  • Virginia Coalition for Human Rights

  • Virginia Data Center Reform Lobby Day

  • Virginia Dental Hygienists Association

  • Virginia Professional Fire Fighters

  • Virginia Tech

Legislative Updates

Collective Bargaining Press Conference

Senator Scott Surovell and I held a press conference about our bills to allow public sector employees to collectively bargain. Our teachers, home care providers, and firefighters educate our kids, care for our loved ones, and keep our communities safe — We build a family first economy when they and other public sector workers have a seat at the table.


My Legislative Agenda

This session, I have worked with constituents, advocates, and organizations to introduce legislation and budget requests to support expanding health care, strengthen public schools, protect Virginians from gun violence, lift up working families, honor our military families, protect our environment, and expand voting rights. 

You can view my 2025 legislative agenda here. I have included updates on my bills that were heard in committee this week:

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. 

The bill passed the General Laws - Housing and Consumer Protection Subcommittee on a party-line vote. I’m thankful for the support of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, and the Virginia League of Women Voters.

House Bill 2219 improves educational experiences for our students with disabilities by requiring schools to provide teachers and staff with training on using augmentative and alternative communication before classroom instruction begins so they can communicate and fully engage with each of their students. 

The bill passed unanimously out of the Education - K-12 Education Subcommittee. Thank you to my constituents Toby and Lindsay for their tireless support 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 American Federation of Teachers for speaking in favor of the legislation.

 

House Bill 2241 helps reduce gun violence by prohibiting people who are convicted of misdemeanor assault from possessing a firearm, ammunition, or explosives if they intentionally selected their victim because of their race, religious conviction, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, or ethnic or national origin. 

This bill passed out of the Public Safety - Firearms Subcommittee on a party-line vote. Thank you to Everytown, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, and Virginia Moms for Change for their partnership, and the Virginia Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus for their support.

 

House Bill 2264 helps reduce fees that working families face by re-establishing 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 legislation passed out of the Finance Committee on a party-line vote. I’m grateful to the Commonwealth Institute and Freedom Virginia for speaking in favor of  this bill.

 

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 training if their superintendent recommends it.

This bill passed out of the K-12 Education Subcommittee unanimously. Thank you to my constituent Jennifer and the Arc of Virginia, disAbility Law Center of Virginia, the Arc of Northern Virginia, American Federation of Teachers Virginia, and the Virginia Education Association for supporting this bill.

 

House Bill 2266 promotes solar energy by spreading the costs of expensive infrastructure upgrades to installing solar panels on our schools, government buildings, and parking lots among users on a transmission line. 

The bill passed on a bipartisan vote from the Labor and Commerce Subcommittee #3. Thank you to the Southern Environmental Law Center, League of Conservation Voters, Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, Virginia Conservation Network, and Dominion Energy for your support.

 

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

The bill passed out of the Communications, Technology and Innovation  - Technology and Innovation Subcommittee unanimously. I’m grateful for the support of the  Virginia Higher Education Accessibility Partners and the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia.

My Budget Priorities

Last year, the General Assembly passed a balanced, biennial budget, as required by the Virginia Constitution. This year, the General Assembly can choose to amend the biennial budget given new priorities and updated economic revenue data.

Virginia’s revenues are up 7.3%, and we have a $1.1 billion surplus. In December 2024, Governor Youngkin proposed amendments to the biennial budget. The House of Delegates and state Senate are now developing our respective budget proposals, and we will negotiate with each other and the Governor toward a final budget. 

As always, I look forward to supporting a budget that supports vulnerable working families who are struggling to keep up with rising costs, invests in our public schools, expands health care, and funds our infrastructure.

This year, each House member is allowed to put forward just three standalone budget requests, and we presented these amendments to the House Appropriations Committee. I have included an overview of my three proposals below:

 

Budget Amendment Item 140 #6h funds the Troops to Teachers program at the College of William and Mary. This program prepares veterans to teach in K-12 schools, thereby helping veterans transition successfully to the civilian workforce while filling our teacher gaps.

Budget Amendment Item 456 #5h expands the capacity of Hope for the Warriors to provide  comprehensive mental health and supportive services to post-9/11 service members, veterans, reservists, military spouses and their families in Northern Virginia.

Budget Amendment Item Item 289 #2h provides health care to vulnerable kids by creating a Medicaid-like program for about 13,000 children in Virginia, regardless of their immigration status. 

Staying Engaged During Session

You are able to watch Committee and Subcommittee meetings in real time; see the schedule of meetings at this link. 

As the 2025 legislative session continues, I hope to welcome many of you to my office in Richmond to learn more about your priorities for our community. However, you can still stay engaged through these online resources and my town halls. I hope to hear from you soon!

My staff and I are also available to help. You can email us at delktran@house.virginia.gov or call us at 804-698-1018.