Week 6 of the legislative session is underway, and I am proud that several of my 14 bills that successfully passed the House and are now making their way through Senate committees. In the House, we are working hard to hear the bills that Senators passed, as we continue to work with stakeholders and constituents.
From My Perspective
In this year’s General Assembly session, the issue that has consistently cut across nearly every major debate is affordability, not just in the abstract, but in the form of monthly utility bills, housing costs, and the long-term tax burden on Virginia families. As Virginia continues to experience rapid growth in energy-intensive industries, we are increasingly focused on whether the infrastructure needed to support that growth could translate into higher costs for residents who may never directly benefit from it.
That concern is front and center in discussions surrounding the continued expansion of data centers in communities such as Loudoun County. These facilities are major drivers of local revenue and economic development, but they also create significant new demand on Virginia’s electric grid. Meeting that demand requires substantial investment in new transmission and distribution infrastructure — investments that, under the current system, can be reflected in the rates paid by residential customers. Several of the proposals under consideration this session attempt to address that imbalance by assigning a greater share of those infrastructure costs to the large-load users responsible for the need in the first place. The goal is straightforward: ensure that household electric bills are not rising in order to subsidize private-sector expansion.
Affordability questions extend beyond energy policy and into how the Commonwealth uses its broader tax framework to support economic development. Over the past decade, Virginia has invested billions of dollars in incentives designed to attract data center investment, including significant sales and use tax exemptions. While those incentives have played a role in making the state a global hub for digital infrastructure, they also represent forgone revenue that could otherwise support priorities tied directly to cost of living, such as housing supply, child care access, or health care affordability. Legislation advancing this year seeks to link eligibility for certain incentives to energy efficiency and clean power standards, reflecting a growing interest in ensuring that public investment in economic growth does not inadvertently increase long-term infrastructure costs for ratepayers.
At the same time, we’ve seen a number of major tax proposals stall or be deferred to next year, including measures that would have created new tax brackets for higher-income Virginians or expanded the sales tax to certain services. A proposal to impose a net investment income tax was defeated in committee earlier in the session. These decisions reflect an ongoing tension between identifying new sources of state revenue and minimizing additional financial pressure on households already navigating rising everyday expenses. With next year marking an election cycle, the appetite for broad-based tax changes may become even more limited.
Meanwhile, other policy areas are moving forward in ways that were largely anticipated at the outset of the session. Legislation addressing gun safety restrictions, collective bargaining for public employees, increases to the minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, and the establishment of guardrails on a retail cannabis market has regained momentum after similar measures were previously vetoed under a different administration.
As we move beyond crossover and into final budget negotiations, the challenge before us is not simply whether to encourage growth, but how to do so in a way that does not shift the financial consequences of that growth onto Virginia families through higher utility rates or reduced public investment in affordability-focused priorities. Ultimately, the choices we make this session must result in economic expansion that strengthens household financial stability.
Read More Here.
Ramadan
Wishing a peaceful and blessed Ramadan to all who observe across the Commonwealth and around the world. May this holy month renew our commitment to compassion, service, and community, and strengthen the bonds that bring us together. Ramadan Mubarak.
Souls to the Poles
One of the most powerful traditions of civic engagement in our community may soon return. Souls to the Polls, a faith-based movement that brings neighbors together to march to early voting locations, could be reinstated as early as April.
Led locally by the NAACP and Chapter President Bishop Michelle Thomas, this event has blended civic participation with celebration. Community members gather at a designated location, march together to cast their ballots, and then celebrate with music, local vendors, and food trucks. It is a joyful and visible reminder that voting is both a right and a shared responsibility.
Sunday voting was discontinued in 2023 following a vote of the Loudoun County Electoral Board. Now, with new leadership and a renewed conversation about access to the ballot, the Board of Supervisors is actively discussing reinstating Sunday early voting in a way that supports both voters and election staff.
Expanding access to the ballot strengthens our democracy. I am encouraged to see serious discussion about bringing this tradition back and will continue to support efforts that make it easier, not harder, for Loudoun residents to participate in our elections.
This Week at the General Assembly
Update on My Legislation
As the legislative session continues, I am pleased to share an update on the bills on which I am serving as Chief Patron or Chief Co-Patron. This legislation reflects the priorities I hear from our community and my continued focus on delivering meaningful results.
Economy
HB 557
Creates a Business tax incentive for electric lawn equipment as a clean alternative to gas-powered equipment. Passed the House.
HB 1022
Protects Virginians from recurring charges for subscriptions they no longer want. Passed the House.
