Fairfax Committee reviews draft legislative program, underscores HB599, transit funding and reaffirms casino stance

Fairfax County's legislative committee on Sept. 17 walked through staff edits to the draft 2025 legislative program and discussed a range of budget priorities the county plans to convey to the governor in a Sept. 24 board matter.

Staff said the packet highlights changes in yellow and red, and noted joint positions with the school board will be updated. Key budget-priority topics flagged for continued work include K-12 funding, transportation funding (including a dedicated-revenue ask for WMATA/region), affordable housing, early childhood education, behavioral health and Medicaid-waiver implementation.

Several supervisors urged the program to press the state on HB599, the statute that affects state funding for local law enforcement, after noting the governor's prior proposal singled out low-crime jurisdictions. "We want to make sure we drive that particular point home this year," the chair said.

Transportation and WMATA funding were a major focus. Noel Dominguez and supervisors discussed how Fairfax contributes substantially to regional transit (bus systems, VRE, Connector) and urged staff to quantify the county's transit investment so Metro and Richmond understand the county's share relative to the region. One supervisor suggested briefings on how proposed subsidy-formula changes could affect Fairfax short- and long-term.

Taxation and governance language drew sustained attention. Supervisors sought stronger wording on tax modernization and noted that state law constrains local taxing authority; speakers pointed out that many local taxes are effectively single-industry taxes under the Code of Virginia and urged the county to press for broader tax reform at the state level.

On a politically salient issue, a supervisor reiterated the board's Jan. 26, 2024 letter on casinos: the county will not support bills that lack land-use protections and a local-referendum requirement and will press that county residents must be the beneficiary of any fiscal deal. "We would never support a bill that did not have a referendum requirement," the supervisor said.

Other staff updates included an updated court-funding figure (noted in packet edits) and expanded language on behavioral-health reimbursement rates, respite care for waiver families and a proposed federal 11-15 mental-health community waiver pursuit. Staff said they would return to incorporate the committee's feedback in future drafts and present the revised program at fall legislative meetings ahead of the December adoption.

The committee did not vote on the program at this meeting; staff asked members to submit edits in advance of the Oct. 15 legislative committee meeting.