Sen. Suhas Subramanyam

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.

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.

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.

Property Owners' Association Act; display ofpolitical signs. Provides that, except as otherwise expressedin the declaration, no declaration or association's rules and regulations or architectural guidelines shall restrict or prohibit the displayby a lot owner on his lot of a sign advocating for or against a candidate,referendum, or political organization. The bill provides, however,that an association may restrict the display of such signs (i) inthe common areas or (ii) in accordance with federal or state law,and may establish reasonable restrictions as to the size, place,duration, and manner of placement or display of such signs, exceptthat no restriction on the duration of the display of such signs shall be less than (a) 30 days before the primary election, generalelection, or vote on the proposition or (b) seven days after the primary election, general election, or vote on the proposition. Thebill also requires the association disclosure packet to contain astatement of any restrictions on the size, place, duration, and mannerof placement or display of such signs.

Department of Environmental Quality; environmentaljustice. Provides that one of the purposes of the Departmentof Environmental Quality is to further environmental justice, asdefined in the bill.

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.

Virginia Geographic Information Network. Transfers the support and administration of the 9-1-1 Services Board and Virginia Geographic Information Network Advisory Board from the Virginia Information Technologies Agency to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. The bill also adds the State Coordinator of Emergency Management to the Virginia Geographic Information Network Advisory Board.

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.

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 SB 72.