September 1, 2026 Legislative Committee - Sep 01, 2026
meeting
Fairfax County Board Committees
1h 15m
6 speakers
8 agenda items
transcribed 1 day ago
official recording ↗
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the agenda and structure of the September 1 2026 legislative committee meeting?
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the September 1st legislative committee meeting, the first of 2027 legislative program. We have a lot to cover in an hour and a half, and so I'd like to quickly preview where we are, what we're covering today, and how today's meeting will run. To ensure we get through the entire agenda, there will be two dedicated windows for open discussion. the first being after the draft 2027 legislative program and directly prior to the conclusion of today's meeting. With that being said, please hold your questions until that time. So just again, to remind you, there will be two opportunities for discussion. I will make sure to let you know when that is. I'd like to thank Jennifer Vanney and her amazing legislative team for all their incredible hard work that goes into this process year in, year out.
This morning, we will start with a quick overview of the changes to our government relations strategy and what that means for year-round engagement. As you know, for the last two years now, we've been trying to streamline the way we do things at the legislative committee to try to make things not only easier for all of us to be able to go through and understand, but also just to make sure that we are using our time effectively. SO FROM THERE WE'LL WALK THROUGH THE 2027 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM AND THE FEDERAL FUNDING PRIORITIES. EACH OF YOU HAS ONE OF THESE HANDOUTS AT YOUR DESK. AGAIN, WE ARE GOING TO RUN THROUGH THE FEDERAL FUNDING PRIORITIES AS WELL AS THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM. THIS IS A HANDOUT WITH ALL THE BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S PROPOSALS.
WE WILL NOT BE WALKING THROUGH THEM, BUT IT IS PROVIDED AS A REFERENCE. Our goal today is to have a clear direction ahead of the delegation work session on October 6. Again, that working session is October 6. And so with that, Jennifer, I will turn it over to you.
Jennifer Vaney, Legislative Director. Thank you very much, Legislative Chairman. Jimenez, I want to also thank not just my team but the legislative review team, which is made up, again, of about 94 members of the staff who also pour into this and all their directors and supervisors who help build this program every year. So the first item is walking through kind of the government relations strategy changes proposals. This is just something we've discussed off and on, both in individual meetings as well as we talked about this a little bit at the beginning when we gave our final report last year. It's part of this shift of having everything kind of sooner and trying to get things to our delegation.
Essentially, it is a shift from lobbying specific work to a government relations approach. This is a broader approach that focuses on relationship building ahead of any problems so that we can be at the table and we can be driving solutions. It also makes sure that we have clearer communications as well as helping staff in the regulatory environment as there's been a lot of changes over the last several years. So it is a broader approach rather than just kind of focusing most of our effort through the General Assembly. To make these changes, there's a couple of changes that will change to the program. So you'll see that as we walk through the program, there is a change to align it with the strategic plan as well as combine it with the federal.
Another change will be that we're taking the federal and making it more focused. Our federal work will be focused mostly on funding opportunities and then working through our partners at the federal level such as NACO to represent other interests. And so in that way, the federal program pages that are included in the program, which we'll go over, are focused specifically on high-level funding priorities for the county. Those are the major changes. Just wanted to highlight that strategy for you as we've been working towards this throughout the summer and are ready to engage with all of you in it as well.
Well, thank you, Jennifer, and thank you for staff for that presentation and that giving us a general idea of how we're moving forward.
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Agenda
8 items
1
What is the agenda and structure of the September 1 2026 legislative committee meeting?
0:06–10:02
2
How is the new government‑relations strategy different from past lobbying approaches?
10:02–20:29
3
What are the top priorities in the 2027 draft legislative program (K‑12, transportation, housing, HR‑1)?
20:29–31:18
4
How are budget priorities aligned with the strategic plan’s ten outcome areas?
31:18–40:01
5
What federal funding priorities and earmark changes are proposed for 2027?
40:01–50:06
6
What feedback and revisions did board members suggest for the draft program?
50:06–57:48
7
How will the committee engage with the General Assembly and stakeholders before the October 6 work session?
57:48–1:05:52
8
What are the closing remarks and next steps for the legislative calendar?
1:05:52–1:15:26
Speakers
6 identified
Jeffrey C. McKay 10 min
Rodney L. Lusk 6 min
Andres F. Jimenez 5 min
Rachna Sizemore Heizer 4 min
Pat Herrity 3 min
Kathy L. Smith 1 min
Officials recognised by voice; public commenters shown as “Speaker N” unless they state their name.
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