2026 SESSION

INTRODUCED

26102220D

HOUSE BILL NO. 371

Offered January 14, 2026

Prefiled January 12, 2026

A BILL to amend and reenact § 30-431 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Commission to End Hunger; membership.

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Patrons—Price, Cousins, Tran, Anthony and Henson

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Referred to Committee on Rules

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 30-431 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 30-431. (Expires July 1, 2027) Membership; terms; quorum; meetings.

The Commission shall have a total membership of 19 members that shall consist of eight legislative members and 11 nonlegislative citizen members. Members shall be appointed as follows: three members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; five members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; five nonlegislative citizen members, one of whom is a researcher at the university level, three of whom are representatives from community organizations working toward ending hunger, and one of whom is a nutritionist, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and six nonlegislative citizen members, one of whom is a researcher at the university level, one of whom is a representative of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, two of whom are representatives from community organizations working toward ending hunger, one of whom is a high school junior or senior student representative from a public school a representative of a public school nutrition program, and one of whom is a board-certified physician licensed health care provider with knowledge of nutrition and hunger, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.

In addition to such membership, the Commission shall have five public school student liaisons, to be appointed by the chair of the Commission, each of whom shall represent a Virginia health planning region. The Commission shall seek input from such liaisons whenever possible in fulfilling the powers and duties of the Commission. Such student liaisons shall not be included for purposes of a quorum.

Legislative members of the Commission shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of two years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members may be reappointed.

No Senate member shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms, no House member shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms, and no nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates or the Senate Committee on Rules shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment.

The Commission shall elect a chairman chair and vice-chairman vice-chair from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The meetings of the Commission shall be held at the call of the chairman chair or whenever the majority of the members so request.

No recommendation of the Commission shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the Commission (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Commission.