Publications

The 2023 session of the General Assembly was difficult and different from past years. Many of our bills were not even assigned to a committee for a hearing. During this legislative session, only three of my eleven bills passed out of committee and came to the floor for a vote. Thankfully they passed. All three bills have already been signed into law by the Governor! I am grateful to all of my constituents and the many others who reached out to support my efforts during this legislative session.

As Virginia Women Veterans Week comes to an end, I want to express my gratitude for the 110,000 women veterans who call Virginia home. This week, I attended numerous events to recognize and celebrate our women veterans. I visited the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington to hear from Jessica Lynch, who was held as a prisoner of war in Iraq. Her story of courage and survival was inspiring and unforgettable.

This week, I went to Richmond for the historic unveiling ceremony of the official portrait of Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn. From 2020-2022, Delegate Filler-Corn served as the 56th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates.  She was the first woman and the first person of Jewish faith to serve as Speaker in the 400-year history of the Commonwealth's legislature. She will once again make history when the first portrait of a woman is hung in the House Chamber. Congratulations to Delegate Filler-Corn on this momentous achievement. It is ironic that we celebrate this milestone during Women’s History Month.

Last night, Senator Tim Kaine and I joined my good friend and colleague Delegate Rip Sullivan to kick off his campaign. Delegate Sullivan is running to represent you in the newly-drawn 6th House District. I have been your delegate for over 9 years, and it has been an honor to represent you in the Virginia House of Delegates. I could not think of a better person to fill my seat than Delegate Sullivan. I hope he will have your full support in the upcoming General Assembly elections.

It has been rewarding to introduce impactful legislation each year to improve the lives of my constituents - sometimes in big ways, other times small. I have passed bills targeting gun safety, hazing prevention, expanding broadband, increasing safety in schools, improving healthcare for people with rare diseases, supporting the needs of veterans (especially our women veterans), and so much more. It has been equally frustrating to have meaningful legislation die simply because my party was not in the majority.

We have finally wrapped up the 2023 regular session of the General Assembly. Throughout this session, I worked hard to respond to the needs of my constituents. In this session, only three of the eleven bills I proposed managed to pass. It isn’t unusual for the party in the majority to table the bills offered by members of the minority.  In addition to my two bills that passed through both houses last week, my third bill, HB2224 passed through the Senate. HB2224 directs the Department of Health and the Department of General Services to convene a work group to evaluate the current funding model for the Commonwealth's newborn screening program. All three of my bills will now make their way to the Governor who will sign them into law.

It is hard to believe that only one week is left of the 2023 legislative session. I am excited to share that two of my bills have passed unanimously through both chambers of the General Assembly! HB2080 creates a special license plate to honor women veterans. HB2077 requires all attorneys who assist veterans with VA-related claims and appeals processes to provide a written disclosure informing all clients of the free services provided by the Department of Veterans Services for service members, veterans, and their families. These bills will now make their way to the Governor who will sign them into laws.

Today marks the end of our fifth week in the 2023 legislative session of the Virginia General Assembly. We have finally heard all of the bills offered by members of the House of Delegates and will now take up the bills that were passed by the Senate. Some of these bills are identical to those offered in the House, but many are unique to each chamber.

This week marks the end of our first month in the 2023 legislative session of the Virginia General Assembly. We are now preparing for “Crossover” which begins next week. During Crossover, the House considers the bills that have passed in the Senate, and the Senate takes up bills that have passed in the House.

This week marked the end of our third week in this session of the General Assembly here in Richmond.  We have reviewed and voted on dozens of bills that have been offered in the different committees. While many bills have made their way through Subcommittees and moved on to the Full Committees, we still have a long way to go. Most of our debates take place in the Full Committees before they reach the House floor for a vote. So far I have had one bill make its way through the whole process. It is a bipartisan bill to create a license plate to honor our Women Veterans. I am still waiting to have the rest of my bills heard in the various Subcommittees where they have to pass before moving on to the floor for final passage. Most of the debates take place in the Full Committees. Bills that don’t pass there won’t make it to the floor for consideration by the full House.