Del. Hala S. Ayala

School boards; distribution of excess food. Allows public school boards to distribute excess food to students eligible for the School Breakfast Program or National School Lunch Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or to students who the school board determines are otherwise eligible to receive excess food. A school board is also allowed to develop a policy for distributing excess food, saving it for later, or donating it.

Recounts; special election to be held in the case of a tie vote. Provides that if, after a recount of an election, the recount court finds that each party to the recount has received an equal number of votes, there shall be a special election to determine which candidate is elected to the office. This provision would not apply in cases of tie votes occurring after a recount of an election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General, which the Constitution of Virginia provides for, or for electors of President and Vice President of the United States, which will continue to be determined by lot. This bill incorporates HB 178 and HB 692.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain diseases. Adds cancers of the colon, brain, or testes to the list of cancers that are presumed to be an occupational disease covered by the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act when firefighters or certain employees develop the cancer. The presumption shall not apply for any individual who was diagnosed with one of the conditions before July 1, 2020. The measure removes the compensability requirement that the employee who develops cancer had contact with a toxic substance encountered in the line of duty. The bill also reduces the number of years of service needed to qualify for the presumption from 12 to five for various types of cancer. For hypertension or heart disease, the bill adds a requirement that an individual complete five years of service in their position in order to qualify. This bill is identical to SB 9.

Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices; source of funds. Adds discrimination on the basis of a person's source of funds to the list of unlawful discriminatory housing practices. The bill creates an exemption for an owner or owner's managing agent, provided that such owner does not own more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units in the Commonwealth at the time of the alleged discriminatory housing practice. The bill allows an owner or owner's managing agent to deny or limit a person's rental or occupancy of a rental dwelling unit based on the person's source of funds for that unit if such source is not approved within 15 days of the person's submission of the request for tenancy approval. The bill defines "source of funds" as any source that lawfully provides funds to or on behalf of a renter or buyer of housing, including any assistance, benefit, or subsidy program, whether such program is administered by a governmental or nongovernmental entity. This bill incorporates HB 357.

Multiple employer retirement plan for private employers and their employees. Directs the governing board of the Virginia College Savings Plan (the Board) to establish the Multiple Employer Retirement Plan (the Plan). The Plan shall allow employees of private employers in the Commonwealth to contribute to a defined contribution retirement plan overseen by the Board. The bill allows all self-employed individuals, sole proprietors, and nongovernmental employers to allow their employees to participate in the Plan. It provides for automatic enrollment of an employer's employees if such employer chooses to participate in the Plan. The bill authorizes the Board to contract with third parties to implement and administer the Plan. The Plan shall allow an enrollee to contribute to an account at a default rate and modify his contributions within the parameters of the Internal Revenue Code. The Plan allows but does not require a participating employer to contribute to the account of any enrollee. The bill prohibits the Commonwealth from guaranteeing a rate of return or interest rate on any contribution and indemnifies it from losses incurred through the Plan. The bill contains a reenactment clause and directs the Virginia College Savings Plan to analyze current state and federal retirement programs, other retirement savings options, costs, and the level of interest in such a plan. The Virginia College Savings Plan shall report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly on or before December 15, 2020.

School meal policies. Requires each localschool board to adopt policies that prohibit school board employeesfrom requiring a student who cannot pay for a meal at school or whoowes a school meal debt to throw away or discard a meal after ithas been served to him.

Emergency Services and Disaster Law; definitionof disaster; incidents involving cyber systems. Defines "cyberincident" for purposes of the Emergency Services and Disaster Lawas an event occurring on or conducted through a computer networkthat actually or imminently jeopardizes the integrity, confidentiality,or availability of computers, information or communications systemsor networks, physical or virtual infrastructure controlled by computersor information systems, or information resident thereon. The billprovides that a cyber incident may include a vulnerability in informationsystems, system security procedures, internal controls, or implementationsthat could be exploited by a threat source. The bill contains technicalamendments.

Tax credit for participating landlords; eligible housing areas. Expands the definition of "eligible housing area" for the housing choice voucher tax credit to include Virginia census tracts in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area in which less than 10 percent of the population lives below the poverty level. Landlords who rent qualified housing units within such areas are eligible for an income tax credit. Current law only applies to such areas within the Richmond and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Metropolitan Statistical Areas.The bill establishes a 2025 sunset date on the credit. The bill incorporates HB 1014 and is identical to SB 200.

Active duty military personnel or activatedor temporarily mobilized reservists or guard members; dependents;eligibility for in-state tuition and other educational benefits.Requires the condition of continuous enrollment in a public institutionof higher education or private institution of higher education currentlyimposed on dependents of active duty military personnel or activatedor temporarily mobilized reservists or guard members in order tobe eligible for in-state tuition and other educational benefits affordedto Virginia students to be waived if the dependent verifies thata break of no longer than one year was required in order to supporta spouse or parent on orders for a change of duty assignment or location.

Public defender offices; Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park and County of Prince William. Establishes a public defender office for the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park and the County of Prince William. This bill is identical to HB 366.