Del. Atoosa Reaser

School breakfast; availability at no cost to students. Requires each school board to require each public elementary and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to make breakfast available to any student who requests such a meal at no cost to the student, unless the student's parent has provided written permission to the school board to withhold such a meal from the student. The bill clarifies that the provision of a breakfast by a school to a student at no cost to the student shall not be construed as creating a disincentive for the school or local school division to participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision program. Additionally, the bill provides that schools shall maximize the number of students who participate in the school breakfast program by implementing one or more suggested service models to increase access to such program. The bill requires the Department of Education to reimburse each public elementary and secondary school for each eligible school breakfast served to a student, with a maximum of one reimbursable breakfast per student per school day, and provides the formula for determining the state reimbursement rate for such meals. Finally, the bill repeals a provision of law relating to the federal School Breakfast Program that is rendered obsolete by the provisions of the bill. This bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Commission to End Hunger.

Study; Department of Taxation; options for abolishing the personal property taxation of certain qualifying vehicles; report. Directs the Department of Taxation to study options for abolishing the personal property taxation of certain qualifying vehicles and to evaluate alternative local revenue sources in order to account for the shortfall in local tax revenues that will result from the abolition of such tax.

Department of Conservation and Recreation; acquisition of property to establish a state park; Loudoun County. Allows the Department of Conservation and Recreation to acquire from the Conservation Fund approximately 1,240 acres of real property and any buildings or structures thereon between Little River Turnpike, James Monroe Highway, and Tail Race Road, known as Oak Hill Farm, in Loudoun County for the purpose of establishing and operating a state park on such property. This bill incorporates HB 239.

Real property tax exemption; surviving spouses of members of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty. Authorizes localities by ordinance to provide a total exemption from real property taxes regardless of assessed value beginning in taxable year 2026 for surviving spouses of members of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty. Under current law, a total exemption is only allowed for such surviving spouses for those dwellings in the locality with assessed values in the most recently ended tax year that are not in excess of the average assessed value for such year of a dwelling situated on property that is zoned as single family residential.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for any individual diagnosed with such a condition on or after July 1, 2027.

Equity in public school funding and staffing; special education students; at-risk students; annual report. Establishes in Standard of Quality 2 the At-Risk Program and a state-supported add-on for special education students and requires corresponding formulas for the funding of such initiatives to be established in the general appropriation act. The bill also requires the Department of Education to report annually to the House Committees on Education and Appropriations and the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and on Education and Health the total and per pupil annual operating expenditures from local, state, and federal sources in each school division and the change in expenditures from each such source over the immediately preceding two-year, three-year, and five-year timeframes, expressed in both dollar amounts and percentages.

Middle Eastern and North African Advisory Board established. Establishes the Middle Eastern and North African Advisory Board in the executive branch for the purpose of advising the Governor on ways to develop economic, professional, cultural, educational, and governmental links between the Commonwealth and the Middle Eastern and North African community in Virginia. The bill provides for the expiration of the advisory board on June 30, 2029.

Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices; days and hours of operation. Authorizes the governing body of any county or city establishing voter satellite offices for absentee voting in person to prescribe, by ordinance, the dates and hours of operation for such offices. The bill requires the governing body to provide notice to the general registrar of the county or city at least two weeks prior to the enactment of any such ordinance.

Transportation network companies; minimum compensation; civil penalty. Establishes minimum compensation rates for TNC partners. The bill also prohibits gratuities from passengers from being included in TNC partner compensation calculations, authorizes TNC partners to collect gratuity in cash or electronically, and prohibits transportation network companies from limiting the amount that can be paid as gratuity through such companies' digital platforms. The bill requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to establish a process for reporting violations and to investigate claims. The bill authorizes enforcement by civil action or by civil penalties assessed by the DMV Commissioner.

Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs; work group; report. Directs the Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs to convene a work group every four years to study and develop recommendations for implementing a statewide strategic plan to guide legislation and budget decisions relating to veterans in the Commonwealth. The bill requires the work group to submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2026, and every four years thereafter.