Boysko Bulletin: Session Prep - Getting Ready for Richmond |
Dear Friend,
As promised during the 2025 elections, the incoming Spanberger Administration, House, and Senate Democrats will be prioritizing policies that make life more affordable, strengthen economic stability, and ensure every Virginian has access to the tools they need to build a secure future. This early action reflects months of outreach, community conversations, and feedback from Virginians who are calling for meaningful relief and long-term solutions. Voters will see bills pertaining to housing affordability, economic fairness, and health and education access. My bill SB2 is on our priority list. It will establish a Paid Family and Medical Leave insurance program.
There are six bills I have sponsored for years that have been passed by the House and the Senate but vetoed repeatedly by Governor Youngkin. I will be reintroducing them. - Paid Family and Medical Leave will establish a universal PFML insurance program to provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave for employees
-
safe gun storage to require that guns are locked up in homes where children and prohibited persons are present
- a bill to protect people with intellectual and developmental and mental health disabilities, providing an affirmative defense to a charge of assault or assault and battery where the behavior was the result of the disability, when there is a physical contact with police officers when the officer is not harmed in the interaction
-
a bill updating Virginia's Equal Pay Act to ban employers from asking for or using wage history to set wages
- a bill that would allow for the regulation of psilocybin in Virginia only after it is approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and rescheduled by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) at the federal level to treat those suffering with PTSD and other mental health issues, especially drug-resistant depression in clinical settings
-
a bill to strengthen protections for captive-born mammalian wildlife by making it unlawful/illegal to prematurely separate nursing babies from their mothers.
In addition, I am chief patron of SJ1 the Constitutional Amendment to establish the fundamental freedom to access the full scope of reproductive healthcare that includes contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage management, and abortion.
I will also bring back an anti-rent gouging bill that will give localities additional tools to protect their residents from extremely high rent increases. I will bring back a bill to supplement pay for our National Board Certified teachers and staff, with additional pay for those working in Title I schools. I will carry anti-bullying legislation to establish policies in our private k-12 schools similar to the work I have done over the years at the public school and college level to reduce bullying and hazing. I will be carrying some healthcare-related bills, environmental protection bills, victim protection, and criminal justice reform bills as well.
To answer your question about the Tyson’s Casino issue, nothing has changed. It’s my understanding that the bill will be re-introduced. I have not changed my strong opposition to the proposal. In poll after poll, as well as feedback I regularly receive in my community, there continues to be overwhelmingly strong opposition among voters, especially in Dranesville and Hunter Mill, communities I represent. Rarely has there been a more unifying issue bringing Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters together than in saying No to a Casino in Northern Fairfax County.
There are so many other urgent issues that the General Assembly must address around affordability, education, healthcare, transportation and changes in federal funding. I look forward to addressing the real issues facing our voters and to a productive 2026 session focusing on the needs and priorities of the people of our Commonwealth. |
You are invited to share your thoughts at a town hall on December 18 at 6:30 pm with Delegates Irene Shin and Karen Keys-Gamarra and me. Please rsvp to receive the address: http://bit.ly/dec18townhall. Kindest regards, |
Jennifer B. Boysko Member, Senate of Virginia
Representing the 38th Senate District making up the northernmost portions of Fairfax County (Great Falls, Herndon, McLean, Reston, WolfTrap, parts of unincorporated Vienna and a slice of Falls Church) PS If you would like to support my work, please visit my fundraising page.
Photo Gallery |
Holiday Open House for Supervisor Alcorn's Hunter Mill District |
Just a few of the many meetings with advocates to work on legislation and learn more about their 2026 General Assembly Session priorities
|
2025 Reston Town Center Parade |
Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee Meeting at Radford University - including a visit from Governor Elect Spanberger |
2025 Virginia Commission on Civic Education Teacher Summit
Senator Boysko serves as Chair of the Commission which welcomed nearly 150 educators from around the Commonwealth. The presenters discussed election analysis, the role of media in elections, interpretation of news, and the use of museum resources for teaching civic education. |
Take Your Legislator to School Visits: Hutchinson Elementary School, Terraset Elementary School and Dogwood Elementary School. Senator Boysko met with students, teachers, school board members Robyn Lady and Melanie Meren, and administrators. She met with Assistant Principal White who worked with her to pass anti hazing legislation for both higher education institutions and for high school students. |
Senator Boysko joined community members at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial event to thank our veterans for their service. |
Senator Boysko enjoyed spending time at the 2025 Fairfax County Kimchi Festival |
Long Day at the Polls, worth every minute - much thanks to the candidates and their staff, election day volunteers, and you - the voters! Hope to see you in Richmond as we work to deliver on promises made. |
Legislative Updates
Work continues on my 2026 legislative slate. We are limited to 25 bills plus any bills recommended by a commission. So far, I have introduced one bill and one resolution - two of my highest priorities. I have drafted more than 30 bills and will introduce 26 total and then transfer the rest to other legislators. The final changes are due by early January and most bills will be filed by the opening day of session, January 14th.
