Dear Friend,

In this week’s newsletter, I share information on the upcoming Special Session of the Virginia Senate, discuss the Youngkin administration’s efforts to reverse course on Virginia’s Clean Car Standards, provide updates on recent commission meetings, and highlight select community engagements from this past week. Thank you for reading this newsletter and staying informed. 

Next Week’s Special Session

The Senate of Virginia has been called back into Special Session next Tuesday, June 18, by its leadership: Majority Leader Scott Surovell, Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke, and President Pro Temp Louise Lucas. Members of the Senate will return to Richmond to discuss legislative and budget proposals for the Virginia Military Survivors & Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP). The Session is publicly available through the Legislative Information System (LIS). I have not yet seen the draft language for the proposal and will share more details in next week’s newsletter, following the Special Session.

The House has also been called back to Special Session by the Speaker. The House will convene on Friday, June 28, to take up the issue of VMSDEP.

Youngkin’s Actions on Virginia’s Clean Car Standards 

The United States has two emission standards for gas-fueled vehicles: federal standards as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and more stringent standards granted by federal action to California. The federal Clean Air Act allows other states to adopt California’s motor vehicle emission standards. California’s emission standards have been adopted now by 18 other states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Virginia adopted the stricter standards in 2021 in an effort to align better with the goals established by the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) and in response to the direct requests of the Virginia Automotive Dealers Association (VADA).

Last week, Governor Youngkin derailed Virginia from the vehicle emission standards established by the General Assembly by taking unilateral action in complete disregard for the law determined by legislation. Since taking office in January 2022, Youngkin repeatedly tasked GOP members of the General Assembly to introduce multiple bills to reverse course on emission standards. Each of those bills failed in committee. After his lack of success in these efforts for the past three years, Youngkin has now announced that he gets to dictate Virginia’s emission standards. He simply has no authority to do so. A governor cannot legislate his own laws simply because he thinks he knows better. The Southern Environmental Law Center has called Youngkin’s move “illegal, shortsighted and bad public policy.” 

This illegal move by Youngkin is the second such maneuver in recent months. When he could not succeed legislatively to pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), Youngkin overstepped his authority by demanding a vote to reverse course on RGGI from his own appointed Board members of the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board. That action was immediately challenged in court, and the case is still pending. 

Regardless of the outcomes of the RGGI court case and the challenges that will likely come with regard to the Clean Car Standards, Youngkin’s actions are concerning. The broad overreach of executive power, with complete disregard for legislative actions that have been signed into law, signals a contempt for our constitution, the Virginia Code, and the authority of the legislature. It also signals that Youngkin denies the science and facts of global warming, sea level rise, and the reality of climate change.

Commission Meetings

This week, I participated in the Joint Commission on Health Care Executive Subcommittee meeting, as well as the meeting of the full Commission to consider our 2024 workplan. The Commission staff continue to work on their major studies for this year:

• Performance of Health Care Workforce Programs 
• Strategies to Extend Health Care Access to Vulnerable Populations

Additionally, the 2024 workplan will include the addition of narrowly-scoped studies for Sickle Cell Disease in the Commonwealth and Anesthesia Workforce in the Commonwealth. Members also voted to include studies for the ongoing Fentanyl Crisis, and Medicaid Eligibility Criteria to be added to the upcoming 2025 workplan.

Later that day on Tuesday, I joined the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (VHWDA) for my first meeting as a newly-appointed member. I am honored to have been voted in as Vice Chair of VHWDA, with Delegate Rodney Willett serving as Chair of the Authority. VHWDA serves a critical role in ensuring that our Commonwealth has structures in place to recruit, educate, and retain a skilled, robust healthcare workforce. The work of VHWDA will align effectively this year with the work of JCHC as we try to find effective pathways for responding to the healthcare workforce shortages in the Commonwealth.

On Thursday, I also attended the Joint Annual Meeting of the Central Virginia Transportation Authority, the PlanRVA Commission, and the Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RRTPO). The meeting gave us an opportunity to identify critical factors that impact and are impacted by the transportation infrastructure in Virginia.

Select Community Engagements

Last Saturday, I joined ReEstablish Richmond and Richmond's Office of Immigrant and Refugee Engagement for Richmond’s annual Multicultural Festival. There, I presented SR 44, commending ReEstablish Richmond on its 10th Anniversary of invaluable service as it works to support our immigrant communities to resources needed to establish roots, build networks, and become self-sufficient. 

Later that afternoon, I joined the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club in Locust Grove for its annual gathering for a Summer Picnic. It was great to meet so many community members, and we also heard from Dr. Gary Greenhalgh who spoke on the issues of election integrity in Virginia.

On Thursday night, I joined the Henrico County Democratic Committee for its Summer Social. It was great to see Delegates Rodney Willett and Michael Jones, and Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor (pictured above). In this critical year, Henrico Democrats are actively sharing our message across our Metro Richmond Area communities to re-elect President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Tim Kaine and Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan. This Tuesday, Congressional candidate Leslie Mehta (pictured above) is facing a primary in the first Congressional District. I have endorsed Leslie because of her professional skills and talents, and because we simply need more women in Congress who are committed to fighting for women’s rights.

Yesterday morning, my Chief of Staff and I toured the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center and VCU Health Hume-Lee Transplant Center to learn more about their services and their efforts to provide the best in patient care, research, and education. This firsthand experience helps me to better anticipate the legislative and budget needs for high quality patient care and medical services in Virginia.

Connecting With My Office

My office can be reached at the following:

Email:  [email protected] 

Phone:  804.698.7515

If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up to receive my office’s weekly newsletter here. 

— Ghazala

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