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Town Hall Meeting and Budget Amendments

1/30/2025

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

First and foremost, our hearts grieve for the victims of the tragic plane crash at Reagan National Airport. Earlier today, Fairfax County Public Schools announced that the victims include members of our community. Keep these families in your thoughts and prayers. The General Assembly has been briefed by the Governor – and we are grateful for our first responders who are at the scene.

It is hard to believe we have reached the three-week mark of the 2025 General Assembly session. This week has been incredibly busy – but in a good way! My days are filled with committee and subcommittee meetings as well as visits from constituents advocating on behalf of many important issues. So far, I have gotten eight of my bills through the full House. Several more are awaiting final committee action later this week. More to come in my next newsletter. Our deadline for acting on all House bills is next Tuesday, which is known as “cross-over.” At that point, we all take a deep breath and start the process again by considering Senate bills.

TOWN HALL MEETING

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at my annual Town Hall meeting this Saturday, February 1. The meeting will be held from 9-11 AM at the City of Fairfax City Hall. We will be joined by State Senator Saddam Salim. The Town Hall will include an overview of the session, our legislative initiatives, and lots of time for Q&A.

BUDGET AMENDMENTS

Last week, I highlighted my legislative initiatives. This week I wanted to provide an overview of my proposed budget amendments. Virginia is relatively unique in that it operates on a two-year budget cycle. This biennial approach helps with long-term planning and keeps the budget structurally balanced. We are now in the second year of the biennium.

At this point in the session we are all filled with hope! That may change on Sunday when the House and Senate will announce their proposed budget packages. But until then we can all dream that our budget amendments will pass muster. Below are a few of my introduced budget amendments:

K-12 School Funding – Item 125 #2h. A recent Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report revealed just how much the state is underfunding K-12 education. This has a direct impact on property taxes in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. This budget item lifts Great Recession era cuts and will restore $222.9M to directly support our schools.
Early Childhood Education – Item 125.1 #1h. Virginia has made great strides toward making early childhood care and education more affordable and accessible. Quality childcare is not only important for our littlest learners, but also a vital part of our economy. While we have made progress, we still have a waiting list of over 10,000 children from low-income families. This budget item provides $160M to significantly increase available slots.
Virginia Housing Trust Fund – Item 102 #7h. Virginia is facing an affordable housing crisis. A recent JLARC report estimates that Virginia needs to build at least 200,000 affordable rental units to address demand. This budget item adds $160M to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, which is a flexible fund used to increase and preserve affordable housing as well as to prevent homelessness.
Affordable Housing Development for Underutilized Land – Item 102 #3h. Related to the above, non-profit organizations, including faith-based communities, often have underutilized land that could be converted to affordable housing. We have a great example in the City of Fairfax at the Fairfax Presbyterian Church. This budget item would provide grants to help non-profit organizations navigate the zoning process and develop feasibility studies.
PFAS Testing Capability – Item 68 #1h. PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” are a serious and growing environmental and human health concern. As we work to find and eliminate the sources of PFAS in our water, we need to increase our PFAS testing capabilities. This item adds $2.1 million for the Department of General Services Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services to increase testing capacity.
GMU Operating Support – Item 151 #3h. This budget item provides an additional $18M for George Mason University. GMU is the largest university in Virginia and is a critical part of our economy. However, it has among the lowest per-pupil support of any Virginia institution of higher education.
Invasive Species Management – Item 360 #2h. This budget item provides $450K each year to support invasive plant species mitigation and control in our state parks. These invasive plants cause billions of dollars a year in economic and ecological damage.
New Oak Hill State Park – Item 360 #3h. Virginia is the birthplace to eight Presidents of the United States (bonus points if you can name all of them!). We have a rare opportunity to bring the home of President James Monroe into our state park system. This is an incredibly well-preserved property situated on over 1,000 acres in Loudoun County.
Stormwater Local Assistance Fund – Item C-53 #1h. Improving the quality of stormwater runoff from urban areas (parking lots, roads, and other impervious surfaces) is a key component to restoring local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. This budget item adds $50M for the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund to help local governments implement stormwater quality projects.
Wastewater Treatment Upgrades – Item 365 #1h. This budget item increases funding by $31.1M to reduce pollution from our wastewater treatment plants – which is important both for public health and restoring the Chesapeake Bay.
State Parks Maintenance – Item C-29.30 #2h. We are blessed to have an amazing state park system in Virginia. Unfortunately, we face a huge maintenance backlog. “Maintenance by emergency” is not only bad for users of the system, it is also an inefficient use of tax dollars. This budget item adds $45M for maintenance, which is about 10% of the total need.

Click here to see all my budget amendments and stay tuned for my next Focus on Fairfax for an overview of the proposed House budget.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you! I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the Town Hall meeting.

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2025 General Assembly Begins and My Legislation

1/10/2025

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Happy New Year, and greetings from… Fairfax!

The 2025 General Assembly gaveled in this past Wednesday. Normally, I would say greetings from Richmond! But the beginning of this year’s session has been anything but normal. On Tuesday, the City of Richmond water system failed due to the winter storm – with much of the City losing water pressure and other parts under a boil water alert. The Capitol Building and General Assembly Building both had to close. As a result, we convened at noon on Wednesday to open the session and then recessed until next Monday. So, back to Fairfax I went to conduct the session’s business virtually.

As an aside, please keep the people of Richmond in mind – it has been a rough few days. This is also a great lesson in why it is so important to invest in our capital infrastructure.

TOWN HALL MEETING - SAVE THE DATE!

