By Brian Trompeter
Buoyed by narrow Democratic majorities in both General Assembly houses, two Vienna-area legislators hope the progressive bills they are drafting will pass and possibly meet with the Republican governor’s approval as well.
Del. Holly Seibold (D-Vienna-Tysons) and state Sen.-elect Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax-Vienna-Falls Church) outlined some key objectives for next year’s session during a Dec. 2 town-hall meeting with constituents at Patrick Henry Library in Vienna.
Both legislators are relative newcomers to the General Assembly. Seibold won her seat in the House of Delegates in a January special election to succeed former Del. Mark Keam (D-Oakton-Vienna), who resigned last fall to take a job in the Biden administration. She took office the next day and ran unopposed in November to win a full two-year term.
Salim, who during the session will take a leave of absence from his job with a federal contractor, ousted four-term incumbent state Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax-Vienna) in the June primary, then defeated Republican candidate Ken Reid in the Nov. 7 election to secure a four-year term.
The General Assembly will convene Jan. 10 for a 60-day session. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the House of Delegates and a 21-19 majority in the state Senate. Bills passed by those bodies still face potential vetoes by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).
Seibold plans to introduce bills in the next session pertaining to housing, the environment and protecting children. Regarding housing, Seibold would like to see more accessory-dwelling units and workforce housing, plus condominium inspections.
Her environmental bills will focus on electric school buses, invasive plants and noxious weeds, and tree-canopy ordinances. That last one has become a hot topic in Vienna lately, as the Town Council is grappling with a pair of competing proposed ordinances aimed at maintaining and enhancing the town’s tree canopy. The Council recently put off voting on the matter until next year, when three new members have joined the body.
Seibold’s legislation will try to protect children by regulating vape stores, strengthening child-labor laws, managing Type 1 juvenile diabetes, supporting in-state college admissions, calling for more research on epilepsy and Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy in children, and emphasizing pedestrian-safety projects, especially in school zones.
She also will press for more menstrual education in elementary and middle schools. Seibold in 2015 founded BRAWS (Bringing Resources to Aid Women’s Shelters), which provides menstrual supplies, new bras and underwear to women in area shelters. The organization was “my pathway to advocacy,” she said.
Salim plans to file public-safety bills that would ban assault weapons, raise the minimum age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21 (with exemptions for people in law enforcement and the military) and remove firearms from bars.
“If Florida can do it, we can as well,” he said.
Like Seibold, Salim also will be submitting environmentally friendly legislation to promote alternative energy, regulate the usage of gas-powered leaf blowers, combat invasive species and encourage more use of solar panels. In addition, he will work to raise the state’s minimum wage.
Salim will press for a constitutional amendment enshrining the right to abortion, plus bills to ensure private insurance and Medicaid cover fertility treatments for people.
Following the recent redistricting, both lawmakers will serve new districts with different numbers and boundaries. Seibold represents the 12th District, which lost the Oakton area covered by the previous 35th District, but gained Merrifield and the Mantua neighborhood.
Salim’s 37th District, which includes Fairfax, Tysons, Oakton, the Mosaic District in Merrifield and Falls Church, which the previous 34th District did not encompass.
The Senate will have 17 new members next year (including one who is returning); the House of Delegates will welcome 34 new members. The latest crop of legislators is quite diverse, Salim said.
“It showcases different views of what can be done. It’s no longer just lawyers,” he said, adding, “There are a good number of senators with a lot of experience who can help me.”
The legislators played a slide show and video presentation on a big-screen television to acquaint audience members with the legislative process.
Salim and Seibold encouraged those in attendance to testify on bills that were important to them, either by coming to Richmond or giving their remarks over the Internet. Expanded remote-testimony opportunities, as well as video coverage of General Assembly committee meetings, are two positive results from the pandemic, Seibold said.
