Newsletter Week of 2/13/2023

Dear Friend,

There is just one week left in the 2023 Legislative Session! We are making strong progress towards getting my two bills that passed the House through the Senate. The House and the Senate have each passed their own versions of the state budget, and are now reconciling the differences between the two. The big difference between these two budgets is funding for education versus funding tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Virginians. The Senate dedicated $1 billion to school funding to give our teachers raises, hire additional instructional positions, remove the cap on state funding of school support positions, and more. The House budget instead dedicated $1 billion to tax cuts. Corporations would get over $350 million in tax breaks and pay a lower tax rate than hard-working Virginians, with the majority of households getting less than $50 from these changes. These tax cuts would not only result in less money this year for vital services like schools, roads, and healthcare, but the costs of these tax cuts would balloon next year, resulting in even less funding for services. Our tax system should be fair – and it should reward hard work, with everyone paying their fair share. A full table with details on the budget is included below.

My Current Bills:

HB2424 - This bill will increase access to interpreters in civil proceedings for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. I am happy to announce that it unanimously passed the State Senate on Wednesday. Companion legislation originally introduced in the State Senate unanimously passed the House of Delegates on Thursday, meaning that this bill is well on its way to becoming law!

HB2492 - Ensures that Virginia's Disability Board remains in compliance with federal law so that Virginia doesn't lose out on millions of dollars in federal funds. I presented this bill to the Senate Committee on Rules today and I’m happy to say that it passed unanimously!

SB852 - I was proud to be Chief Co-Patron to Senator Barbara Favola's bill to protect menstrual health data from being used against Virginians in the push to criminalize abortion. While the bill passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote, it died in the House. This bill has garnered national attention including an article in The Washington Post and a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

As a reminder, the status of all legislation can be checked at https://lis.virginia.gov/.

Updates:

Last Saturday I hosted my first town hall with Senator Chap Petersen! We had a strong turnout and I enjoyed answering questions from the constituents who came out to the Vienna Police Station. We discussed some of the most important issues facing our community, such as education and the economy. I look forward to hosting more of these events in the future!

This week we celebrated Valentine’s Day in the General Assembly - which is a BIG DEAL! Here is a picture from our office wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day!

Great to see my friend Dr. Angela Henderson in Richmond advocating for SB1503 - the creation of a social work advisory board. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass the House, but she will be back again next year!

This week, I was honored to meet with representatives from Melwood. They do great work supporting children, youth, and adults with disabilities.

Loved having my son visit me in Richmond for the day! He joined the members in the chamber, learned about the history of Virginia, and even got to attend a House vs, Senate basketball game at VCU!

I was fortunate to attend a "Women In Banking" event hosted by Capital One last week with my constituents, Maggie Lytton and Dora Gougoufkas, both of which are Madison High School parents - like me!

Here is an update on the status of the legislation I have co-patroned this session:

Patron Type	Bill #	Chief Patron	​Bill Description	Status
Chief Co-Patron	HB2445	Bennett-Parker	Renews the wholesome food donation tax credit for amounts up to $10,000	Passed Senate 40-0
Chief Co-Patron	SB 852	Favola	Prohibits issuing a search warrant for the search and seizure of a computer containing menstrual data	Failed in House Committee 5-3
Co-Patron	HB 1419	Kory	Extends eligibility for the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program to the descendants of persons who were residing in jurisdictions in Virginia in which the public schools were closed to avoid desegregation between 1954 and 1964.	Passed Senate 40-0
Co-Patron	HB 1520	Simonds	Places certain restrictions on railroad companies to increase safety	Failed in Subcommittee 4-3
Co-Patron	HB 1566	Rasoul	Requires teachers to be paid at or above the national average	Left in House Appropriations Committee
Co-Patron	HB 1604	Ware	​Directs the State Corporation Commission to order reductions to base rates charged by utility companies provided that the companies are making unreasonable profits	Passed Senate Committee 14-0
Co-Patron	HB 1631	Bulova	Allows emergency dispatchers to claim workers' compensation benefits relating to PTSD	Failed in Appropriations Subcommittee 4-3
Co-Patron	HB 1759	Reid	Creates a workgroup to study how to improve Virginia for veterans	Passed Senate Committee 16-0
Co-Patron	HB1852	Subramanyam	Directs the Commission on School Construction and Modernization to make recommendations to incorporate renewable energy generation facilities in schools	Failed in Subcommittee 6-2
Co-Patron	HB1938	Plum	Requires school boards to employ at least one full-time counselor per 1,000 students