by
Hannah Jane Costilow
| 07/11/2025
by Danielle Finley, Associate Director of Political Engagement
Welcome to FIVE FOR FRIDAY: A weekly roundup of Public Policy Issues and Headlines. In this Issue: In this Issue: 1. Landmark Tax Reform Brings Major Wins for Real Estate 2. Appeals court flip-flops on Missing Middle, striking down ordinance once again 3. Federal tax changes could make it easier to build affordable housing, Fairfax officials say 4. Loudoun Supervisors Support Dominion Plans for Transmission Line in Existing Rights-of-Way 5. One Big, Beautiful Bill . . . Simplified.
The sweeping tax reform signed into law on July 4 by President Donald Trump, includes significant wins for the real estate professionals, consumers and the economy. In many cases, the National Association of REALTORS® has been working for years on legislative priorities included in the final package:
The Virginia Court of Appeals has withdrawn a recent decision reinstating Arlington’s “Missing Middle” ordinance, once again striking it from the books as judges reconsider arguments. In a ruling that adds yet another layer of complexity to the legal fight over the controversial zoning change, the appeals court agreed on Tuesday to reassess a judgment that the court handed down just last month.
By SCOTT MCCAFFREY, FfxNow
Fairfax County’s efforts to support additional affordable housing may have received an unexpected boost from the recently passed federal budget reconciliation act. County officials are working through the details, but the changes in federal law could represent “a significant step forward” in financing affordable housing, Tom Fleetwood, director of the county’s Department of Housing and Community Development, told the Board of Supervisors at a housing committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday).
By HANNA PAMPALONI, Loudoun Now
County supervisors this week affirmed support for plans by Dominion Energy to build a transmission line up through south Loudoun using existing rights-of-way. The Morrisville to Wishing Star line is planned to span three counties and will be 36.5 miles long. Of those, 4.8 miles are planned in Loudoun from the Mosby substation, which is south of Braddock Road and just north of the county line, to the planned Wishing Star substation, which will be built north of Rt. 50 along Northstar Boulevard.
The United States Congress has cast its vote in favor of “The One Big, Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), a sweeping tax reform initiative designed to overhaul the U.S. tax code. This legislation encompasses a myriad of tax provisions, including the permanence of several existing measures, the repeal and modification of various others, and the introduction of new tax provisions. After extensive deliberations and negotiations among Republican lawmakers over the past several months, a consensus was ultimately reached on a version that garnered the necessary support to pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate. President Donald J. Trump is poised to sign the OBBB into law imminently.