Dear friends,

Today, the General Assembly reconvened to consider Governor Youngkin's actions on bills that passed the 2025 Legislative Session before it adjourned on February 22nd.

Four of my bills were vetoed:

SB 848 Age restriction for purchase of firearms
SB 891 Waiting periods for firearm purchases
SB 919 Protections for public transit employees
SB 1009 Expands Ranked Choice Voting Pilot

Overturning a veto requires a two-thirds majority vote in the chamber, and unfortunately none of these four bills were able to meet that high hurdle today.

1 of my bills was amended:

SB 1165 Solar Power & VA Public Procurement Act

While the Governor’s amendments are somewhat inconsistent with the original bill, this compromise represents a small but important step forward for solar power. Solar technology is the key to realizing cheap, abundant energy, and this bill will ensure American-made clean energy technology can compete equally for business in Virginia. I'm pleased that we were able to find a bipartisan compromise to move this bill forward. With the Governor's amendment SB 1165 passed the Senate 40-0.

Six of my bills were already signed by the Governor:

SB 920 Defines throat cancer for Workers Comp.
SB 939 Increased penalty for mail theft.
SB 1011 Adds Falls Church to Affordable Dwelling Unit Program
SB 1166 Labeling of invasive plants for sale
SB 1169 Reduced regulatory burdens for the Marine Resources Commission.
SB 1406 Improved communication between the Children’s Ombudsman and foster youth.

Fundraising Event

I hope you will join me this coming Sunday for my Second Annual Eid Celebration Dinner on April 6th, 2025 at 6 PM, in the City of Fairfax. If you haven't already reserved a ticket I hope you will consider joining us for this special evening of community togetherness.

RSVP

Donate

Community Service

Urgent need for blood donors – type O blood donors needed immediately

The Inova Health System's blood inventory for Type O blood critically low. Donors of all blood types are apprecited, but a boost to the supply of Type O will help patients in need significantly. Call 1-866-BLOODSAVES (1-866-256-6372) or visit inovablood.org to schedule an appointment.

Beginning on Saturday, April 5th, the Capital Area Food Bank will be holding pop-up food distributions twice a week. These pop-up distributions will offer pantry items and fresh produce on Thursdays from 5 – 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 – 11 a.m., or while supplies last each day. The distributions can be found in the parking lots of the following retail locations:

Giant: 6364a Springfield Plaza in Springfield, Virginia

Safeway: 4215 Cheshire Station Plaza in Dale City, Virginia

Learn more about this effort by going to capitalareafoodbank.org/dmv-help. Anyone interested in volunteering with this organization can click here to learn more.

Trump Watch

Our community continues to be impacted by the Trump administration's reductions the federal workforce including recent activities targeting the Department of Education and massive layoffs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In addition to the resources linked below I hope you will reach out to my office at [email protected] if you are dealing with these or other challenges and are in need of information or assistance.

Resources (PDF)

Resources (Web)

As always it is an honor to continue to represent you.

Sincerely,