2025 General Assembly Week Six Newsletter!
Because Valentine’s Day is the only “holiday” that falls during session, people in the General Assembly Building pull out all the stops to decorate and share the spirit of the day. It is a fun, festive reprieve from the hard work of the legislative session. However you choose to celebrate, I hope you are able to spread a little love today!
Legislative Update
Six weeks down, one week to go! This week was a wintry mix of marathon meetings in the House interspersed with sprints across the building to present bills in the Senate (and vice versa!).
So far, I have one bill that has made it through the Virginia Senate and another two are on their way to the Floor. My eight remaining bills will likely be heard in Senate Finance and in Senate Commerce and Labor next Monday, which is the deadline for committee action.
Next week will be a flurry of Floor votes and committees of conference. A committee of conference is formed when the two chambers have taken different policy positions on a particular bill and do not agree outright.
Six weeks down, one week to go! This week was a wintry mix of marathon meetings in the House interspersed with sprints across the building to present bills in the Senate (and vice versa!).
So far, I have one bill that has made it through the Virginia Senate and another two are on their way to the Floor. My eight remaining bills will likely be heard in Senate Finance and in Senate Commerce and Labor next Monday, which is the deadline for committee action.
Next week will be a flurry of Floor votes and committees of conference. A committee of conference is formed when the two chambers have taken different policy positions on a particular bill and do not agree outright.
For example: If a House bill is amended in the Senate, but the House does not like the Senate amendment, they will reject the Senate amendment and the bill will end up being assigned to a committee of conference. Typically, a committee of conference is made up of three members (called “conferees”) from each chamber, with at least one from each chamber from each Party. As the designated conferees negotiate the bill, if they are able to reach a compromise (with agreement from at least two conferees from each chamber) they will present the compromise back to their respective chambers for an up or down vote. If the conferees cannot reach a compromise, or if one or both chambers votes down the conference committee report, then the bill is “left in conference” and does not make it to the Governor’s desk.
Here is the current status of my eleven bills that are still working their way through the legislative process:
HB 2083 Establishing pregnancy as a qualifying life event for the purpose of purchasing health insurance - In Senate Commerce & Labor
HB 2084 Directing the SCC to review existing customer classes and determine whether a new class is necessary to protect residential ratepayers given the energy demand of Virginia’s booming data center industry - In Senate Commerce & Labor
HB 2085 Requiring health insurance companies to disclose hidden fees in transactions with medical providers - Passed Senate 40 - 0
HB 2087 Expediting the construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the Commonwealth - In Senate Commerce & Labor
HB 2088 Expanding access to care for sexual assault survivors through teleforensic services - In Senate Finance
HB 2090 Expanding access to shared community solar projects - In Senate Commerce & Labor
HB 2091 Investing in workforce development education and job placement programs that match Virginia’s high-demand occupations list - In Senate Finance
HB 2341 Ensuring that all students have access to mental health support that is culturally responsive and language-appropriate - In Senate Finance
HB 2742 Expanding testing to include fentanyl for patients presenting with overdose symptoms - Passed Committee 15 - 0
HB 2743 Ensuring that workers on key underground infrastructure projects are paid a prevailing wage - In Senate Finance
HB 2779 Expanding the membership of the Office of New Americans Advisory Board and lifting the cap on annual meetings - Passed Committee 15 - 0
For a full summary of the legislation I am carrying this session, please visit the Legislative Information System website.
In The News
Earlier this Session, I spoke with Leah Small from the Virginia Mercury about why I introduced HB 2084, which directs the SCC to review existing customer classes and determine whether a new class is necessary to protect residential ratepayers given the energy demand of Virginia’s booming data center industry. You can read the full article here; excerpt below:
Lawmakers are faced with balancing the economic opportunities brought by data centers with protecting consumers and meeting clean energy mandates, in the face of rising energy production and transmission costs, says Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax.
“Virginia has enjoyed relatively flat load growth, and I think right now we’re in that moment of hockey sticking, primarily driven by the data center industry,” Shin says. “We’re looking out for our constituents and making sure they’re paying their fair share and not more than that. It is up to industry to pay their fair share of what we know are the incredibly exorbitant costs to service data centers.”
Casino Update
On Wednesday, during its final meeting of the year, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Agriculture and Natural Resources heard SB 982 aka the Fairfax casino bill. The subcommittee moved to pass the bill by for the day. Procedurally, what this means is that the bill will go no further in the 2025 General Assembly Session.
I shared in last week’s newsletter that – this year alone – I have heard from hundreds of constituents and from thousands of our neighbors across Fairfax who are adamantly opposed to the proposal of building a casino in Tysons. I share many of the concerns that have been raised, ranging from traffic congestion to land use issues. National security experts have raised concerns about the proximity of a casino to many of our nation’s most sensitive national security organizations and over 20,000 federal workers with security clearances. In every other Virginia locality that has been granted the authority to conduct a referendum on this topic, the request for that authority has come from local government with extensive community input – but the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has put forward no such request. For all of these reasons, I opposed SB 982 and am relieved that the issue has been put to rest for the 2025 legislative session.
Thanking the wonderful staff of the General Assembly
I want to take a moment to recognize all the incredible staff who make all of the legislative work possible. In addition to each member’s legislative team, there is a whole host of House Clerk staff, committee staff, room staff, legislative services staff, Capitol police, building maintenance and janitorial staff, and more – all of whom play their part to make sure we can legislate smoothly and efficiently. This week, as we wrapped up the 2025 work of the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, we celebrated the retirement of committee clerk Claude Harrison. We are deeply grateful for his many years of service and commitment to the General Assembly. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from and serve with him.
No matter the time of year, my staff and I are available to assist you!
Please call my office at 804-698-1008 or email delishin@house.virginia.gov anytime to schedule a visit to my office in the General Assembly Building, #1115. My door is always open. My entire team - Chief of Staff Kristina, Administrative Assistant Becky, Legislative Aide Noor, and Legislative Interns Deston and Nick are ready to assist you however we can. We are grateful for the honor of serving you and our district.
You can follow me on X, Facebook, and Instagram for updates from the Capitol. I remain grateful to the voters of the 8th District and for their trust in me, and can’t wait to keep delivering for the people of our great Commonwealth.