diff --git a/noxfile.py b/noxfile.py
index b7d5990e4..c7ee76a7c 100644
--- a/noxfile.py
+++ b/noxfile.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 import nox
 
-PYTHON_VERSIONS = ['3.8', '3.10']
+PYTHON_VERSIONS = ['3.10']
 
 # Error if a python version is missing
 nox.options.error_on_missing_interpreters = True
diff --git a/synthtool/gcp/templates/node_library/.kokoro/lint.sh b/synthtool/gcp/templates/node_library/.kokoro/lint.sh
index aef4866e4..f994f2767 100755
--- a/synthtool/gcp/templates/node_library/.kokoro/lint.sh
+++ b/synthtool/gcp/templates/node_library/.kokoro/lint.sh
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@
 set -eo pipefail
 
 export NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX=${HOME}/.npm-global
+export PATH="${NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX}/bin:${PATH}"
+
+# Ensure the npm global directory is writable, otherwise rebuild `npm`
+mkdir -p ${NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX}
+npm config -g ls || npm i -g npm@`npm --version`
 
 cd $(dirname $0)/..