HB 594
Allows localities to adopt expedited, administrative zoning approvals for qualifying all-affordable housing developments that increase density, and prioritizes such localities for state housing grants and loans. Passed the House.
HB 402
Modernizes “home bakery” laws by removing sales limits and permitting online sales. Passed the House.
Education
HB 125
Ensures year-round protection of teachers’ due process rights. Passed Senate Committee.
HB 814
Establishes a board to advise on social studies and history SOLs. Passed the House.
HB 1278
Ensures schools develop and share their language assistance plans so parents can be meaningfully included in the education of their children. Passed Senate Committee.
HB 1367
Requires VDOE to report ELL spending data to ensure proper funding is allocated to cover the actual cost of education for English Language Learner students. Passed Senate Committee.
HB 1323
Directs the VDOE to update the state’s school accountability and performance framework, giving families clear explanations and tools to understand how student growth and performance are measured. Combined with HB 643. Passed the House.
HJ 77
Establishes Nowruz, the Persian New Year, as an annual day celebrated in Virginia. Passed the House.
HB 201
Requires school boards to inform parents annually about the safe storage of prescription drugs and firearms in the home. Passed the House.
HB 288
Requires the VDOE to post instructional resources on the Indigenous peoples of the Commonwealth developed by the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium. Passed the House.
Community Safety
HB 123
Replaces mandatory juvenile license denials with judicial discretion, aligning consequences with rehabilitation rather than automatic punishment. Passed Senate Committee.
HB 124
Ensures retired district court judges recalled to duty have the same protections as active judges. Passed the House.
HB 556
Amends the requirement to provide a Social Security Number when filing for divorce if one is not available. Passed the House.
HB 1020
Ensures survivors of child sexual assault can pursue civil causes of action when new evidence emerges, strengthening accountability and public safety. Passed Senate Committee.
HB 46
Increase the maximum number of circuit court judges in Loudoun, subject to Judicial Council review, to better meet caseload and judicial staffing needs. Combined with HB 443. Passed Senate Committee.
Health
HB 794
Designates VDH to lead the coordination of a statewide plan in response to the opioid and fentanyl crisis. Passed the House.
HB 795
Requires health insurers to cover overdose reversal medication, expanding access to life-saving treatment. Passed the House.
HB 1019
Ensures outpatient patient-level reporting so doctors can coordinate care more effectively. Passed the House.
Military Families and Veterans Affairs
HB 1018
Creates a Veterans Work Group to develop a holistic, strategic plan to better serve veterans and address their needs across the Commonwealth. Continuing to 2027.
HB 175
Expands Virginia’s real property tax exemption for surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty, allowing localities to provide a full exemption regardless of home value beginning in 2026. Passed the House.
Budget Amendment
Provides funding to expand the V3 program to include military spouses
If you are interested in looking at the legislative history and bill text of my proposals, you can view them on the Virginia Legislative Information System (LIS). LIS HERE
Resources to Take Part in the Legislative Session
Are you interested in watching the hearing for a bill you are particularly passionate about? Are you looking for a way to give testimony for bills that you support or oppose? Are you wondering what’s in the state’s budget? The General Assembly has these services and more to allow you to participate and view the entire General Assembly Session!
Virginia Legislative Information System (“LIS”)
The Virginia Legislative Information System tracks bills from their introduction to their passage! You can create lists of bills that interest you through the lobbyist in a box feature, look through the calendar to find when important bills are being heard, and see the overall stats of this session.
Virginia General Assembly Website
The General Assembly website streams every floor session, committee, and subcommittee meeting, gives a detailed explanation on how a bill becomes a law in Virginia, and showcases the history of the General Assembly and the Capitol Building. If you are interested in watching meetings of the General Assembly or learning more about our legislative process, you can find it on the link below.
How My Office Can Help You
Navigating state agencies can be confusing and difficult at times. As the delegate for House District 27, I can help you communicate with state agencies such as the Virginia Employment Commission, Departments of Taxation, Social Services, Transportation, and more! I can also submit inquiries with those agencies on your behalf. There are limits to what I can do, however. For example, I am unable to expedite cases or force state agencies to favor your inquiry, provide legal advice or recommend a specific attorney, intervene with judicial issues, overturn decisions, or be involved with matters between private businesses.
Whether you require my office’s assistance, want to bring an issue to my attention or invite me to a community event, please reach out here: https://atoosareaser.com/help/.
Alongside constituent services, I can submit drafts for commending and memorial resolutions. If you know of a person or organization in the district that deserves special recognition, please submit a request here: resolution request form.
Yours in Service,
Atoosa Reaser (she/her)
Virginia House of Delegates
District 27 (Eastern Loudoun)
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