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February 10, 2025

Neighbors, 

 

I deeply appreciate our federal workers and contractors, as well as individuals who are carrying out federal grants, for their public service. As a former civil servant at the US Department of Labor, I know firsthand the care, expertise, and professionalism with which you serve our nation — Thank you. 

I recognize this is an incredibly stressful and concerning time as we see an intentional denigration and dismantling of our federal workforce, putting your livelihood and life’s work at risk. Below, I am providing information about a new bipartisan special committee that will look at the impacts of the federal workforce and funding reductions on Virginia. Please do not hesitate to reach out if I can help connect you to assistance or your federal representatives. 

I am focusing my newsletter this week on Senate Bill 982, which would allow the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to have a referendum to build a casino in Tysons Corner. I have received nearly 700 letters from constituents on this issue and share below my concerns about this legislation. 

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

  • Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions

  • Senate Bill 982 “Fairfax Casino Bill”

  • Town Halls

    • Virtual Session Town Hall This Tuesday, 2/11

    • Annual Transportation Town Hall with VDOT, 3/4

  • Legislative Update

    • Joint House and Senate Democratic Caucus Press Conference

    • My Legislative Agenda

  • Transportation Update

    • VDOT Rolling Road Expansion Meeting on 2/19

  • Winter Weather 

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

Emergency Committee on the Impacts of the Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions

Speaker Don Scott announced the creation of a bipartisan Emergency Committee on the Impacts of Federal Workforce and Funding Reductions.

Nearly 145,000 federal civilian employees live in Virginia, and thousands more are federal contractors or work for nonprofit organizations funded by federal grants. The proposed blanket cuts to federal agencies and federal spending is stressful for many constituents and people across Virginia. 

The new committee is the first of its kind in the nation. It will be chaired by Democratic Delegate David Bulova and co-chaired by Republican Delegate Rob Bloxom. The committee will assess and give recommendations on how we can help impacted workers and communities, maintain essential services, and safeguard Virginia’s economy.

If you or someone you know is facing hardship because of the federal actions and need assistance with unemployment insurance or other supportive services, please do not hesitate to contact my office for assistance connecting with Virginia unemployment

Senate Bill 982 “Fairfax Casino Bill”

Many constituents have reached out to me regarding Senate Bill (SB) 982 — This bill would provide the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors with the option to hold a voter referendum on building a casino in Tysons Corner. This bill passed the state Senate by a vote of 24-16 and now is before the House of Delegates.

If this bill comes to the floor of the House of Delegates, I will vote no. I have arrived at this decision through careful deliberation, including input from my constituents and conversations with various stakeholders.

 

Background on Casino Gambling in Virginia

In 2019, the General Assembly passed legislation to allow five cities across the Commonwealth to hold voter referendums on establishing a casino in their communities:  Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Richmond.

These cities are economically distressed, either with high unemployment rates, high levels of poverty, or significant population loss. Each of these local governments asked the state legislature to allow casino gambling as a form of economic development.

 In 2020, the General Assembly passed legislation requiring the approved localities to complete key analysis before they are able issue a voter referendum on building a casino, including:

  • Conduct a comprehensive assessment  to determine whether having a casino is a benefit to their community. 

  • Thoroughly vet potential casino gaming operators before selecting a preferred operator, including the operator’s financial health, potential revenue, and security plans.

 The Cities of Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth all followed this process and their voters approved the construction of a casino in their communities. Richmond also followed the process, but its voters rejected a casino via two separate referendums.

 In 2024, at the request of the City Council of Petersburg, the General Assembly approved legislation to replace the City of Richmond with the City of Petersburg as a locality that is able to construct a casino if it follows the same process as the other approved localities and if its voters support a referendum. 


My Concerns with SB982

SB982 has generated enormous interest among my constituents and residents across Fairfax County, and the vast majority of outreach to my office has been in opposition to this bill. For example, of the nearly 700 constituents that have emailed me to date about this legislation, over 94 percent oppose the bill. 

Public support for a community-changing economic development project like this one is fundamental to the project’s success, and it is clear that the majority of my constituents and the county residents do not support it.

I share many concerns with opponents of this bill and highlight a few below:

  • The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is not asking for the authority to hold a referendum.

  • This legislation specifies the location of the casino, bypassing local land use authority. 

In a letter dated January 26, 2025 to the Virginia legislature, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay underscored that the board did not seek the authority to put a casino referendum on the ballot, nor was the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors involved in the development of this concept by stakeholders or the bill sponsor.

 

Chairman McKay noted:

“Unlike other jurisdictions that received the authority to hold a referendum to host a casino, Fairfax County did not seek such authority and has not been substantively involved in the development of the casino concept envisioned by stakeholders and the patron of the legislation.”

