Session Begins: We Are Hopeful

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Dear Friend,

The first day of session still feels a bit like the first day of school, it’s filled with excitement, hope and possibilities. With new members in the Senate comprising nearly 1/3 of the body and the move to our new, state-of-the-art office building on Capitol Square, this week’s session launch was even more exciting than usual. Our freshman class of Senators brings an unprecedented diversity of perspectives that can only enrich and expand our understanding of the needs of all Virginians.

I started my week standing with our Senate Democratic Caucus to announce our priorities. Democrats remain in the majority in the Senate this year and are thrilled that the November elections brought us a majority in the House of Delegates as well. The Democrats are committed to Keeping Virginia Moving Forward. This means protecting the rights and freedoms of all Virginias and making the Commonwealth the best place to live, work, prosper and raise a family.

My priorities and those outlined by the Democratic Caucuses require continued investments in the areas of public education, workforce training, mental health, public safety and other important areas, especially if we want to ensure that publicly funded services honor the values of equity and justice. But these investments are only possible if we substantially scale back Governor Youngkin’s tax cut proposals.

As a new member of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, I will be working to improve teacher pay and to fully fund the Standards of Quality. Along with investing in public education, it is critical that we create a safety-net for low income families, so children can live in stable housing and come to school ready to learn. I will continue to work to improve the state refundable Earned Income Tax Credit. Another important priority for me is ensuring that all children from low income families have access to healthcare.

Governor Youngkin has proposals in his budget to help the consumer with the cost of child care and to create more childcare slots. This is a starting point for negotiations on this important topic. I am excited to say that my bill to allow localities to waive zoning requirements in an effort to create more child care centers in office buildings is receiving widespread support. This passed out of an Education subcommittee unanimously and will soon be on its way to the Local Government Committee.

Since this is not the year to start the constitutional amendment process (that will commence in 2025) now is the time to lay the ground-work on three important topics that we hope to place before the voters in 2026. They are: Ensuring access to Reproductive health care, Removing the ban on same-sex marriage; and Implementing automatic restoration of voting rights for ex-felons.

I am passionate about protecting a woman’s bodily autonomy so once again I am introducing a bill to protect menstrual health data stored on an app from the search warrant process. Last year, this bill received national attention after Republicans in the House defeated the bill at the request of Governor Youngkin. I am also introducing a bill to protect a woman from extradition who comes to Virginia for an abortion. This bill also protects doctors and health care providers who might provide abortion care to that woman. Virginia is the only state in the south where abortion under the Roe v Wade framework is safe and legal.

With Democrats in control of both chambers, this will be a year where we make progress on gun safety issues. I am confident that bills requiring the safe storage of firearms and banning assault style weapons will reach the Governor’s desk. I am working on a bill that will ensure that convicted offenders in assault and battery cases and those who are the subject of protective orders actually relinquish their firearms. Protecting survivors of domestic abuse and creating safe family spaces used to be a bi-partisan effort but now everything related to gun safety is a hyper-partisan issue. It will be very interesting to see if Governor Youngkin stands with 80 percent of Virginians or aligns himself with extremists.

I’ve heard from many of you on several issues and will keep your concerns in mind as I listen to the debate in the next few months. I appreciate your engagement in this process through emails and phone calls. I also appreciate the time and energy of so many constituents who travel to Richmond to advocate for the issues that they are most passionate about. This week I welcomed Moms Demand Action to my office and to the Senate gallery. Citizen advocacy is so vital to our work and important in preserving our democracy. Thank you!

As Chair of the Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, I’m proud to work with my colleagues to improve the lives of our most vulnerable citizens including children in foster care, the disabled and the elderly. On Day One of the Committee’s business I presented bills:

- To require that recovery homes for those with a substance abuse challenge report deaths in a timely manner,

- To ensure foster children have access to any federal benefits to which they are entitled so they have a small financial cushion when they age out of foster care,

- To create an ombudsman program to help individuals and families better navigate the byzantine system of state programs serving persons with disabilities and,

- To ensure that online resources are readily available to persons with disabilities transitioning from school to adulthood.

I’m pleased to report they all passed out of committee unanimously! Onward and upward.

In addition to the bills above, my legislation this session includes expanding the infrastructure for solar energy, campaign finance reform, paid sick leave for home health care workers, protecting the elderly from financial fraud and much more. For a full list of my legislation, click here.

It is an honor and privilege to represent you in Richmond.

Sincerely,