Dear Jack,

We've concluded Week 4 of the 2020 legislative session! Many important bills were up this week, and I'm grateful to those of you who called, emailed, visited, or did all three to make your voices heard.

I celebrated my 57th birthday on Wednesday, January 29th! I received so many warm wishes for my birthday, and I appreciate all who reached out. The best gift I could receive is the opportunity to serve, and I thank you all for your support and encouragement.

Thanks to the Loudoun Education Association for stopping by on Red for Ed Day! I'm proud to stand with our teachers to fight for fair pay.

Daisy and other rescue dogs came to visit the General Assembly on Thursday! I'm proud to partner with these four-legged friends and their allies to make this a better Virginia for dogs.

Legislation Updates

Gun Safety Legislation: Virginia's House of Delegates passed seven different gun safety bills that had been blocked for decades. I'm proud to see my colleagues make progress on commonsense measures, such as:

• Enacting universal background checks on private gun sales
• Requiring an owner to report the loss or theft of a firearm within 24 hours
• Give local governments the authority to enact gun laws of their own, such as banning weapons in public buildings
• Creating a "red flag" law, or extreme risk protective order, under which authorities can temporarily seize firearms from someone deemed a threat to themselves or others.
• Limiting handgun purchases to one per month (a policy that had been in effect in Virginia until 2012)
• Tightening the law prohibiting access to firearms for someone subject to a protective order
• Making it a felony to "recklessly" leave a firearm within reach of anyone age 18 or younger, up from the current age of 14

My Legislation: Two of my bills passed the full Senate this week. One is SB 263, which ensures that concealed carry permit holders complete an in-person training - not only an online course - to demonstrate their safety and competence with a firearm, and the other is SB 345, which allows our hard-working correctional officers to attain workers' compensation that was unavailable before. On a personal note, the passing of these has made it a particularly memorable week. I've carried these two bills since I first became Delegate in 2015, and finally they've passed. I'm hopeful for the people and institutions they'll benefit.

And my animal tethering bill, SB 272, was recommended from subcommittee and will move on to the full committee. (Prince William Times)

District News

Improvement work continues on I-66/VA 28. The express lanes are scheduled to open in 2022. (InsideNoVA)

Our district's own, Ashburn Village, was featured as part of the "Where We Live" series in The Washington Post.

Upcoming Events

AARP Tax Aide Program: Monday, February 3; Starting at 10am; Bull Run Regional Library, Manassas, VA.

As always, feel free to reach out to my office anytime with any concerns or questions you may have. My office’s number in Richmond is (804) 698-7513 and our office's email address is [email protected].

Sincerely,