Legislative Report presented to BOS; “Great job, great year,” says Chair Randall

By Sophia Clifton

On June 3, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors received an in-depth briefing on the outcomes of the recently adjourned 2025 Virginia General Assembly Session. County administration staff Jonathan Freeman and Erin McLellan presented the County’s legislative report, detailing how the Board’s adopted priorities fared during the session, along with key budget actions and emerging policy issues for 2025–26.

Freeman opened the presentation with good news. “So starting in section one, the board’s initiatives, I’m happy to report back that all of the bills that the board put forward were signed by the governor.”

The 2025 General Assembly convened on Jan. 8 and adjourned on Feb. 22. Of the 916 bills that passed both chambers, 599 were signed into law by Governor Youngkin by the March 24 deadline, 159 were amended, and 157 were vetoed. 

The governor’s amendments and eight item vetoes to the budget (HB 1600) returned to Richmond on April 2; the General Assembly “passed by” most of those changes, sustaining six of the line-item vetoes and blocking two others related to manufactured home acquisition and mortgage assistance programs. A final round of action on May 2 saw the governor sign an additional 53 bills, veto 38 bills outright, and issue 37 line-item vetoes to the budget.

Freeman reported the status of several flagship measures championed by Loudoun’s Board, starting with Stormwater and Erosion Control (HB 2008/SB 1093). Both companion bills, empowering localities operating MS4 systems to “enter any establishment or upon any property” for inspection purposes, were signed into law (Chapter 723 and Chapter 724, effective July 1, 2025).

“Essentially, in Western Loudon County, our staff had to investigate erroneous claims … It was an unintended consequence of some language cleanup with the General Assembly, in the eroding sediment control part of code as well as the stormwater part of code. So we were able to correct that and by July 1, we will have the authority back,” Freeman said. 

Next he turned to Aircraft-Noise Disclosures
(HB 1706/SB 1210), legislation requiring sellers to include aircraft-noise disclaimers in property disclosure statements and mandating purchasers to consult FAA noise exposure maps and local ordinances before closing. “All 66 airports in the Commonwealth will be able to upload their maps to this webpage and allow homeowners to see whether their home falls within a noise contour,” Freeman explained. “19 airports out of the 66 have already uploaded their maps, including Leesburg Executive Airport. And of course, Dulles International Airport.”

Freeman then touched on the Oak Hill project. “The Oak Hill state park measure unfortunately did not make it into the final budget agreement … I do feel that we are in a really good position to get that measure passed next year… We’ll be working with our legislators over the next couple of months to keep this on their radar,” he said. 

In addition to these headline priorities, the Board celebrated successes on early education, affordable housing, and public-safety enhancements. For example, HB 1807 created a Kindergarten Readiness Fund, HB 1972 launched a pilot for statewide universal childcare, and HB 1676 expanded virtual FOIA meetings. All passed with Loudoun’s endorsement. “The new education funding investments is … essentially 8 million in new state funding for Loudoun County Public Schools. We were happy to see that,” Freeman said. 

Beyond formal positions, staff flagged roughly two dozen bills for potential operational impacts. Key among them were measures on reproductive-rights protections, revisions to landlord-tenant law (strengthening tenant remedies and expanding notice periods), and centralized reporting requirements for local governments. 

The County’s legislative program also guided Loudoun’s review of the state budget. While the governor signed the Conference Report, he issued 37 item vetoes—six of which were sustained by legislators, including cuts to manufactured-home and mortgage-assistance initiatives. However, crucial funding lines for public education, behavioral-health services, and transportation grants remained intact. 

Supervisor feedback during the meeting reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to a proactive legislative agenda, especially regarding the Oak Hill state park project. 

Supervisor Laura TeKrony (D-Little River) asked, “I read that the General Assembly approved an appropriation Act for $150,000 to do a study for Oak Hill. Do you know if that’s going to be completed before the General Assembly?”

Freeman responded, “The full study came out about a week before the end of session, so we’re going to utilize that study to continue working the General Assembly. But again, I think we’re in a really good posture to get it done.” 

“Oh yeah, I’ve already met with Delegate [David] Reid about it, I know he’s on appropriations, so I know he’s planning to put together a bill for Oak Hill,” TeKrony responded. 

Freeman later continued, “I think that there are a few elements of Oak Hill that we were able to successfully lobby for support on, one of which—a huge thank you to the board, of course— is $22 million put aside for acquisition of Oak Hill. And so the state essentially does not have to put anything up for the acquisition.”

At the conclusion of the presentation, Chair Phyllis Randall (D, At-Large) thanked Freeman and McLellan for the thorough report, noting Freeman’s contributions especially. “Great job, great year. Thank you very much. And I think the way the General Assembly Sessions runs we’ll start this again in about three weeks,” she said with a laugh. “Well, Madam Chair, I did send an email for the 2026 legislative report,” Freeman responded with a smile.