Legislative Accomplishments
Elizabeth Guzmán is an effective, experienced leader.
Lowering Costs for Virginia Families
Elizabeth helped deliver Medicaid expansion in 2018, expanding access to affordable healthcare to 400,000 people in the Commonwealth. She also championed and enacted landmark legislation to repeal Virginia’s complete prohibition on public sector collective bargaining, granting public service workers the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Elizabeth passed legislation that guaranteed home healthcare workers with Medicaid-enrolled patients up to five days of paid sick leave.
Safe and Strong Communities
Since 2020, Elizabeth has served on the board of the Prince William County Adult Detention Center Board, working closely with the Sheriff, the Chief of Police for Prince William County, Manassas Police Department, Manassas Park Police Department, Commonwealth Attorney, Clerk of the Court, and other Board members to improve detention center operations. When she served as Delegate she helped bring Prince William County their first Mental Health Center. This facility helped free up police resources and improved their response time to other emergencies, while also getting people in crisis the care they need.
World-Class Public Education
While in the Virginia General Assembly, Elizabeth served as Vice Chair of the Education Committee and was recognized for her work protecting public education and increasing school funding. In previous terms, she added mental health support in schools, reduced class sizes, and added additional resources for children such as reducing the teacher ratio for English-language learners.
Reliable and Efficient Transportation
As Delegate, Elizabeth worked with the Board of County Supervisors, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Commonwealth Transportation Board, and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission —where she served for four years under appointments from Democratic and Republican Speakers —to address road safety, traffic congestion, and transportation options.
Protecting our Environment and Natural Resources
Elizabeth is recognized as a Legislative Champion in the environmental space. In previous terms, she passed legislation for Virginia to reach 100% renewable energy use by 2050. She also introduced and passed a bill requiring large localities to consider incorporating transit-oriented development into their plans. She also passed a bill to study and create recommendations for regulating PFAS in water, as well as a resolution detailing equitable and just policies to address climate change. This resolution was adopted by the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators and presented to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She has held an A+ Rating every year she served from Environment groups like the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, and Climate Cabinet.
Advocate for Rural Issues
During her time as Delegate, Elizabeth passed legislation to remove the farm worker exemption from the minimum wage law in the House of Delegates, which gives agricultural workers access to the same compensation as other employees. When Elizabeth served in office, Virginia was number one in business and among those businesses was the agrobusiness industry.
Supporting Veterans and Military Families
Elizabeth introduced a resolution through her work with the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators that outlines comprehensive economic reforms for military families. The resolution was unanimously ratified by and serves as a national model for the group. Elizabeth introduced and passed a bill that requires the Board of Nursing to expedite licensure and certification applications from military spouses who are licensed or certified in another state. Elizabeth helped pass legislation to make the first $40,000 of Veterans pensions be tax free.