I am pleased to continue a time-honored local tradition – our annual mid-session Town Hall meeting. This year’s gathering will be on Saturday, February 1 from 9-11 a.m. at the City of Fairfax City Hall. We will be joined by State Senator Saddam Salim. The Town Hall will include an overview of the session, our legislative initiatives, and lots of time for Q&A.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

With 1,271 bills introduced so far, and more expected before next Monday’s filing deadline, we rely on our committee system to thoroughly vet bills. This year, I am pleased to serve on three committees:

General Laws. I serve as chair of General Laws, which covers a diverse range of issues. These include alcohol, gaming, cannabis, procurement, administrative processes, Freedom of Information Act, housing (including HOAs/condo associations), consumer protection, and the regulation of professions and occupations (everything from barbers to architects and engineers).
Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources. This committee covers most environmental issues, with the exception of energy. I serve as chair of the Chesapeake subcommittee.
Appropriations. This committee is responsible for the Commonwealth’s $177.4 billion biennial budget. Any bill that has a fiscal impact ultimately gets referred to Appropriations. I serve as chair of the Commerce, Agriculture, and Natural Resources subcommittee. Click here for an overview of the budget and the Governor’s proposed amendments for the 2025 session.

MY LEGISLATION

This year, I am pleased to introduce 13 bills. Many of these bills are the result of work by commissions that meet between sessions. For example, three bills are recommendations of the Housing Commission, of which I am a member. Below are highlights of my legislation.

HB1701 – Housing Opportunity Tax Credit. Virginia is facing a crisis in the availability of affordable housing. A recent Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report estimated a shortage of at least 200,000 affordable rental units. In 2020, Virginia enacted the Housing Opportunity Tax Credit program to leverage private investment in affordable housing. This program has been very successful and is currently oversubscribed (meaning there is more interest than the availability of credits). It is also set to expire in June 2025 without General Assembly action. HB1701 extends the program another five years and increases the amount of available tax credits.
HB1702 – Urban Public-Private Partnership Redevelopment Fund. A challenge faced by many of our cities (and even older suburbs) is the lack of developable land for affordable housing and the high cost of redevelopment. HB1702 creates a grant program to help local governments assemble, plan, clear, and remediate sites for the purpose of promoting them for private redevelopment.
HB1705 – Disability Benefits for Emergency Dispatchers. A 2023 study commissioned by the General Assembly confirmed that emergency dispatchers have one of the most mentally stressful jobs. While local dispatchers hired after 2014 have mental health benefits, those hired before that time do not have mental health benefits - including the impacts of PTSD. HB1705 makes sure that all of our dispatchers can get the help they need when suffering mental health issues.
HB1706 – Resale Disclosure for Aircraft Noise. HB1704 is a consumer protection measure designed to give potential home buyers information about local airports and likely aircraft noise. The bill requires a disclosure statement that directs the home buyer to a website with information on noise exposure maps. While large airports like Dulles continue to grow, so too do regional airports like Manassas and Leesburg. Having the tools to assess potential noise impacts is very important when deciding to make such a huge investment.
HB1707 – Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund. Most contractors are honest and work hard. Unfortunately, there are also bad eggs who don’t complete work or otherwise engage in dishonest conduct. That is why we have a Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund. All licensed contractors pay into the fund to assist victims of improper or dishonest conduct. The recovery amounts, however, have not been increased since 2010. HB1707 updates the payment levels to ensure that victims are not left holding the bag for dishonest conduct.
HB1711 – Mass Violence Care Fund. I still vividly remember April 16, 2007 when 32 people were killed and 17 others were injured in the Virginia Tech shooting. Sadly, many more mass violence events have occurred since then, including in Virginia. Spearheaded by the parents of Virginia Tech shooting victims, the General Assembly set aside $10M to assist survivors of mass violence and their families with unreimbursed medical expenses. HB1711 is the result of a year-long study about how to structure the fund and claims process. I am honored to play a role in making this fund a reality.
HB2036 – Street Takeover and Exhibition Driving. HB2036 provides our law enforcement with stronger tools to deal with the recent surge in street takeovers and exhibition driving. This extremely dangerous practice was caught on video by Fairfax County Police and highlighted by several local news outlets. While police can seek enhanced penalties for racing, including vehicle impoundment, no such enhanced penalties exist for street takeovers and exhibition driving. This bill, which is a priority of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, provides for enhanced enforcement tools to make our streets safer.
HB2037 – Parking Lot Solar Canopies. HB2037 gives local governments the authority to require installation of solar canopies for any development proposing 100 parking spaces or more. While solar energy is a vital part of Virginia’s future energy mix, there is also widespread concern about utility-scale solar replacing farmland. This bill gives our urban areas a way to be part of the solution while not impacting the number of parking spots. Plus, it keeps your care cooler in the hot weather! A great example of this approach is at the Commanders Stadium, where 8,000 panels generate two megawatts at peak power (~20% of game day power).
HB2050 – Occoquan Reservoir PFAS Reduction Program. PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” are a growing concern for health and the environment. While the U.S. EPA recently adopted maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS in drinking water, they (and state regulations) lag far behind on preventing sources of PFAS. This has caused a serious problem for Fairfax Water, which has detected elevated levels of PFAS in its Occoquan Reservoir intake. Either they must spend hundreds of millions in plant upgrades or find and eliminate sources of PFAS. If forced to do the former, water customers will see a significant rise in bills. I, for one, believe in the concept of polluter pays. HB2050 establishes a PFAS monitoring program so that sources can be identified and eliminated.

You can see all my legislation by clicking here.

Next week, budget amendments! In addition to legislation, I have introduced several budget amendments. These include funding for K-12 education, early childhood education, George Mason University tuition moderation, affordable housing, invasive plant species, parks maintenance, stormwater quality, and more!

It is an honor to serve you!

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Town Hall Meeting and Budget Amendments

2025 General Assembly Begins and My Legislation

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