 

Approving the ability for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to hold a referendum on a casino would be unprecedented as they have not asked for this authority – In 2019 and 2024, the General Assembly approved a limited number of localities to hold a referendum on building a casino after they each requested that authority. 

Additionally, this process bypasses local land use decision-making. In Virginia, by and large, land use is under the purview of local governments. I generally agree with this approach, as our local leaders are best able to determine what type of economic development projects should be pursued in their communities.

However, SB982 specifies that if a referendum is approved, then the casino shall only be built in Tysons Corner: 

“[Fairfax County] shall be limited to a proposed site for a casino gaming establishment that is (i) located within one-quarter of a mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line, (ii) part of a coordinated mixed-use project development consisting of no less than 1.5 million square feet, (iii) within two miles of a regional enclosed mall containing not less than 1.5 million square feet of gross building area, and (iv) outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway.”

In his letter to the General Assembly, Chairman McKay addresses Tysons Corner as a potential location for a casino. He is clear that Tysons is flourishing:

“A stated rationale for the legislation is the need to revitalize Tysons. While the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shift to remote/hybrid work has, of course, impacted Fairfax County’s commercial office market, we feel the need to emphasize that Tysons and especially the Class A office space in close proximity to Tysons’ four Silver Line Metro stations continue to thrive. Tysons continues to attract new corporations and create new jobs. Tysons has a blossoming entertainment district, anchored by Capital One Hall, a premier performing arts venue, and a state-of-the-art baseball stadium.”

 

Particularly for an economic development project of this scale, the local government should comprehensively engage community residents to gain their input and conduct analysis on impacts to traffic and transportation infrastructure, affordable and workforce housing, environment, etc. Unfortunately, SB982 circumvents many of these important steps by pre-selecting a site without any community input or impact analysis.


Education Funding and Workforce

An argument that I have heard from advocates in favor of the legislation is the casino’s projected tax revenue would increase funding for Fairfax County Public Schools. 

As a mother of four FCPS students, I strongly support fully funding our schools. I am proud that in the most-recent biennial budget, the General Assembly invested an historic $27.4 billion in education. This includes additional funding for students who are English language learners and for students who are in poverty. 

This year, our proposed budget in the House of Delegates includes new funding for students in special education. We also included funding to fully cover the state’s share of support staff, which will allow schools to hire more reading specialists, counselors, and other individuals that help our students receive the academic support they need. 

We have more work to do to fully fund our schools and pay our teachers at the national average, and each year we are taking significant steps to reach these goals.  

Proponents of SB982 have also argued that the casino would deliver high-paying, union jobs to Fairfax County. While I have not seen an independent analysis of the casino’s projected job creation, I agree that project labor agreements, labor peace, and unionized jobs are critical aspects of economic development. 

I have been a strong champion of collective bargaining, and in fact am sponsoring the bill for the second year to expand collective bargaining for our public sector workers. I remain committed to pushing for every Virginian to have a good-paying job with benefits and that workers have a seat at the table.

Town Halls

Thank you to everyone who joined me for the Virginia Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus Town Hall this weekend — I hope to see you at my two upcoming virtual town halls!

Virtual Session Town Hall This Tuesday, 2/11

Delegate Kathy Tran’s Virtual Session Town Hall

Tuesday, February 11

6:30pm

Register here: https://bit.ly/2025SessionTownHall 

I'll be sharing the latest news from Richmond, including updates on my legislative agenda and the budget — I look forward to seeing you!

Annual Transportation Town Hall with VDOT, 3/4

Delegate Kathy Tran’s Virtual Transportation Town Hall with VDOT

Tuesday, March 4

6:30pm

Register here: https://bit.ly/2025TranTransportation 

 

Join me at my annual Virtual Transportation Town Hall with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)! VDOT will be providing updates on snow and severe weather response and major transportation projects in our district:

Legislative Updates

Joint House and Senate Democratic Caucus Press Conference

My House and Senate Democratic colleagues and I held a press conference to discuss our vision for Virginia and give an update at the midpoint of the legislative session.


My Legislative Agenda

Last week, we reached the critical “Crossover” deadline of the legislative session. This means that all bills that were initially introduced in the House of Delegates and state Senate needed to have been considered and voted on in their respective chambers and then “cross over” to the other Chamber. 

I am proud that 10 of my bills have passed the House of Delegates and are now under consideration in the state Senate! You can see an update on the status of my legislative agenda on my website here.

Transportation Updates

VDOT Rolling Road Expansion Meeting on 2/19

VDOT will be holding a “Pardon Our Dust Meeting” to discuss the upcoming work they will be doing on the Rolling Road expansion project. The meeting will be held in-person at 6:30pm on February 19 at Irving Middle School.

Winter Weather

We anticipate more snow and winter weather this week, and I encourage you and your family to prepare ahead of time. For more information, you can find inclement weather resources on my website.