SB2 Paid family and medical leave insurance program; definitions, notice requirements, civil action
Status: In Committee
SJ1 Constitutional amendment; fundamental right to reproductive freedom (second reference). Status: In Committee
I’ve been meeting with advocates in Richmond and in my district office and virtually. Please reach out to me by email at [email protected] if you would like to share your priorities. Be Prepared - Storm Resources While we've not had the snow that has fallen in other parts of Virginia, it's always good to be prepared. National Weather Service website
VDOT Road Conditions: http://www.511virginia.org/ or the 511 mobile app for traffic conditions and lane closures.
VDOT Report a Road Problem: https://my.vdot.virginia.gov/myVDOT
More Winter Info from VDOT Police, Fire, Ambulance Emergency: call or text 911 Public Safety Non-Emergency: (703) 691-2131 | TTY (703) 204-2264
Report and Check on Power Outages: Dominion Energy or call 1 (866)-366-4357 | TTY 711 Washington Gas: 1 (800)-752-7520 or (703) 750-7944 | TTY 711
NOVEC (Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative): 1 (888)-335-0500 or (703) 335-0500 | TTY 711 Fairfax Water: 703-698-5800, after hours: 703-698-5613
Customers can now visit WMATA.com/Snow for constant, up-to-the-minute updates on the status of all bus routes and maps of bus detours. Each route listed will show Regular Service, Snow Detour, or Temporarily Suspended. Customers are encouraged to bookmark the site for future reference. |
Transportation Updates
Earn Rewards with VDOT’s GoMyWayVA™ Mobile App
The mobile app incentivizes and rewards commuters and travelers who change their travel patterns in a way that helps improve the efficiency of the transportation network as a whole and benefits those traveling from, to, or through northern Virginia. These behavioral changes are especially critical during traffic incidents, construction delays, and peak congestion periods to help maintain network mobility. The new mobile app aims to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion in northern Virginia by incentivizing commuters to:
- Change Travel Modes: Shift from single-occupancy vehicles to more transportation network efficient options like public transit, carpooling, vanpooling, biking, or walking.
- Change Route or Departure Times: Modify travel plans to bypass and ease congestion.
“What truly sets this app apart is its ability to alert drivers to incidents and delays in real time, provide a smarter, easier alternative to sitting in traffic, and even reward them for choosing a solution that helps ease congestion on our roads,” said Zach Trogdon, Chief of Public Transportation, Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).
The app is a project of the Regional Multi-Modal Mobility Program (RM3P),which includes the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), and Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO). Let us know if the app helps with your commute.
495Next Express Lanes Now Open
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Transurban, the Commonwealth’s private partner and operator of the 495 Express Lanes, have opened the 495Next Express Lanes. The extension includes two new express lanes in each direction of I-495 (the Capital Beltway) between the Dulles Corridor Interchange and the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) Interchange, as well as new express lanes access at both interchanges. This extension will provide more capacity, new connections with major commuter and business routes, and new travel options for people who face daily gridlock and congestion in this section of the Beltway.
|
|
|
- Addiction Recovery
- Know Your Rights - Resources for Immigrants
|
Keep in Touch
It’s been a busy year back and forth from Herndon to Richmond. Here in District 38, I work with my Chief of Staff Karen Harrison, and aides, Kathy Shupe, Juliet Morro, and Aditi Goel. For constituent services and to schedule meetings with your community group, please call (703) 437-0086 or email [email protected]. Friend me on Facebook and follow me on X and Instagram.
|
|
|
If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe. Friends of Jennifer Boysko
PO Box 247
Herndon, VA 20172
United States |
If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe. |
| |
|
